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  • illustration

    “Three Dollars Worth of Gospel, Please”

    Author
    D. A. Carson
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Mark 8:34-35, 1 John 3:16-18, Matthew 5:43-44, Romans 12:1-2, Luke 14:26-27, Matthew 28:19-20
    I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please. Not too much– just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted. I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hat...

  • illustration

    At the End of the Rope

    Author
    Elie Wiesel
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Matthew 27:45-46, Hebrews 4:15-16, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Romans 8:18, Isaiah 53:3-5, Psalm 34:18
    Elie Wiesel was a survivor of the dreaded Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz. He wrote of his experiences in the book The Night. In that book he relates the harrowing story of two Jewish men and a Jewi...

  • illustration

    The King and the Beggar

    Author
    Elisabeth Elliot
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Proverbs 19:17, Acts 20:35, Matthew 6:19-21, Proverbs 11:25, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Luke 6:38
    There is an old story of a king who went into the village streets to greet his subjects. A beggar sitting by the roadside eagerly held up his alms bowl, sure that the king would give handsomely. Inste...

  • illustration

    There is News Today

    Author
    Fleming Rutledge
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Ephesians 6:10-11, 1 John 5:4-5, John 16:33, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 2:13-15, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, Romans 6:6-7
    But we must remember there is only way that we can participate in Christ’s victory over the demonic Powers. We can only do it by doing it his way. If we try to do it our way we will be back into the r...

  • illustration

    Do I Have a Choice?

    Author
    Francis Chan
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Psalm 73:25-26, Romans 8:28-30, John 6:44, Psalm 16:11, Deuteronomy 6:5
    While I was speaking to some college students recently, an interesting twist on the contrast between our unresponsiveness and God’s great desire for us came up. One student asked, “Why would a loving ...

  • illustration

    A Fabulous Tale to Proclaim

    Author
    Frederick Buechner
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Matthew 28:19-20, 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, Ephesians 6:19-20, 2 Corinthians 4:2-4, Romans 1:16, Mark 16:15
    With his fabulous tale to proclaim, the preacher is called in his turn to stand up in his pulpit as fabulist extraordinary, to tell the truth of the Gospel in its in its highest and wildest and holies...

  • illustration

    It’s Him, It’s Him!

    Author
    John Ortberg
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Psalm 19:1-6, Romans 1:20, Acts 17:26-28, Matthew 18:3, Proverbs 22:6, Luke 10:21
    Sofia Cavalletti is a researcher who has pioneered the study of spirituality in young children. She finds that children often have an amazing perception that far surpasses what they’ve already been ta...

  • illustration

    A Brook became an Ocean

    Author
    Louie Giglio
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Job 11:7-9, Ephesians 3:18-19, Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 11:33, Psalm 145:3, Isaiah 55:8-9
    Dan DeHaan, talked about man’s quest to grasp a full understanding of God’s character being like a boy following a trickling brook as it flowed downstream. Step by step, as he followed each babble and...

  • illustration

    Time To Quit Praying

    Author
    Mark Batterson
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Acts 20:35, Matthew 25:40, Galatians 6:9, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 3:27, 1 John 3:18, James 2:17
    Several years ago I was part of a small group with a friend who was working with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Georgetown University. As we shared prayer requests at the end of one of our meeti...

  • illustration

    Are Churches Like Zoos?

    Author
    Mark Batterson
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Ephesians 61:3, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Acts 4:29, Joshua 1:9, Matthew 10:16
    A decade ago I spent an unforgettable week in the Galapagos Islands. This archipelago of islands off the coast of Ecuador hasn’t changed much since Charles Darwin sailed there on trheHMS Beagle in Dec...

  • illustration

    Becoming a Tiller of Soil

    Author
    Mark D. Roberts
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Galatians 6:7, John 15:5, Matthew 13:23, Isaiah 28:24-26, Proverbs 12:11, Genesis 2:15
    One of my favorite sections of Home Depot is the power garden tool department. Even though I have all the tools I need, I still like browsing through Home Depot’s collection of power mowers, chainsaws...

  • illustration

    God’s Abundant Provision in Genesis 2

    Author
    Mark D. Roberts
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Genesis 2:16-17, Proverbs 3:10, Genesis 1:29, Psalm 23:1-2, Psalm 34:10, Philippians 4:19, James 1:17
    There is a tendency among readers and scholars of Genesis 2:16-17 to focus on the prohibition of verse 17: “but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.” …I want to pause to cons...

  • illustration

    Developing Deep Roots

    Author
    Mark D. Roberts
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Ephesians 3:16-17, Colossians 2:6-7, John 15:5, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Psalm 1:1-3
    A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I made the long drive from San Antonio, Texas, to Pasadena, California, where we now reside. We passed through hundreds of miles of southwestern desert, most of whic...

  • illustration

    Gardeners and Failure

    Author
    Michael Pollan
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Hebrews 12:11, Philippians 3:13-14, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Proverbs 24:16, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4
    All the accomplished gardeners I know are surprisingly comfortable with failure. They may not be happy about it, but instead of reacting with anger or frustration, they seem fairly intrigued by the pe...

  • illustration

    Sculpting God in our Image

    Author
    Michael Reeves
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Revelation 4:11, Colossians 1:16-17, Romans 11:33, Jeremiah 10:10, Psalm 115:3, Exodus 3:14, Isaiah 55:8-9
    The temptation to sculpt God according to our expectations and presuppositions, to make this God much like another, is strong with us. You see it all down through history: in the Middle Ages it seemed...

