Sanctification – Sermon Illustration Ideas

Cleaned by the Washing of the Word

Philippians, Sanctification, Serving, Washing

“I listened to Philippians today. It’s a letter from Paul to the church in Philippi. One theme stuck out to me: servanthood. Paul reminds…

Radical Change

Change, Character, Loving Others, Path of Life, Sanctification

The best stories have a character arc, in which a character changes throughout the events of the story. The movie Iron Man (directed by…

Time Set Aside

Christian Life, Christian Living, Holiness, Sanctification, Time

Do you ever set aside something for a specific purpose? If you are a parent, you might tell your kids, “When Mom gets home…

The Intolerable Compliment

C.S. Lewis, God's Masterpiece, God's Plan, God's Will, Masterpiece, Pain, Sanctification, Suffering

“We are, not metaphorically but in very truth, a Divine work of art, something that God is making, and therefore something with which He…

Inside Out

Change, Fruit, Sanctification, The Heart, Transformation

Everyone knows that you don’t eat bananas until they turn yellow. The internal transformation of the fruit inside the peel is what causes the…

Trained For Godliness

Following Jesus, Godliness, Sanctification, Transformation

We want to be changed to follow God’s way of living. That transformation comes through being trained (discipled) in his ways. If you’ve ever…

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…

Learning to Be Children of God

Children of God, Guidance, Salvation, Sanctification, The Holy Spirit, Transformation

A feral child is someone who, usually at a very young age and for various reasons (most of them bad), ends up isolated and…

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 Good Surgeon

Great Physician, Healing, Job, Sanctification, Suffering, Trusting God

Why do the righteous suffer? John Piper writes about this passage: “Elihu puts the pain of sickness and visions of the night side by…

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…

Divine Work of Art

Divine, Salvation, Sanctification

In The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis writes of how pain can refine us and how though we would wish for it less, yet…

Proof of Purchase

Christian Life, Discipleship, Salvation, Sanctification

Have you ever tried to return something to the store without a receipt? It can sometimes be a hassle, because your receipt is the easiest…

Happily-Ever-After Moments

Christian Living, Growth, Movies, Sanctification

In a movie or sitcom, so many of life’s problems or grand adventures happen in less than three hours. One short montage wraps up…

A Balanced Approach

Faith, Forgiveness, Gift, Grace, Salvation, Sanctification, Sin

Recidivism is a problem in the American justice system. Recidivism refers to the likelihood of an individual who has been released committing a crime…

Our Need For Grace

Forgiveness, God's Love, Grace, Love, New Creation, New Life, Salvation, Sanctification, Sin, Struggles

Brennan Manning was a Franciscan priest who struggled with alcoholism. Eventually, his alcoholism led him out of the priesthood. It may come as a…

Use The Tools

Application, Overcoming, Power, Purpose, Salvation, Sanctification, Transformation, Victory

Imagine going to the tech store and inquiring about the latest smartphone. The tech guy begins to explain all of its many features, and…

Rate of Success

Effort, God's Plan, God's Will, Growth, Patience, Preparation, Process, Quick Fix, Sanctification

Isn’t it incredible to think that, in our day, we have access to just about anything and can get just about anything we want…

Running The Race

1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Acts 9:1-19, Colossians 1:11, Endurance, Growing, Hebrews 10:36, Hebrews 12:1-3, Matthew 24:13, Paul, Philippians 3:12, Philippians 3:13-14, Salvation, Sanctification, Strength

Olympic runner Dave Wottle can teach us something about running a race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=120Bi0vhRPg. In the Bible, the Apostle Paul describes the process of sanctification (growing…

Becoming Who You Are

1 John 3:1, 1 Peter 2:2, 2 Peter 3:18, Adoption, Children of God, Christlikeness, Ephesians 4:13-16, Galatians 3:26, Growth, John 1:12, Maturity, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13, Philippians 3:12, Sanctification

This video from Oprah Winfrey shows those first moments when a baby bird is nudged out of the nest by its mother and takes…