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  • illustration

    Snake Bitten

    Author
    Robert G. Morgan
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Hebrews 2:null
    According to doctors at the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, rattlesnakes thought to be dead can still strike, bite, and kill you. Doctors in Phoenix said they have a large ...

  • illustration

    Wise as Serpents

    Author
    James Bryan Smith
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Matthew 10:16
    In his excellent Apprentice Series books on Discipleship, author Jame Bryan Smith details a conversation he once had with Dallas Willard: Dallas Willard once quoted this verse [Mt 10:16, “be as wise ...

  • illustration

    Jesus and Iron Man

    Author
    Casey Clark
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Numbers 21:4-9, Isaiah 53:, John 3:14-15 , Matthew 12:38-41, Psalm 107:23-32
    The symbol of judgment and death, the serpent, is lifted up as Israel’s symbol of life. Jesus draws this parallel for us in John, hinting toward the way the tool of Roman execution, the cross, will be...

  • illustration

    Doubt and Trust

    Author
    James Bryan Smith
    Keywords
    Michael Polanyi brilliantly points out that we cannot doubt something without simultaneously trusting in something else. Eve began to doubt God—more importantly her relationship with God—at the same m...

  • illustration

    God's Image: Our True Identity

    Author
    Chuck DeGroat
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 3:1-7, Romans 7:14-25, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 51:10
    God formed us in his image — a glorious thought! — but we all participate in the abandonment of that original identity…Does that mean that your precious little child is a dirty rotten sinner, as some ...

  • illustration

    The Covenants of Scripture

    Author
    Merrill F. Unger
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Hebrews 13:20, Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:14-19, Genesis 3:14, Genesis 8:20-9, Genesis 9:5-6, Genesis 12:1-3, Galatians 3:16, John 8:56-58, 2 Corinthians 3:7-9, Deuteronomy 30:1-10, Deuteronomy 30:1, 2 Samuel 7:4-17, Luke 1:31-33, Acts 1:6, Revelation 19:16, Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, Hebrews 8:8-12, Galatians 3:13-20
    Eternal covenant, Heb 13:20—The redemptive covenant before time began, between the Father and the Son. By this covenant we have eternal redemption, an eternal peace from the ‘God of peace’, through th...

  • illustration

    Saying “Thy Kingdom Come”

    Author
    Hugh Latimer
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Luke 21:25
    There are a great number among the Christian people, who, in the Lord’s prayer, when they pray, “Thy kingdom come,” pray that this day may come; but yet, nonetheless, they are drowned in the world: th...

  • illustration

    Our Brains on the Internet

    Author
    Nicholas G. Carr
    Keywords
    Sometime in 2007, a serpent of doubt slithered into my info paradise. I began to notice that the Net was exerting a much stronger and broader influence over me than my old stand-alone PC ever had. It ...

  • illustration

    When You Encounter a Snake…

    Author
    Hannah Anderson
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Genesis 3:14-15, Romans 16:20, Isaiah 11:8-9, John 3:14-15, Revelation 12:9
    When you encounter a snake… catch your breath, calm your heart, and watch it for a few seconds before it glides out of sight. If you do, you’ll see one of the most unexpected, and unnerving, spectacle...

  • illustration

    Until the Snake Has No Head

    Author
    Ann Voskamp
    Keywords
    My grandad told me a story once and that story became a light. A light that unlocks the dark and releases you into the land of a thousand suns. Apparently, so the story went, there had been a tropical...

  • illustration

    The Snake in the Cell

    Author
    Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Isaiah 41:10, 1 John 4:18, 2 Timothy 1:7, Proverbs 29:25, Psalm 34:4
    John O’Donahue, in his book, Walking in Wonder, shares a story from India that is thousands of years old, but just as relevant today as it was back then. It’s about a man who was forced to spend a nig...

  • illustration

    A Venomous Creature At Your Bosom

    Author
    Frederick Douglass
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Matthew 25:40, Jeremiah 22:3, James 2:1, Psalm 82:3-4, Micah 6:8
    Frederick Douglass describes how the evils of slavery and racism acts as a sap on the integrity of both our country and our faith in a God where there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free: Fello...

  • illustration

    Eagles and Reptiles

    Author
    John Wesley
    Keywords
    The highest offices of the state and church resemble a pyramid whose top is accessible to only two sorts of animals-eagles and reptiles.

  • illustration

    The Scorpion and the Turtle

    Author
    Source Unknown
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Romans 6:6, Galatians 5:17, Ephesians 4:22, John 8:34, Romans 3:23
    One lazy afternoon day a turtle was swimming happily along a lake. As the turtle was nearing land he heard a scorpion hail it from the muddy shore. A scorpion, being a very poor swimmer, asked the tur...

  • illustration

    A Roaring Lion in Context

    Author
    Kyle Winkler
    Keywords
    Scripture
    1 Peter 5:8
    When you imagine a lion, what comes to your mind? For me, I envision a lion’s strong, giant, catlike torso that is covered with a tan coat and moving with a cocky strut. I see his unflinching facial e...

  • illustration

    The Scorpion and the Old Woman

    Author
    Joan Chittister
    Keywords
    Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun, tells the following Sufi story. Once upon a time there was an old woman who used to meditate on the bank of the Ganges. One morning, finishing her meditatio...

  • illustration

    The Perversion of Pleasure

    Author
    Jared C. Wilson
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Genesis 1:31, 1 Timothy 4:4-5, James 1:17, Romans 1:25, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Psalm 16:11, 1 Timothy 6:17
    In his classic fictional work on spiritual warfare, The Screwtape Letters , C. S. Lewis imagined a senior demon (Screwtape) corresponding with one of his protégés (his nephew Wormwood) as the latte...

