The Best Sermon Illustrations - More Than 2000 Stories In One

AAA Smartworld, 2019. – 1154 p.

 

 

A great preacher or teacher sends a message to the audience’s minds through windows. A sermon or lesson that is well-illustrated carries illuminates the chambers of the listener’s mind for better understanding. A sermon without illustrations is like a beautifully furnished room with no light. One can barely see its content nor appreciate its beauty.

 

Jesus Himself often used illustrations or parables when He taught or preached. This helped the listeners understanding. Therefore, preachers and teachers must strive to emulate His example for the gospel to be presented effectively.

 

This book is a source of more than two thousand illustrations. These cover different ages and genres. Preachers and teachers can freely pick choose how and where to use them. However, use these illustrations with discernment without distortion to the word of God. Always remain true and faithful to the Scriptures.

 

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

 

-2 Timothy 2:15

 

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A Choice Each Day

Charles Swindoll said: “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string that we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.”

 

Like Pharaoh, or Job?

What can make the difference in how we face our everyday trials, even our little ones, is our attitude. We can have the attitude of the Pharaoh of Egypt, who, when confronted by Moses and the ten plagues from God, grumbled, and griped, and became stubborn, causing more woes to come upon him. Or, that of Job, who at the loss of all his possessions, even his own health, succumbed to the will of God and remained faithful. That type of commitment to Christ will give us eternal life, happiness and joy.

 

Remember: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phi 4:13). “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom 8:28).

 

Reach

REACH!-meaning “to stretch.” It implies an inconvenience. It involves movement. You can’t lean back, relax, get comfortable-and then reach, without giving up some of the comfort (at least for a moment). Reaching involves a little extra effort to get to something you want. How much extra energy you are willing to spend depends on how badly you want what you’re reaching for. The more it means to you, the farther you are willing to stretch (even if it hurts).

 

It’s not convenient to “reach” up to God to find the hand He lovingly extends to us; or to reach out to other people who so desperately need to know someone cares. It’s not even easy to reach within ourselves to find our true feelings and values. But there is no more important way for us to spend our energy than to reach for a life that is pure, clean, and faithful to God. It may seem like a lot of trouble-but it’s worth it!

 

Lord of the Impossible

Research into the migratory habits of quail in the Middle East makes the miracle of the Lord’s provision all the more exciting. Each autumn, the birds fly from central Europe to Turkey. There they prepare for a crossing of the Mediterranean. The flight across the ocean is done in a single flight at a very high speed. Any bird that falters falls into the sea. When the birds approach the land, they drop down in altitude but maintain their high speed. As soon as they are over the coastland they land exhausted and completely drained. They lie motionless for hours while they regain their strength. For years Bedouins who lived near the coast harvested the easy prey. Recently a law was passed and enforced which prohibited quail trapping.

 

The amazing thing about the biblical account of the provision of the quail is that the birds must have kept flying until they reached the wilderness of Sinai. How did the quail know to fly on farther after their already exhausting flight? Only the Lord who created them could have pressed them on.

 

Just Stopped by for a Visit

When I was a boy, we had a neighbor lady who frequently came to the back door of our home. She never wasted any time coming to the point. Her words were always the same: “I just want to borrow (something).” The problem was she never came at any other time. My mother graciously let her have what she wanted, then she would be gone.

 

I know my mother never appreciated her as much as the other neighbors, but she never complained.

 

I often think of this lady when I hear some people pray. Some people never call on God until they want something. God is loving, and He probably gives them what they ask of Him. But would not it be a lot better if they would call on God at other times?

 

We had another neighbor who came frequently, and never asked for anything. She always started her conversation by saying, “Just stopped by for a visit.”

 

I think God would like us to do that, “Just stop by for a visit.” The next time you pray, why not do it-just for a visit?