Perspective Archives - Sermon Illustration Ideas

Gaining Perspective

Helping others, Perspective, Selflessness, Serving, Serving Others

In the Netflix docuseries Down to Earth, Zac Efron and Darin Olien visit locations all around the world. In Puerto Rico, Zac witnesses the…

A Testament of God’s Goodness

God's Goodness, Gratitude, Grief, Loss, Perspective, Suffering

In Richard Lischer’s memoir of his first pastorate, he tells the story of his second son Adam’s birth. Born big and robust, within hours…

Addition By Subtraction

Eternity, Perspective, Recovery, Rest, Sabbath

Addition by subtraction may seem an odd approach to eternity, but there is a parallel to it in our world when you consider Olympic athletes….

Reassessing Our Struggles

Inspiration, Perspective, Struggles, Suffering, Trials, Trusting God

Inspirational stories about those who have overcome obstacles can motivate us to reassess our own struggles. For nine-year-old Ezra, his struggles are real but…

Living In 3D

Faith, Perspective, Reality, Worldview

Have you ever tried watching a 3D movie without a set of 3D glasses? The movie is flat and unimpressive; that is, until you…

What Do You See?

Focus, Kingdom of God, Perspective, Seeing

Sometimes our inability to see the kingdom of God properly stems from an inability to look beyond the obvious. Once we get beyond the obvious,…

The Tyranny of the Urgent

Busyness, Distractions, Perspective, Prayer

In the 1960s, Charles Hummel wrote a small pamphlet that became widely used in business networks. It was entitled The Tyranny of the Urgent, and…

Thankful For The Fleas

1 Thessalonians 5:18, Perspective, Thankful, Thankfulness, Thanks, Thanksgiving, The Heart, Trusting God

Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch Christian who helped hide Jews during the advent of the Nazi regime during World War II. After being…

Pilgrim For A Day

Contentment, Gratitude, Joy, Perspective, Thankfulness, Thanks, Thanksgiving

A. J. Jacobs, a New York Times bestselling author, is known for his unconventional experiments. In the early 2000s, he spent 18 months learning…

Up or Down

Change, Constancy, Culture, God's Sovereignty, God's Word, Perspective, Reference

“Without some objective reference point we have no way of really saying if something is up or down.” On earth, the ground is always…

Focal Points

Christ, Focal Point, Focus, Mark, Perspective, The Book of Mark, The Gospel, The Gospel of Mark

In the world of image making (paintings, photography, etc.), focal points are necessary for successfully communicating the desire of the artist or photographer. “A…

Tension

Already And Not Yet, Grief, Hope, Joy, Perseverance, Perspective, Suffering, Tension, Trials

Living with joy and hope amid pain requires an ability to live in tension. We can’t just deny the pain and pretend like all…

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…

Knotted Jumble of Life

1 Corinthians 15:49, Forming, God's Perspective, Hard times, Hardships, Isaiah 41:13, Isaiah 64:8, Jeremiah 18:6, Molding, Perspective, Psalm 100:3, Romans 9:21, Through the Valley, Trials

“Have you ever compared the front and back of a tapestry? The front of a tapestry is art. In the hands of a skilled…

Our Greatest Failures

1 John 3:16-18, 2 Corinthians 5:15, Ephesians 5:2, Gain Christ, Grace, Idols, Lose, Loss, Perspective, Possessions, Romans 5:6, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:2-4, Salvation

Sometimes it takes having our most precious possessions taken from us to gain perspective on what really matters. Back in 2012, Ted Kluck wrote…

Competitive Nature

1 Peter 4:10, 1 Samuel 18:7-9, Character, Colossians 3:23, Comparison, Envy, Gifts, James 3:16, Jealousy, John 3:27, Matthew 25:14-30, Others, Perspective, Philippians 2:3, Proverbs 14:30, Proverbs 27:4, Sin, Stewardship, Talents

There are some crazy competitions out there, like pumpkin sailing and outhouse racing. See this article for more ridiculous competitions: https://www.si.com/more-sports/photos/2009/07/08-1most-ridiculous-competitions#21 . These competitions seem so…

Getting Ready

2 Timothy 1:7, Challenges, Confidence, Deuteronomy 31:6, Fear of God, Fear of Man, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 1:17, Joshua 1:9, Perspective, Philippians 4:6-7, Preparation, Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 19:23, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 34:4, Readiniess, Strength, Victory

Some athletes have bizarre pre-game rituals that get them ready for a game. During the 1998 World Cup, the French team believed that their…

“You’re So Vain”

1 Corinthians 15:45, 2 Corinthians 10:12, Focus, Foreshadowing, Hebrews 12:1-2, Isaiah 53:1-12, Jesus, John 5:39-46, Luke 24:25-32, Luke 24:27, Mark 9:11-13, Matthew 22:41-44, Perspective, Prophecy, Psalm 10:4, Scripture, Self-Centeredness, the Bible, The Messiah, Vanity

The famous Carly Simon song “You’re So Vain” has the lyrics “You’re so vain you probably think this song is about you.” Sometimes we…

The Places That Shape Us

1 John 2:15, Counterculture, Desire, Luke 17:21, Matthew 5:6, Matthew 6:33, Perspective, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 14:17, Spiritual Formation, The Church, The Kingdom, Worldview, Worship

In his book Desiring the Kingdom, James K. A. Smith describes the formative power of the places and institutions we inhabit, using a shopping…

Gaining By Losing

Acts 13:47, Counting the Cost, Death, Eternity, Faithfulness, Hostility, Jim Elliot, Mark 16:15, Mark 8:35, Matthew 5:15-16, Missionary, Perspective, Romans 1:16, Sacrifice, Salvation

Jim Elliot was an evangelical missionary who attempted to reach out to a small Indian settlement in Ecuador with a team. Unfortunately, the entire…