  • illustration

    A Gift’s Value

    Author
    Mike Cosper
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Matthew 25:40, Acts 4:32, Proverbs 3:27, 1 Corinthians 13:3, Romans 12:13
    A gift’s value is in the way it makes and reaffirms bonds between people. It’s an expression of a relationship. This isn’t to say that the cost of a gift doesn’t matter, but it certainly isn’t the mos...

  • illustration

    Turning a Gift into a Commodity

    Author
    Mike Cosper
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Hebrews 13:16, Matthew 6:3-4, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 19:17, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Acts 20:35
    The other way to destroy the relational bonds of gift giving is to turn a gift into a commodity. Let’s say it’s my birthday. Ten friends come over to my house, and we eat a good meal, and they all bri...

  • illustration

    Creating a Healthy Food Supply

    Author
    Norman Wirzba
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Romans 8:19-21, Matthew 6:26, Colossians 1:16, Leviticus 25:23, Proverbs 12:10, Psalm 24:1, Genesis 2:15
    Eating does not need to follow this commodified, industrial way. It can occur in contexts where people take deeper notice of and accept responsibility for what they eat. To appreciate what this sort o...

  • illustration

    Reading the Gospels for the First Time

    Author
    Os Guinness
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Revelation 3:15-16, Matthew 6:24, James 1:6-8, Luke 14:34-35, Revelation 2:4-5, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 1 Corinthians 1:18
    Thomas Linacre was king’s physician to Henry VII and Henry VIII of England, founder of the Royal College of Physicians, and friend of the great Renaissance thinkers Erasmus and Sir Thomas More. Late i...

  • illustration

    The Former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate Has a Question

    Author
    Peter Marshall
    Keywords
    Scripture
    1 John 2:3-4, Luke 11:28, John 14:15, Matthew 7:24-25, James 1:22
    I wonder what would happen if we all agreed to read one of the Gospels until we came to a place that told us to do something, then went out to do it, and only after we had done it, began reading again...

  • illustration

    The Biggest Misconception about Giving

    Author
    Randy Alcorn
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Mark 10:29-30, Proverbs 3:9-10, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Luke 6:38, Matthew 6:19-21
    What’s the biggest misconception Christians have about giving? That when we give money away to a church or ministry, or to help the needy, it’s gone. While we hope others will benefit from it, we’re q...

  • illustration

    The Difference Between a Cheerful and a Reluctant Giver

    Author
    Randy Alcorn
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Matthew 6:19-21, Proverbs 19:17, Acts 20:35, Malachi 3:10, Proverbs 11:24-25, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Luke 6:38
    Many Christians don’t give. Others determine to do their part but sigh deeply before writing a check to their church or ministry. They give strictly out of a sense of duty and obligation. Better to gi...

  • illustration

    Preaching on the Same Topic

    Author
    Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Matthew 6:19-21, Malachi 3:10, Acts 20:35, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 3:9-10, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
    John Chrystostom was an early church father and Bishop of Constantinople from 347-407. The name “Chrysostom” is not a surname, but rather an epithet “golden tongued,” given to him because of his excel...

  • illustration

    Seeing God in the Heavens

    Author
    Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Acts 17:24-25, Isaiah 40:22, Psalm 139:7-10, Colossians 1:16-17, Jeremiah 23:24, Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1
    Many of us westerners are familiar with the stories of the first Apollo missions and the “space race” with Russia. What we are less familiar with is the experience from the other side, from the Russia...

  • illustration

    What We Preach

    Author
    The Pastor's Workshop
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Revelation 2:4-5, Colossians 1:18, Philippians 2:8-11, Galatians 1:6-9, 1 Corinthians 2:2
    A strong church once inscribed these words on an archway leading to the churchyard. Over time, two things happened: the church lost its passion for Jesus and His gospel, and ivy began to grow on the a...

  • illustration

    The A to Z of the Christian Life

    Author
    Timothy Keller
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Colossians 1:9-10, Philippians 2:12-13, Ephesians 2:8-10, Galatians 2:20, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Romans 1:16
    The gospel is therefore not just the ABCs of the Christian life, but the A to Z of the Christian life. Our problems arise largely because we don’t continually return to the gospel to work it in and li...

  • illustration

    Following a King

    Author
    Timothy Keller
    Keywords
    Scripture
    1 Peter 2:21, Hebrews 12:2, Philippians 3:8-9, Revelation 17:14, Luke 9:23, John 10:27, Matthew 16:24
    The Gospel is not about choosing to follow advice, it’s about being called to follow a King. Not just someone with the power and authority to tell you what needs to be done—but someone with the power ...

  • illustration

    What God Do You Believe In?

    Author
    Timothy R. Jennings
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Galatians 5:22-23, Ephesians 3:17-19, Philippians 4:8, 1 John 4:16, Romans 12:2
    In The God-Shaped Brain , medical doctor Timothy Jennings various aspects of our God-given brains, how they function, and how they can be optimized for a full-life. In this excerpt, he describes the ...

  • illustration

    The Owner of the Universe

    Author
    Ben Witherington III
    Keywords
    Scripture
    2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Luke 12:33-34, Matthew 6:19-21, Proverbs 3:9-10, Deuteronomy 15:7-8, Leviticus 25:23, Psalm 24:1
    The biblical theology of creation is a negation of theories of private” property and “public” property, our theories of individual ownership and collective or governmental ownership. The biblical view...

  • illustration

    Americans Approach to Giving

    Author
    Chris Willard and Jim Sheppard
    Keywords
    Scripture
    Acts 20:35, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 3:9-10, Malachi 3:10, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
    In their book Passing the Plate (Oxford, 2008), Christian Smith and Michael Emerson introduce the phrase “discretionary obligation” as a way to understand the typical American Christian’s approach to ...
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