18 Faith Sermon Illustrations

Are you preaching on faith? Check out these great illustration ideas that bring biblical truths to life through word pictures, stories, and everyday examples.

• Knowing the Lesson Plan
  Picture the difficulty a substitute teacher has when enacting an absent teacher’s lesson plans. Without spending a considerable amount of time with the real teacher, a substitute can read the instructions yet end up guessing their way through a lesson plan. The difficulty increases if the class chooses to disrespect the substitute and ignore their… Read more: Knowing the Lesson Plan
• Small Obedience
  “As long as we expect big to come now and on the world’s terms—whether in our churches, in our cities, or in our own souls—we will be tempted to forsake the seemingly weak instruments of faith and faithfulness. Instead of planting, watering, and waiting for God to give the growth … we may try to… Read more: Small Obedience
• Immortality in Faith
  Fear of death and the desire for immortality is real. Alcor is a business that markets resurrection. People can pay tens of thousands of dollars to have part or all of their body preserved, in the hope that one day the technology will exist to bring them back to life. Jesus brings the dead back… Read more: Immortality in Faith
• Patience And Perspective
  Whenever we encounter injustice and feel that God is doing nothing about it, we need to spend time in God’s presence to gain his perspective. This will often lead to the realization that we have misunderstood his silence as approval of the short-term results when he understands the trajectories each person is moving along. Consider the difference… Read more: Patience And Perspective
• Trust Fall
  Have you ever tried a “trust fall”? It’s when a person will free-fall backward into the arms of someone or a group of people.
• Garden Variety Faith
  Compare the difference between a mighty oak tree and a quickly growing plant, such as those grown in a summer garden. An oak tree grows slowly, sends roots down deeply into the soil, and withstands powerful storms, very cold winters, and hot summers. It grows large, providing shade and part of a habitat for wildlife.… Read more: Garden Variety Faith
• Faith In The Face of Fear
  Our brains have chemical reactions to fear. The amygdala is a part of the brain that activates when we sense a threat stimulus and prompts the body to have a physical response, like the “release of stress hormones and sympathetic nervous system.” The hippocampus is closely related to the amygdala and helps our brains interpret… Read more: Faith In The Face of Fear
• An Example of Faith
  “So Abram went, as the LORD had told him” ( Genesis 12:4). This is the demonstration of faith that the author of Hebrews, as well as Paul in Romans 4, celebrate when they speak of the faith of Abram and his obedience to God. And it is easy to read over it and miss it.… Read more: An Example of Faith
• Believing The Unseen
  Do you believe in Santa Claus? While the idea of Santa can seem strange for a discussion about Jesus it brings up a good point about our need for physical proof. Take almost any Christmas movie, and you will have children who believe in Santa Claus telling their parents that he is real. In some of… Read more: Believing The Unseen
• Founder and Perfecter
  Jesus is “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). We may be able to understand this more in terms of a parent and child. Imagine a mother who is teaching her daughter to drive. Imagine, too, that the daughter is particularly nervous. In fact, were it up to her, she’d rather her mom just… Read more: Founder and Perfecter
• A Lesson From The Crocus
  If you have ever lived in a place with harsh winters, you know that the coming spring is welcome with great anticipation. In some places, winter can last for around half the year, with bitter cold, snow, and dead vegetation. However, when winter is fading away the crocus appears. Even during an early spring snowstorm,… Read more: A Lesson From The Crocus
• Walk By Faith
  Kevin DeYoung has a good illustration regarding the role faith plays in our salvation. He speaks of walking out on frozen
• Finish The Race
  Unlike most races, our spiritual race is not about coming in first. It’s about finishing. If we don’t give up, if we don’t quit, then we win.
• Gaining Strength
  “I read one time about how shipbuilders back in the days of sailboats would prepare the masts for their ships. They would go to
• Trusting The Coach
  Children learning to play baseball are often afraid of the ball when it is their turn at bat. Their instinct is to duck or step out of the path of the oncoming ball.
• Confidence In Christ
  “So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: ‘I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it?
• Choosing Faith
  One of Shauna Niequist’s books is called Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living.