Salvation Archives - Sermon Illustration Ideas

God’s Rescue Mission

Forgiveness, Humanity, Jesus, Rescue, Salvation

In August 2010, thirty-three miners were trapped almost half a mile underground when their mine in Chile collapsed. It would be two months before…

Holy Spirit is the Active Agent

Holy Spirit, Jesus, Salvation

In chemistry, there are catalysts. They are defined as “any substance that increases the rate of a reaction without itself being consumed” (Britannica, s.v….

God Our Father

Adoption, Chosen, Foster Care, God Our Father, God's Love, Love, Orphan, Salvation

After moving through a dozen different foster and group homes during her childhood, Tori Hope Peterson found God to be the Father she could…

Christ At Work Through Every Page And Every Day

Active, God's Word, Grace of God, Jesus Christ, Salvation, Story of David, Work of Jesus

Gerald Manley Hopkins wrote a poem called “As Kingfishers Catch Fire.” In the poem, the author describes a world saturated in the grace of…

Despair Into Hope

Agapé, Despair, Future Hope, God's Love, Hope, Salvation

In movies and literature, the main characters often face dark times and difficult circumstances. When the situation seems hopeless, something happens to turn their…

All Sins Washed Away

Baptism, Cross, Forgiveness, Grace, Healing, Purity, Salvation, Washed Clean

Marilynne Robinson’s novel Lila follows the story of a young woman—a drifter from birth, without home or family—who finds hope in the church and…

Protected By A Book

Armor, Armor of God, Bible, Protection, Salvation

A common plot point in books and movies is an item that protects the hero from a bullet or knife. Often a book or…

A Modern-Day Blasphemy

Blasphemy, Christianity, Dangerous, Salvation, Sin

A modern-day accusation of blasphemy took place in 1966, when John Lennon stated in an interview, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink….

God’s Redeeming Love

God's Love, Jesus, Redemptive Love, Salvation, Steadfast Love

In the original Star Wars trilogy, Luke Skywalker is an illustration of steadfast love that leads to redemption. Luke refuses to give up on…

Giving Him Time

Devotion, Habit, Hope, Restoration, Salvation, Time With God

In her book In Pursuit of Love, Rebecca Bender shares how she was lured by a boyfriend from the safety of friends and family…

The Restaurant Doorway

Christ, Jesus, Salvation, The Way

One helpful way to think of Jesus is to imagine a doorway leading into a nice restaurant. God is in the restaurant, and he…

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…

Signs

Jesus, Messiah, Salvation, The Gospel, The Gospel of John

Think of a road trip: as you travel along a road, you look for various signs to help you place your coordinates. There are…

Made To Be Replaced

Lamb of God, New Covenant, New Testament, Old Testament, Sacrifce, Salvation

Planned obsolescence is the idea of creating a product that will eventually need to be replaced. A company doesn’t want to build anything too…

It Comes From Within

Depravity, Desires, Salvation, Sin, The Fall, The Heart

M. Night Shyamalan’s 2004 movie, The Village, described the struggle to create a “perfect” community in a fallen world (The Village, directed by M. Night…

The Savior We Need

Hope Of the World, Jesus, Messiah, Salvation, Savior

Sometimes people don’t appreciate a rescuer’s efforts on their behalf. In Spider-Man (directed by Sam Raimi [Columbia Pictures, 2002]), editor J. Jonah Jameson is constantly campaigning…

At Just The Right Time

Debt, Redemption, Repaid, Salvation, The Cross

Salvation in Jesus arrives at just the right time, but it was ready from the earliest days. In Mary Poppins Returns (directed by Rob Marshall [Walt…

John Harper’s Last Convert

Evangelism, Sacrifice, Salvation

Sometimes trusting in our spiritual flotation device means ridding ourselves of a physical one. Scottish evangelist John Harper boarded the Titanic in April 1912. Those…

One Plan

God's Plan, Plan of Salvation, Redemption, Salvation

Thomas Edison finally constructed the first electric lightbulb in January 1879. One of the biggest hurdles was finding the right filament to burn within the…

Getting Well

Healer, Healing, Medicine, Salvation, Sanctification, Sickness, Sin

There are times when we are ill or injured and the cure or treatment is unpleasant or just plain awful. Kids have to take…