  • illustration

    Obey Me Instantly

    Author
    Jack Crabtree
    Keywords
    Bible teacher Donald Grey Barnhouse (1895-1960) told the following story: A young son of a missionary couple in Zaire was playing in the yard. Suddenly the voice of the boy’s father rang out from the ...

  • illustration

    Beneath the Surface

    Author
    Ruth Haley Barton
    Keywords
    Recently I took a trip to Florida for a week by myself—to rest, walk the beach and swim in the ocean every day. I knew it was a bit risky to swim alone, and on occasion it crossed my mind that if I di...

  • illustration

    It’s Your Dream

    Author
    Tom Costa
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Isaiah 41:13 , Daniel 6:16-23 , Exodus 14:13-14 , Psalm 34:4, Matthew 14:25-31, 2 Timothy 1:7
    An elderly man had horrible nightmares, the same event happening over and over in his dreams. He would dream that an enormous green dragon was chasing him, and he would become frantic. Then, just abou...

  • illustration

    Aslan Comes and Goes

    Author
    C. S. Lewis
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Psalm 147:5, Jeremiah 10:12, Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalm 104:24, Job 38:4-7
    “He’ll be coming and going” he had said. “One day you’ll see him and another you won’t. He doesn’t like being tied down–and of course he has other countries to attend to. It’s quite all right. He’ll o...

  • illustration

    Cat and Mouse Games

    Author
    Max Lucado
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Genesis 3:14-15, Job 1:6-12, Isaiah 14:12-15, Colossians 2:13-15, Luke 10:18-19, Psalm 91:13
    My friend Carter Conlon has ministered in New York City for more than two decades. Yet he spent many of his early years on a farm. He recalls a barnyard scene that illustrates the status of Satan. A f...

  • illustration

    Descent and Resurrection

    Author
    C. S. Lewis
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Philippians 2:null, 1 Corinthians 15:22, Romans 6:4, John 12:24, Luke 24:5-6, Matthew 20:28
    In the Christian story God descends to reascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity; down further still, if embryologists are right, to reca...

  • illustration

    Sin and Trees

    Author
    John Stott
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 6:6, Galatians 5:16-17, Psalm 51:10, Jeremiah 17:9, John 8:34
    Sin not only alienates; it enslaves. It separates us from God and it also brings us into captivity. We need now to consider the ‘inwardness’ of sin. It is more than the wrong things we do; it is a dee...

  • illustration

    The Devil Buried the Bones

    Author
    Austin Fischer
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Genesis 1:null, Revelation 21:4, Philippians 4:6-7, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Romans 8:38-39, John 1:5, Isaiah 40:31
    And I was reminded of an event from my father’s childhood: He was in a Sunday school class, listening to his teacher expound on Genesis 1 and a young earth, and asked his teacher how to make sense o...

  • illustration

    The Poison Garden

    Author
    The Pastor's Workshop
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Genesis 2:8-9; 3:1-7, Deuteronomy 30:19-20, 2 Kings 4:38-41, John 12:24, Romans 6:23, Psalm 1:3-4
    In the north of England, there's a beautiful garden. It's full of delicate wildflowers, extravagant blossoms, verdant climbing vines, and tumbling water features. Like so many gems of English ...

  • illustration

    God’s Menagerie of Beautiful Creatures

    Author
    John Eldredge
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Psalm 96:11-12, Revelation 21:1, Romans 8:21, Isaiah 65:17, Psalm 148:7-10, Job 38:7, Genesis 1:31
    We were in London watching the musical The Lion King. Surely you’ve seen the movie; the opening number is worth watching again this week to help your imagination seize the new earth with both hands. A...

  • illustration

    The Two Equal and Opposite Errors

    Author
    C. S. Lewis
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Matthew 4:10, James 4:7, 2 Corinthians 11:14, Ephesians 6:11-12, 1 Peter 5:8
    There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest...

  • illustration

    The Wild Soul

    Author
    Parker J. Palmer
    Keywords
    The soul is like a wild animal—tough, resilient, resourceful, savvy, self-sufficient. It knows how to survive in hard places. But it is also shy. Just like a wild animal, it seeks safety in the dense ...

  • illustration

    Thirty-one New Testament Descriptions of Sinful Mankind

    Author
    L. Meredith
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Ephesians 4:18, John 12:40, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 2:11, Romans 8:6, Matthew 7:17-18, 1 Timothy 6:5, Matthew 6:23, John 3:19, Romans 1:21, 1 John 1:6-7, John 5:24, Colossians 2:13, 1 Timothy 5:6, 1 John 3:14, Titus 3:3, Isaiah 64:6, Titus 1:15, 2 Peter 2:20, Revelation 22:11, Romans 1:18, Matthew 7:23, Ephesians 2:3, James 4:4, Matthew 6:22, John 3:20, Matthew 7:26, Ephesians 5:15, 1 Peter 2:25, Matthew 6:2, Romans 2:5, Hebrews 3:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:12, 2 Timothy 3:4, 1 John 2:15, Romans 1:30, 1 Timothy 6:4, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5, John 3:35, 2 Timothy 4:4, Acts 7:51, John 8:44, 2 Timothy 3:2, Revelation 3:17, John 3:34, Romans 6:16-17, Romans 1:25, John 8:33, Romans 7:7, 1 Corinthians 6:9
    Alienated from God (Eph. 4:18). Blind (John 12:40; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 2:11). Carnally or fleshly minded (Rom. 8:6, 13). Corrupt (Matt. 7:17-18; 1 Tim. 6:5). Darkened (Matt. 6:23; John 3:19; Rom. 1...
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