illustrations
Enhance your next sermon.
The Heavy Heart, Open Mouth
Updated:Use in a discipleship or response time to model obedience in worship when hearts are heavy. It reinforces that participation can be an act of faith anchored in God’s unchanging worth.
Applause on a Hard Day
Updated:Use to encourage congregational response when energy is low. It shows how praise can be an act of faith based on God’s worth, not our emotional temperature.
From Deserve to Deserves: The Mid-Song Pivot
Updated:Use when teaching on humility in worship and redirecting attention from self to God. It helps congregants drop self-condemnation and engage by focusing on God’s unchanging worth.
Gratitude Before the Feeling
Updated:Use during an application moment to teach a practical gratitude practice when emotions are flat. Emphasizes discipline in thanksgiving and how attention shapes affection.
The Backstage Whisper That Recentered My Worship
Updated:Use this during a call to worship to reframe the room’s focus—from self-assessment to God’s worth. It teaches dependence on God’s worthiness over our feelings and invites people to participate even on hard days.
Busy Is the New 'Fine'
Updated:Use this when calling people from hurry into presence—Sabbath, prayer, or altar ministry. The takeaway: rest isn’t the reward for completing tasks; it’s received from God and reorders how we carry those tasks.
Platform Vs. Posture
Updated:Preach this when addressing humility, spiritual covering, or leadership health. The takeaway: rest flows from being led; authority is healthiest when rooted in teachability and honor.
From Promotion to Presence
Updated:Use this to call a room from distraction into focus—before a sermon, during worship, or at the start of a retreat. Takeaway: choose presence over constant promotion; prioritize God’s voice over the next event.
Tell Your Neighbor: Rest Is On the Way
Updated:Use this to activate congregational ministry—prayer moments, small groups, altar calls. Takeaway: encouragement travels best person-to-person; put hope in each other’s mouths.
The Wiggle-Your-Legs Reset
Updated:Great for teaching sustainable pace, Sabbath habits, or leadership care. The point: strategic micro-rests protect mission; brief, intentional pauses increase endurance and receptivity.