Sacrifice – Sermon Illustration Ideas

Give It To God

Gift, Gift from above, Given to God, helping, Sacrifice, Time

In the novel, and film of the same name, Lilies of the Field, Homer passes a traveler who ends up helping impoverished nuns build…

Purpose for Giving

blessings, Giving, Jesus paid, Redemption, Sacrifice, Trusting God

Rick Moranis became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 1980s and 1990s. His last live-action movie released in 1997; after that, he took…

Resiliency of the Human Spirit

Encouragement, Faith, Hope, Persevere in Faith, resiliency, Sacrifice

In John 14:1–11, with the disciples distressed and disheartened by the news of Christ’s predicted departure, Jesus is encouraging them to persevere in their…

He Pays Our Debts

Debt, Easter, Sacrifice

The gift of Easter is Jesus’s willing payment of our debt, which is too large for us to ever pay back. We hear about…

Do Not Live According to Flesh

Death, Flesh, Paul, Sacrifice, Spiritual Life

Junior high is an especially difficult time in life. Teenagers are trying to figure outwho they are. During these years, they will often try…

When Rules Guide Your Life

Freedom, Old Testament Law, Sacrifice

Hitting the open road can be fun, but determining where to go might be tough when you are free to go wherever you please….

Following God’s Call

Following Jesus, Local Church, Sacrifice

Richard Stearns, author of The Hole in Our Gospel, was CEO of multiple large companies. He felt God calling him to serve others and…

Jesus is the Passover Lamb

Cross, Forgiveness, Passover, Sacrifice, sacrificial lamb

The Passover lamb that each family sacrificed died so that the family could live. In fifteenth- and sixteenth-century England, there was a position of…

A Volunteer For Sacrifice

Christ's Sacrifice, Jesus' Death, Sacrifice, The Cross, Volunteer

In The Hunger Games, each district sends a randomly selected tribute to fight to the death in an arena-style reality show. The winning district…

Walk In Love

Love, Loving Others, Sacrifice, Walking In Love

Here is a story that exemplifies what it means to walk in love, regardless of whatever else happens: “A man saw a snake being…

Gifts

Christ's Return, Christmas, Gifts, Sacrifice, Saved, World

Lucy Maud Montgomery’s short story “Christmas at Red Butte” tells of Theodora, a young woman orphaned and living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins…

Sacrificial Love

Christ's Sacrifice, God's Love, Love, Sacrifice

In the film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Yondu Udonta, Peter’s surrogate father, reveals that he has loved Peter all this time and…

Love in Action

Love, Power, Sacrifice, Self-Sacrifice

Although she doesn’t die in the movie, Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise [Buena Vista Pictures,…

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…

Sacrificial Love

Faithfulness, Love, Redemption, Restoration, Sacrifice

A great illustration of sacrificial love for the Trinity and the Son of God is in Avengers: Endgame. At the end of the movie,…

Refused Forgiveness

Christ's Sacrifice, Forgiveness, Lent, Sacrifice, Sin

In the film Les Misérables (directed by Tom Hooper [Universal Pictures, 2012]), Jean Valjean’s choice to let Javert live brings the police officer to…

Career Changes

Calling, God's Will, Purpose, Sacrifice, Surrender

Find someone in the congregation who has made difficult career changes based on what God has asked them to do. Other than those who…

Farmers Helping Farmers

Community, Helping others, Outlook, Sacrifice, Working Together

Farmers are notorious for helping each other when times get tough. One North Dakota community of farmers helped one of their own after he…

A Season Of Preparation

Easter, Fasting, Lent, Sacrifice, The Heart

In the Christian tradition of Lent we are asked to give up something, but in the spring and after Easter, we can look forward…

Charles Spurgeon’s ‘The Carrot and the Horse’

Generosity, Humility, Motivations, Sacrifice, The Heart

There is a story attributed to Charles Spurgeon. It goes like this: a gardener presents his king with the greatest carrot he has ever…