Browse Sermon Illustrations
816 illustrations available
Jim Wallis on Justice as Requirement - Progressive (Micah 6:8)
"'Do justice'—not just avoid injustice, but actively DO justice. This is not optional: it's what God REQUIRES. Love kindness—chesed, covenant love for the vulnerable. Walk humbly—power laid down. This
T.D. Jakes on Divine Setup - Pentecostal (Deuteronomy 31:8)
"God goes BEFORE you—He's already setting things up! That job, that breakthrough, that healing—He's preparing it NOW! He is WITH you—supernatural presence for supernatural living! He will NEVER leave—
Pope Benedict XVI on Baptismal Waters - Catholic (Isaiah 43:2)
"The waters of trial echo baptism's waters—we pass through death to life. The fire of suffering echoes purgation's purifying flame. Through the sacraments, we experience God's accompanying presence. T
Jim Wallis on Public Faith - Progressive (Matthew 5:14-16)
"Light exposes darkness—injustice, oppression, lies. The church as city on a hill is meant to model an alternative: a community of justice, equality, peace. Our good works are social witness: feeding
Gustavo Gutiérrez on Light for Liberation - Liberation (Matthew 5:14-16)
"Light exposes injustice, illuminates paths of liberation. The church must be visible light in dark places of poverty, oppression, exploitation. Good works are not charity but solidarity, not patroniz
Pope John Paul II on Hope in Suffering - Catholic (John 16:33)
"'Be not afraid'—even of tribulation! Christ has overcome the world; the Church participates in His victory. Through sacramental grace, we are strengthened for trouble. Through the communion of saints
R.C. Sproul on Sovereign Victory - Reformed (John 16:33)
"'I have overcome'—past tense. The victory is accomplished, not merely anticipated. In Christ, the world is already conquered; trouble is real but penultimate. God's sovereignty ensures the outcome. O
Joyce Meyer on Peace Over Worry - Pentecostal (Matthew 6:25-27)
"STOP worrying! Jesus COMMANDS it! Your Father KNOWS what you need! Look at the birds—GOD FEEDS THEM! Look at the flowers—GOD CLOTHES THEM! How much MORE will He care for YOU? Cast that anxiety on Him
Charles Spurgeon on Fatherly Care - Traditional (Matthew 6:25-27)
"Do not worry—your heavenly Father knows what you need. If He feeds the birds and clothes the lilies, will He not much more care for you? Worry is practical atheism; it acts as if God does not exist.
Bill Johnson on Enforcing Victory - Charismatic (John 16:33)
"Jesus has OVERCOME—past tense! The victory is WON! Our job isn't to win; it's to ENFORCE the victory already accomplished! When trouble comes, DECLARE: 'You're defeated! Jesus has overcome!' Live fro
Tim Keller on Heart and Witness - Missional (Psalm 51:10)
"Mission flows from a clean heart. Dirty hearts produce compromised witness; renewed hearts overflow with authentic testimony. David's restoration led to teaching transgressors God's ways. The clean h
Martin Luther on Grace Alone - Lutheran (Psalm 51:10)
"'Create'—this is grace language. We cannot clean our own hearts; we can only receive what God creates. David the king becomes David the beggar: 'Have mercy on me.' The clean heart is gift, not achiev
Walter Brueggemann on Subversive Transcendence - Progressive (Isaiah 55:8-9)
"God's thoughts subvert human assumptions—especially assumptions of the powerful. Our 'common sense' often serves empire; God's ways overturn it. His thoughts judge our nationalism, our economics, our
Warren Wiersbe on Tasting Now and Forever - Dispensational (Psalm 34:8)
"We taste God's goodness now; we will feast on it forever. Present experience is appetizer; the marriage supper of the Lamb is the full meal. In this age we taste; in the age to come we feast. But eve
St. Athanasius on Deification Gift - Orthodox (Romans 6:23)
"The gift of eternal life is theosis—participation in divine nature. Sin's wages are death, separation from God. But in Christ, God became human that humans might become divine. This is the great exch
Bill Johnson on Abundant Life Gift - Charismatic (Romans 6:23)
"God's gift is LIFE—and not just barely alive! ETERNAL life! ABUNDANT life! SUPERNATURAL life! Sin pays death; God gives LIFE with POWER! The same Spirit that raised Christ LIVES IN YOU! Receive the g
Gustavo Gutiérrez on Life for the Poor - Liberation (John 10:10)
"The thief is the system that steals life from the poor—resources, dignity, opportunity. Jesus brings abundant life: food, justice, community, hope. Abundant life for the poor is not spiritual escapis
Howard Thurman on Mystery and Trust - Black Church (Isaiah 55:8-9)
"God's ways are not our ways—and this is hope for the disinherited. Human ways crush; God's ways liberate. What seems defeat may be victory; what seems ending may be beginning. The oppressor cannot pr
Walter Brueggemann on Justice Fulfilled - Progressive (Revelation 21:4)
"Every tear wiped—tears of injustice, oppression, exploitation. No more death from poverty, from violence, from neglect. This vision indicts present arrangements and energizes present resistance. The
Billy Graham on Heaven's Promise - Baptist (Revelation 21:4)
"God will wipe YOUR tears—every one. YOUR pain will end; YOUR mourning will cease; YOUR death will be swallowed in victory. This is heaven's promise to YOU personally: no more crying, no more dying. H
Charles Ryrie on Grace Dispensation Gift - Dispensational (Romans 6:23)
"In this dispensation of grace, the gift is freely offered to all. Sin's wages remain constant across ages—death. But the gift of eternal life is most clearly revealed in the church age. Until the rap
Warren Wiersbe on Eternal Perspective - Dispensational (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
"Present affliction is momentary; coming glory is eternal. This age brings suffering; the age to come brings reward. We fix our eyes on what is unseen—Christ at God's right hand, our future resurrecti
Bill Johnson on Supernatural Protection - Charismatic (Psalm 27:1)
"The LORD is your LIGHT—supernatural illumination! Your SALVATION—deliverance from every attack! Your STRONGHOLD—no weapon formed against you shall prosper! Walk in BOLD confidence! Angels surround yo
Bill Johnson on Love That Wins - Charismatic (Romans 8:38-39)
"Nothing! Not demons, not sickness, not circumstances, not your worst day! God's love WINS! You are more than a conqueror because the Love that conquered death lives in you! Declare it: NO WEAPON form