Sin – Page 3 – Sermon Illustration Ideas

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…

Stolen Joy

Commandments, Following God, Sin, Stealing, Ten Commandments

There was a man who lived across the street from an abandoned home. Every spring the most beautiful daffodils and tulips would bloom in…

A Different Approach

Grace, Jesus's Death, Salvation, Sin, The Law

Sometimes, searching for the answer to the same old problem requires an absolutely different method. In Red (directed by Robert Schwentke [Summit Entertainment, 2010]),…

The Lost Sea Lion

Complacency, habits, Sin, The Heart

The challenge of recognizing our sin comes in the fact that we normalize it. It becomes a habit. In his book The Journey of…

Changing The Fruit

Fruit, Fruit of the Spirit, Sin, Tempation, The Heart, The Spirit

You can’t change an apple tree into a banana tree by plucking all the apples off, and hoping bananas grow instead. To replace the…

Our “Stand-In”

Atonement, Forgiveness, Jesus, Propitiation, Sacrifice, Salvation, Sin

Glenn Duhigg, a stand-in actor for Tom Cruise on the set of the movie Mission Impossible 2, explains, “It sounds very glamorous saying you’re…

White As Snow

Forgiveness, Grace, Redemption, Repentance, Salvation, Sin

Charles Spurgeon described his experience of forgiveness this way: “My life was full of sorrow and wretchedness, believing that I was lost. But, oh,…

The Pervasiveness of Sin

Death, Sin, Sinful Nature, Temptation, The Heart, The mind

The power of sin shapes and colors everything. Author James B. Nelson links his alcoholism with the pervasiveness of sin. How he describes addiction and…

System Failure

Death, Design, Romans, Sin, Temptation

Using the example of a computer virus, writer Will Timmins writes on Romans 7: “Like a computer virus, sin has entered inside the system (‘living…

Breathing Again

Breathing, David, Forgiveness, Redemption, Restoration, Sin

Have you ever almost drowned or known someone who has been in that position? It’s a pretty frightening scenario to be in. In that situation,…

Collateral Damage

Community, Damage, Sin, Temptation

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Edmund Pevensie allows jealousy and anger to bring him to betray his siblings to the White Witch, even…

The Lure of Sin

Overcoming Sin, Sin, Temptation, Trap

The fishing lure is an enticing bait designed to attract fish, yet it hides a dangerous hook. In the same way, the devil wants to…

Trespasses

Forgiveness, Salvation, Sin, transgressions, Trespass, Trespasses

Apart from Christ, we’re dead in our transgressions and sins. To trespass is to enter into a place you ought not go. You can…

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…

Big Difference

Forgiveness, Grace, Knowing God, Relationship with God, Salvation, Scripture, Sin, Understanding

Do you know about the Lord, or do you know the Lord? The difference between these two questions is as big as the Grand…

Stagnate

Christian Walk, Complacency, Destruction, Faith, Growth, Maturity, Sin, Soul, Stagnate, The Heart

When water stagnates and is not active in any way, there is all kinds of potential for rotten things like diseases and the insects…

Gospel View

Creation, God's Plan, Human History, Jesus, Narrative, Redeemed, Redemption, Salvation, Sin, The Bible, The Gospel, The World

The gospel goes beyond individuals being saved from their sins and going to heaven after they die. The gospel involves the full scope of…

Before & After

Death, Destruction, Fixer UPper, God's Love, Grace, Life, Mercy, New Life, Repentance, Restoration, Salvation, Sin

This before-and-after photo comparison from the TV show Fixer Upper shows the incredible restoration of an old, dilapidated house (https://www.hgtv.com/shows/fixer-upper/fixer-upper-takes-on-a-vintage-tiny-house-pictures). This isn’t just an…

Silent Sacrament

1 John 1:9, Acts 3:19, Compassion, Condemnation, Confession, Evangelism, Forgiveness, Galatians 6:2, James 4:8, James 5:16, John 15:12, Psalm 32:5, Reaching the Lost, Repentance, Romans 10:9, Romans 3:23-24, Sin

We have the ability to share the presence of God with others and to impart the comfort God provides. Pastor Skye Jethani tells the…