Grace – Page 2 – Sermon Illustration Ideas

Extending Mercy

Forgiven, Forgiveness, Forgiving Others, Grace, Mercy

This powerful scene from Invictus (directed by Clint Eastwood [Warner Bros., 2009]) recounts the story of Nelson Mandela insisting that his leaders extend forgiveness…

Task Lists

Disciplines, Faith, Goals, Grace, Works

Many of us are list people. We love to organize our charts. If salvation came through works and not grace, some people would have…

Gracious Forgiveness

Bitterness, Forgiveness, Forgiving Others, God's Love, Grace

A survivor of a concentration camp during the Holocaust, Corrie ten Boom dedicated her life to traveling and preaching about forgiveness. She told the…

By Faith Alone

Faith, Forgiveness, Grace, Salvation, Works

In William Shakespeare’s Henry V, Shakespeare depicts a young King Henry praying to God for favor. While praying, he lists the “good” work that he…

Freedom In Surrender

Freedom, Grace, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Life, Surrender, Weakness

We can learn an important lesson about the spiritual life through the Chinese Finger Trap. It is constructed simply of woven paper, but when…

Better Than A Second Chance

Forgiveness, Good News, Grace, Salavation, Sin, The Gospel

The new life given to Christians by God through Jesus Christ my not be best described as a ‘second chance’. Aaron Wilson illustrates this…

A Gift For All

Gift, Grace, Invitation, Salvation

Public gifts that are seemingly just for some can turn out to be for all. On the season premiere episode of The Oprah Winfrey…

A Picture of Grace

Favor, Forgiveness, Grace, Love

What is God’s grace? It is God’s unmerited favor. It is kindness that is notdeserved or earned. Imagine a parent sets a jar on…

Walk The Line

Excellence, Grace, Serving God, Trust, Trusting God

Pastor Juan Carlos Ortiz illustrates working for God while trusting in grace through the imagery of a trapeze artist who trusts in the nets…

Grace Empowers

Empowering, Empowerment, Grace, Obedience, Power, Salvation, Sanctification, Strength

Imagine children in a home being told to pick up. They’ll fight the parent over it. They don’t want to do it. But the…

The Forgiveness Cycle

Confession, Forgiveness, Grace, Repentance, Sanctification

Dissonance is a musical term that indicates a lack of harmony. Cognitive dissonance is having disharmony in our thoughts. It happens when our idea…

Inside Out

God's Saving Grace, Grace, Peace, Redeem, Redeemed, Redemption, Salvation, Transformation

Sometimes good news comes from the most unlikely source. In the movie Inside Out, Riley decides to run away from home but is stopped…

Les Miserables

Freedom, God's Covenant, God's Saving Grace, Grace, Salvation, Sin

In this video clip from Les Miserables, Jean Valjean is shown incredible grace that not only frees him from the penalty of his sin…

A Different Approach

Grace, Jesus's Death, Salvation, Sin, The Law

Sometimes, searching for the answer to the same old problem requires an absolutely different method. In Red (directed by Robert Schwentke [Summit Entertainment, 2010]),…

Have Mercy

Grace, Judgment, Mercy, Second Chances

Mike Howerton tells a story about how grace works. He recounts the time that he received a second ticket in two years for expired…

White As Snow

Forgiveness, Grace, Redemption, Repentance, Salvation, Sin

Charles Spurgeon described his experience of forgiveness this way: “My life was full of sorrow and wretchedness, believing that I was lost. But, oh,…

No Fear In Love

Fear, Following Jesus, Grace

Love is the result of the grace we’ve been given in Christ—yet we’re often motivated by fear. In an article in Psychology Today, Robert…

Prayer for Beginners

Grace, Prayer, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Growth

Popular films have often done the best job of depicting the awkwardness of prayer for novices. One such classic prayer scene happens in Meet the Parents,…

Grace Empowers

Evangelism, Forgiveness, Grace

Pastor Tim Keller tells the story of a woman who started attending the church he pastored and wanted to meet with him. One day…

Walk By Faith

Ephesians, Faith, Grace, Jesus, Saved

Kevin DeYoung has a good illustration regarding the role faith plays in our salvation. He speaks of walking out on frozen Lake Michigan. The…