Obedience Archives - Sermon Illustration Ideas

Father Damien

God's Will, Obedience, Sacrifice, Submission, Submit to God

Father Damien was a Belgian priest who went to serve in what was considered a godforsaken place—the island of Molokai, where Hawaiians with Hansen’s…

“As You Wish”

Authority, Obedience, Submission, Submit to God

At the outset of the film The Princess Bride, a poor farm boy named Westley is constantly ordered around by Buttercup. She tells him…

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…

Good Game

Blessing, Joke, Obedience, Story

“The joke is told of the deacon whose property adjoined that of a golf course. One Sunday morning he decided to skip church and…

Obedience Transforms Us

C.S. Lewis, Obedience, Submission, Transformation, Trusting God

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis tells the story o fEustace Scrubb, who turns into a dragon as the result of…

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…

Letter From Jim

Adultery, Commandments, Disobedience, Love, Marriage, Obedience, Relationships, Sin, Temptation, Ten Commandments

In “Letter from Jim,” Garrison Keillor tells the story of a man with a PhD in classics who, after years of teaching at the…

The Secret History

Commandments, Disobedience, Evil, Following God, Hate, Obedience, Sinful Nature, Ten Commandments

In the novel The Secret History by Donna Tartt, a group of affluent college students decide to murder a close friend of theirs. As…

The Breakfast Club

Commandments, Disobedience, Following God, Honor, Obedience, Respect, Ten Commandments

The commandment to honor your father and mother of course gets tricky when you have abusive or manipulative parents. It is important to read…

Unexpected Resistance

Obedience, Opposition, Perseverance, Resistance, Trusting God

Sometimes unexpected resistance can stop us from doing something God has asked us to do. Isn’t that the way it always is when you…

Survival Mode

Application, James, Obedience, Scripture, The Bible

On CBS’s long-running reality show Survivor, cast members play a game of outlasting their teammates on an island devoid of creature comforts. Weeks later,…

Lessons In The Wilderness

Exodus, Fruits of the Spirit, Mana, Obedience, Self-Control, Trusting God

We don’t have to look outside the walls to see the negative consequences of self-control on society—God shows us that in the Bible. One…

I’ll Do It Myself!

God's Plan, God's Timing, God's Will, Obedience, Trusting God

Like Thanos putting on the infinity gauntlet and saying, “Fine. I’ll do it myself” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu_hw963AG4), we like to take the reins and make our…

An Example of Faith

Abraham, Example, Faith, Following God, Genesis, Hebrews, Obedience, Romans, Trust

“So Abram went, as the LORD had told him” ( Genesis 12:4). This is the demonstration of faith that the author of Hebrews, as…

The Gift of Holiness

Commands, Design, Desires, Gift, Holiness, Obedience

A good way of discussing holiness is to understand how it is a gift from God to us so that all of our energies…

When The Storms Come

Following Jesus, Foundation, Luke 6, Obedience, Perseverance, Sand, Storms, Struggles, The Rock

There is a parable many of us are familiar with in Luke 6, about two men who build houses for themselves. One builds on…

I Make My Own Hours

Christ, Following Jesus, Lord, Lordship, Luke 6, Obedience, Salvation, Submission

Several years back, the satirical news site The Onion ran a fake story with the headline “‘I Make My Own Hours,’ Says Man about…

Eating God’s Word

God's Word, Obedience, Priorities, Scripture, Teaching, The Bible

We are to consume the Bible, not just occasionally nibbling it. We are in danger of spiritual anorexia due to our lack of eating…

Warning Signs

Listening, Obedience, Signs, Warnings

People ignore warnings. Much like these Austin residents who ignored flood warnings, to the detriment of their vehicles and at the risk of their…

Unintended Consequences

Actions, Consequences, Decisions, Ephesians 5:15, Exodus 23:22, Galatians 6:7, Isaiah 1:19, Jonah 1:1-16, Obedience, Wisdom

In 1890, Eugene Schieffelin, a devoted reader of William Shakespeare’s works, introduced starling birds into Central Park, inspired by their mention in Shakespeare’s Henry VI. What he…