Sermon Illustrations

The Father

Creation, Father, Identity, Jesus, space, Time

In season 3 of the television series Gilmore Girls, Jess has never met his father. When he is a senior in high school, his…

Cameo

appearing, cameo, celebrate

If you’ve watched enough of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, you’ll notice a pattern: a certain older gentleman makes a repeat cameo. The actor…

Enjoying His Creation

Creation, Experience, God's Creation

In the movie Mary Poppins (directed by Robert Stevenson, Walt Disney Productions, 1964), Mary takes the children to visit her friend Bert. Among other…

Paying Attention to Needs Around Us

Awareness, Good Samaritan, Needs, Pay Attention

To put it lightly, most of us spend a lot of time staring at our phone. There is a story of someone driving home…

The Heart of a Giver

fundraising, giver, Heart, intensions, The Widow

Alex’s Lemonade Stand is a nonprofit organization that raises millions of dollars every year as it seeks a cure for cancer and helps children…

Give It To God

Gift, Gift from above, Given to God, helping, Sacrifice, Time

In the novel, and film of the same name, Lilies of the Field, Homer passes a traveler who ends up helping impoverished nuns build…

Purpose for Giving

blessings, Giving, Jesus paid, Redemption, Sacrifice, Trusting God

Rick Moranis became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 1980s and 1990s. His last live-action movie released in 1997; after that, he took…

Stepping Down For Good

for good, for our sake, grasping, Seeking, toxic

In 2020, Prince Harry and his wife, Megan Markle, announced they would be stepping down from their royal duties representing Queen Elizabeth II. This…

Forgotten Past

disagreement, Forgiven, Forgotten, loved ones, Protect

Have you ever been in a situation in which a sibling did something that really irritated you, and you wanted them to just go…

Contentment Brings Joy

Contentment, contrast, Joy

You Can’t Take It with You, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937 and was made into a movie by Frank Capra in 1938,…

Experiencing A New Language

Gods Language, Incomprehendable, Knowledge, Language of God, Learning, love language, suffering love

When adults attempt to learn a new language, they are often encouraged to immerse themselves in a culture that speaks that language. It’s usually…

Nothing Else Matters

Flesh, Lyrics, Nothing Else Matters, Spirit

On their Black Album, Metallica included a ballad entitled “Nothing Else Matters.” In some ways, the song says the opposite of what Paul says…

Joy in All Situations

finding joy, Hardships, Joy, obstacles, optimism

In the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (created by Robert Carlock and Tina Fey, Netflix, 2015), a resilient trauma survivor is devoted to finding…

Deserved Glory

Glory, Honor, Humble, Recognition

In the animated film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (directed by Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears, Paramount Pictures, 2023), a group of anthropomorphic…

The Way

Glory, Mandalorian, Process of Jesus, The Way

The Disney+ series The Mandalorian (created by Jon Favreau, Lucasfilm, 2019) revolves around the diverse adventures of a stoic bounty hunter who is resolutely…

Putting Others First

Choices, choosing others, Paul

In the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Paramount Pictures, 2023), a clever crook (Edgin)…

Turn a Bad Thing Good

bad, Good, human spirit, optimism, outdoorsman, Paul, Resilience, trapped

The movie 127 Hours (directed by Danny Boyle, Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2010) tells the true story of Aron Ralston, an adventurous outdoorsman who was…

Finding the Beauty

Beauty, holocaust, jewish, optimism, Paul, real life, Suffering

In the Italian film Life Is Beautiful (directed by Roberto Benigni, Miramax, 1997), an optimistic, charismatic, charming Jewish Italian father, Guido, must shield his…