illustrations
Enhance your next sermon.
Feeding on Truth Instead of Lies
Updated:Use to urge daily self-preaching of gospel truth over internalized lies. Effective as a response application after teaching on identity in Christ or walking by faith, not by sight.
Not in a Cage—On a Battlefield
Updated:Use to explain how believers can be truly free in Christ while still struggling. Perfect for sermons on sanctification, perseverance, or fighting sin without shame.
When the Gospel Becomes an Insurance Policy
Updated:Use to challenge a truncated view of salvation and invite people to apply the gospel to everyday struggles. Ideal before a discipleship call, small-group launch, or a series on identity in Christ.
Broadcast in Your Head
Updated:Use to call the church to daily renewal of the mind and Scripture meditation. Works well before a congregational Scripture reading or as an application in a sermon on faith under pressure.
The Lion in the Living Room
Updated:Use in messages about anger, repentance, and sanctification, especially addressing family dynamics. A strong on‑ramp to call for confession, accountability, and Spirit‑empowered self‑control.
The Lunch That Teaches Us to Pray
Updated:Use to encourage honest, unhurried prayer and lament—teaching people to bring specifics, not slogans, into God’s presence. Ideal in a series on prayer or as a transition into corporate intercession.
What Spills When You’re Jolted
Updated:Use in teaching on the tongue and heart transformation. Ideal before communion or a call to confession, emphasizing inner renewal over mere behavior management.
When Desire Poses as Virtue
Updated:Use to confront self-justification and moral relativism with a pastoral tone. Helpful in sermons on pride, repentance, and God’s authority over our desires.
A Thimble at the Ocean
Updated:Use when calling people from information to formation. Emphasize capacity building in the heart through regular engagement with the Psalms—receiving more so we can reflect more.
Fit Body, Untutored Soul
Updated:Use in men’s ministry or any call to holistic discipleship. Point to the Psalms as a daily ‘soul workout’—training in joy, lament, confession, and praise.