2 Corinthians 5:17 – Sermon Illustration Ideas

Running The Race

1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Acts 9:1-19, Colossians 1:11, Endurance, Growing, Hebrews 10:36, Hebrews 12:1-3, Matthew 24:13, Paul, Philippians 3:12, Philippians 3:13-14, Salvation, Sanctification, Strength

Olympic runner Dave Wottle can teach us something about running a race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=120Bi0vhRPg. In the Bible, the Apostle Paul describes the process of sanctification (growing…

Character Development

1 Thessalonians 5:23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Peter 3:18, Change, Character, Development, Ephesians 4:22-24, Galatians 2:20, Growth, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13, Salvation, Sanctification, Transformation

The best stories have character development. This is where a character changes throughout the events of the story. For example, the 2008 blockbuster movie Iron…

Get Out of Jail Free

1 Thessalonians 5:23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Change, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:16, Heaven, Hell, Life, New Life, Philippians 1:6, Relationship with God, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 6:1-23, Romans 6:6, Salvation, Sanctification, The Gospel, Transformation

One of the best cards you can draw in the game Monopoly is the “get out of jail free” card. It completely lets you…

In Wonderland

2 Corinthians 5:17, Counter-Cultural, God's Kingdom, John 3:16, John 3:3, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, Luke 17:20-21, Mark 1:15, Matthew 5, Matthew 6:10, Matthew 6:19-21, Matthew 6:33, Paradox, Perspective, Sermon on the Mount, The World, Upside Down, Values

In the very popular film, Alice in Wonderland, Alice, the main character, enters through a rabbit hole into the surprising and upside-down world of Wonderland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNXpnufLVkc&pbjreload=10. Just as…

Grace For The Process

1 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Change, Colossians 3:10, Grace, Hebrews 2:11, Journey, Marriage, Now And Not Yet, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13, Process, Romans 12:2, Salvation, Sanctification, Transformation

When a bride and groom get married, the bride’s name (usually) changes immediately. One or both of their addresses change and often so do…

God’s Masterpiece

2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 4:24, God's Masterpiece, New Creation, New Life, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13, Restoration, Salvation, Sanctification

There was a sad but true incident that took place in an old Spanish church not too long ago. A parishioner took it upon…

Recognition

1 Corinthians 11:1-2, 1 Peter 2:9, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Character, Christ's Example, Christian Life, Christlikeness, Ephesians 5:1, Faith, Fruit, Galatians 2:20, Identity, Recognition, Relationship with God, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 8:29

Do you have facial recognition on your phone? This technology allows you to unlock your phone based on the particulars of your face, in…

Changing What You Crave

1 Corinthians 10:13, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Desires, Discipline, Flesh, Hebrews 2:18, James 4:7, Lust, Psalm 119:11, Psalm 37:4-5, Removing, Resisting Temptation, Romans 12:1-2, Sinful Nature, Temptation

In his article, “Want to Be Healthier? Change Your Taste Buds,” Michael Greger shares that our taste buds can change once we remove certain…

Battles We Continue To Fight

1 Corinthians 10:13, 1 John 4:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Battle, Galatians 2:20, Identity, New Life, Now And Not Yet, Philippians 2:13, Romans 7, Romans 8:1, Salvation, Sanctification, Sinful Nature, Struggles With Sin

Romans 6:8-14 captures the central tension of the Christian life on earth: we have died to sin, but we still sin. Why do we…

Safe In Christ

1 John 4:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Fears, Galatians 3:26, God's Love, In Christ, John 3:16, Opposition, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:38-39, Safety, Salvation, Security, Victory

Romans 8:38-39 gives an exhaustive list intended to cover every possible fear we could have—issues of mortality, supernatural forces, time, powers, physical space, anything…

Be Transformed

1 John 2:15, 1 John 5:18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Change, Colossians 3:10, Conformed, Darkness, Growth, Identity, Image, John 17:16, Light, Matthew 17:2, New Creation, Romans 12:2, Transformed

At the end of the movie, Mean Girls, the main character, Cady, apologizes to all the people she hurt during the time she was negatively…

Paradigm Shift

2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 1:21-22, Ephesians 4:22-24, Ezekiel 18:31, Ezekiel 36:26, Grace, Influence, Mercy, New Life, Outlook on Life, Perception, Psalm 51:10, Redemption, Romans 12:2, Salvation, Titus 3:5

“Christianity isn’t something you add. It is an explosion that changes everything you had” (Timothy Keller [@timkellernyc], Twitter, November 10, 2017, 1:30 p.m.)To follow…

Who Are You?

1 Corinthians 12:27, 1 John 3:1-3, 1 Peter 2:9, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Answer, Certainty, Challenge, Confidence in Christ, Confrontation, Galatians 2:20, Identity, Proposal, Purpose, Response, Thoughtful

A priest was confronted by a soldier while he was walking down a road in pre-revolutionary Russia. The soldier, aiming his rifle at the…

True Nobility

2 Corinthians 5:17, Change, Character, Death, Ephesians 4:24, Galatians 6:15, Growth, New Creation, New Life, Nobility, Renewal, Romans 6:4, Romans 7:6, Sin, Transformation

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” – Ernest Hemingway This…