illustrations
Enhance your next sermon.
Flat Out With a Quiet Heart
Updated:Use when speaking to high-capacity, driven people to show that contentment isn’t laziness; it’s a settled heart in a full life. Great for a vision Sunday or leadership talk on pace, presence, and trust over hurry.
The Coffee Hour Diagnosis
Updated:Use to name the cultural moment and invite the church to be a non-anxious presence. Fits an opening to a series on contentment, peacemaking, or public witness.
The Vacation Photo That Stole My Joy
Updated:Use when addressing envy and social media-fueled comparison. Ideal before a gratitude practice challenge or a call to bless others’ wins without resentment.
At the Dinner Table: Choosing What to Praise
Updated:Use this to demonstrate gratitude in everyday relationships and how speech reshapes atmosphere. Fits a section on contentment, marriage/family talks, or community life in the church.
Boom Box at the Red Light
Updated:Use this to illustrate peace under pressure and the difference between circumstance and choice. Works well before prayer, in a message on anxiety, or as a setup to Philippians 4:6–7 on guarding the heart.
The Equalizer in Your Soul
Updated:Use this when teaching contentment and focus: we choose what we amplify—God’s mercies or our crosses. Great for a transition into thanksgiving or a call to reframe negative thinking in pastoral counseling.
Two Commentators: Spirit vs. The Accuser
Updated:Use this when teaching discernment and the battle for the mind. Great for opening a sermon on contentment or as a practical cue for daily devotions.
Worrying on Your Knees
Updated:Use this to teach prayer with thanksgiving versus complaint-only prayer. Ideal for altar calls, prayer nights, or discipleship on transforming anxiety into worshipful trust.
Fired on Friday, Housed by Mercy
Updated:Use for offerings, hospitality appeals, or testimonies of God’s provision. Takeaway: God often sustains His servants through the generosity of His people—stewardship as partnership in the gospel.
A Smaller Room, A Larger Faithfulness
Updated:Use when challenging motives in ministry or serving without recognition. Takeaway: contentment comes from being faithful where you are, not from chasing a bigger stage—obedience over optics.