Discipline Archives - Sermon Illustration Ideas

Song of Spiritual Growth

Discipline, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Maturity, Wisdom

The song “Love of God” by Rich Mullins describes what spiritual growth looks like. One stanza describes God’s love as an ocean of “joy…

Gift Of Growth

Discipline, Growth, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Maturity

“One of the most notable characteristics of great men is that they continue to develop as they grow older. While the majority of men…

Simple Practices

Christian Walk, Discipline, Disciplines, Faith, Spiritual Disciplines

The church and her people are imperfect. One of the first things the Holy Spirit impresses upon us as we move toward salvation is…

Babies in the Olympics

Discipline, Following Jesus, Growing, Perseverance

This funny clip of babies acting like they are in the Olympics provides an opportunity to talk about how important training is for great…

Training

Discipleship, Discipline, Following God, Training

We desire to be changed and to follow God’s way of living. That transformation comes through being trained (discipled) in his ways. If you…

Planning for Adversity

Adversity, Discipline, Outlook, Plan, training your mind

During an interview with San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh, he shared some of his secrets to planning for worst-case scenarios—because they will…

Tantrums

Actions, Discipline, Love, Motivation, Obedience, Self-Care

A great illustration of not doing what we should be doing is seen in small children. Tantrums, which are caused by a number of…

Drum Majors

Discipline, Focus, Following God, God's Plan, Maturity

Drum majors are tasked with keeping an entire marching band in step and on the beat. Drum majors keep themselves visible to limit confusion….

Treated As Children of God

Children of God, Conviction, Correction, Discipline, God Our Father, Repentance

“If a parent leaves a child without training, without discipline, without checking and correction, we begin to wonder … if they have a problem…

A Balanced Approach

Children, Communication, Discipline, Parenting, Parents

“If you focus exclusively on either the rod or communication, you will be like a ship with all the cargo loaded on one side….

Spiritual Prepration

Discipline, Physical Training, Preparation, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Growth

Many people have likened the practice of spiritual disciplines to such physical training. Scripture itself does so in passages like 1 Corinthians 9:24–27; 1 Timothy…

Our Father

Care, Discipline, Father, God Our Father, Heavenly Father, Love, Maturity, Wisdom

Think of a loving, human father and his young son. There are things the son does not (and cannot) understand at this point in…

Parenting Is a Process

Children, Discipline, God's Guidance, God's Perspective, Parenting, Parenting is a Process, Parents, Paul David Tripp, The Gospel Coalition

How might the discipline of God inform the way parents discipline children? In this short video clip, Paul David Tripp explains, and in doing…

Practicing Generosity

2 Corinthians 9:6, Acts 20:35, Discipline, Generosity, Gifts, Giving, Growth, Increase, Luke 21:1-4, Luke 6:38, Matthew 6:21, Practice, Proverbs 11:25, Proverbs 22:9

Practicing generosity is like weightlifting. If you start lifting thirty-pound reps (roughly one-third of your body weight when you’re still one hundred pounds), you…

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…

Discipleship: Water Daily

2 Timothy 3:16, Community, Discipleship, Discipline, Essentials, Galatians 6:6, Growth, Luke 6:40, Obedience, Proverbs 11:25, Self-Care, Spiritual Health, The Church, Titus 2:7-8, Water

One of the essential elements to good health is drinking enough water throughout the day. There are now many apps available designed to help…

Sharing The Load

1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Body of Christ, Condition, Discipline, Galatians 6:2, Growth, Hebrews 10:24-25, John 14:26, Luke 10:30-37, Respect, Struggle, Teamwork, The Church, Unity, Victory

In 2005, a biographical film about high school basketball coach Ken Carter was released called Coach Carter. In the film he takes on a…

Battling Bitterness

Battle, Bitterness, Captive, Colossians 3:13, Discipline, Ephesians 4:26, Ephesians 4:31, Growth, John 16:33, Psalm 51:10, Righteousness, Role, Thoughts, Vindication, Wisdom

Jen Wilkin outlines four ways to battle bitterness for an article in The Gospel Coalition. Her points are: A. God knows the real story…

“The Painful Discipline of Our Heavenly Father”

Deuteronomy 8:5, Discipline, Faith, God's Design, Good, Hebrews 12:11, Help, Holiness, Love, Obedience, Proverbs 12: 1, Proverbs 13:24, Redemption, Revelation 3:19, Salvation

“What hostile sinners mean for harm, God means for good. What they will as hurtful, God wills as helpful. What they plan as destruction,…

“What Christians Get Wrong About Discipleship”

Discipleship, Discipline, Faith, Growth, Guidance, John 13:34, Luke 9:23, Mark 1:15, Matthew 4:19, Obedience, Partnership, Philippians 2:5, Suffering, The Holy Spirit, Trials

“What is discipleship? Put simply, discipleship means intentionally partnering with another Christian in order to help that person obey Jesus and grow in relationship…