Sermon Illustrations on Relying On Jesus

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A Brazilian Intercessor

Author

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 2:1, Romans 8:34, Exodus 32:9-14, Hebrews 7:25, John 14:16-17

Max Lucado tells the story of an intercession he experienced in Brazil in 1983. The transition was difficult enough with culture shock, but it was not helped by the fact that their possessions were he...

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Was that God?

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 3:1-10, Exodus 13:21-22 , Matthew 18:1-5, John 14:25-27 , Psalm 121:

A little girl was traveling with her family on a long sleeper train. As night fell, she was put in the upper bunk and was reassured that God would look after her. When everyone started to doze off, th...

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More Than I Could Believe

Author

Mohandas K. Gandhi

Keywords

Rejecting Jesus

Scripture

John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, Colossians 1:19-20

It was more than I could believe that Jesus was the only incarnate Son of God, that only he who believed in him would have everlasting life…my reason was not ready to believe literally that Jesus by h...

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All Different Kinds of Jesus

Author

Kevin DeYoung

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:3, John 1:1-5, Matthew 16:13-20, John 14:6, Acts 4:12

There’s Republican Jesus who is against tax increases and activists judges, and for family values and owning firearms. There’s Democrat Jesus who is against Wall Street and Walmart, and for reducing ...

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The Three Options

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:6, Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 9:10-13, John 18:36, Luke 19:1-10

With a certain oversimplification we can trace easily enough the three options open to Jews in Jesus’ day. … First, the quietist and ultimately dualist option, taken by the writers of the Dead Sea Scr...

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Gaining Scholars but Losing Jesus

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 18:15 , Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 11:1–4, John 14:6–9 , Philippians 3:8–10, Psalm 34:8

A friend of mine, lecturing in a theological college in Kenya, introduced his students to “The Quest for the Historical Jesus.” This, he said, was a movement of thought and scholarship that in its ear...

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Christianity at its Core

Author

Andrew Purves

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:6, Philippians 3:8, Ephesians 2:13, 1 John 1:3, John 10:10, Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:15-17

Christianity at its core is not about subscription to a theological system or the authority of a sacred text or ethical perspectives, although they are all important. Christianity at its core is about...

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Defining the Gospel

Author

Carl Medearis

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:6, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Acts 4:12, Colossians 1:15-20, Galatians 2:21, Romans 10:9-10, Romans 6:23

I’ve been reading Donald Miller’s Searching for God Knows What . Miller took this point to an even further extreme. In his book, he tells a story about one occasion when he was speaking to a class at...

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The Governing Center of our Faith

Author

Michael Reeves

Keywords

Christianity

Scripture

Revelation 1:4-5, Ephesians 1:13-14, John 14:26, Colossians 2:9, 2 Corinthians 13:14

That which distinguishes Christianity has not been stolen. For what makes Christianity absolutely distinct is the identity of our God. Which God we worship: that is the article of faith that stands be...

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The Power of Miracles in the Early Church

Author

Michael Green

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 16:17-20, Acts 14:3, Acts 5:12-16, Romans 15:18-19, John 14:12, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Acts 2:43, Acts 1:8, Ephesians 1:19-21, Psalm 22:28

One key difference between much of the early church vs. the church of today (at least in the West) was the belief in, and regular experience of, miracles. As Joel Green, the noted professor and writer...

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The Ministry of Absence

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

Keywords

Control

Scripture

Isaiah 30:15, Psalm 46:10, 2 Corinthians 4:18, Romans 8:26, John 14:26, 1 John 16:7

The other thing that helps me deal with my compulsion to control things through my direct involvement and my fear of missing out is what Henri Nouwen has called “the ministry of absence.” Jesus modele...

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A Trinitarian Deficit Disorder

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:9, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3, 2 Corinthians 4:4-6, Luke 19:10

A student of mine, Josiah Brown, oversees the student outreach team. He and some of our students go to youth groups to teach the youth about Christian spiritual formation. They talk about what formati...

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The Genius Of Jesus

Author

John Stott

Keywords

Discipleship

Scripture

Philippians 2:13, 2 Corinthians 3:18, John 14:23, Romans 8:11, Galatians 2:20

It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a new play just like it. Shakespeare could do it; I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus a...

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Losing Faith but Missing Jesus

Author

Lee Strobel

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:5-8, 2 Corinthians 5:21, John 14:6, Isaiah 55:8-9, Romans 8:38-39

Charles Templeton was a close friend and preaching associate of Billy Graham in the 1940s. He effectively preached the gospel to large crowds in major arenas. However, intellectual doubts began to nag...

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Following Jesus Requires Real Commitment

Author

Bradley Long

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-8, Matthew 22:37, Romans 12:1-2, Luke 14:26-27, Deuteronomy 6:5, Luke 16:13, Mark 12:30, John 14:15, Matthew 16:24-26, Luke 9:59-62, Matthew 6:24, Hebrews 11:13-16, Hebrews 10:38-39, Matthew 6:33-34, Matthew 10:37-39

What are you willing to do for love? An instructor for the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course shared with a class the major hang-up he had to get over before asking his wife to ma...

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A Trinitarian Deficit Disorder

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:9, Colossians 1:15, John 10:30, 1 John 4:8-16, Romans 8:32

A student of mine, Josiah Brown, oversees the student outreach team. He and some of our students go to youth groups to teach the youth about Christian spiritual formation. They talk about what formati...

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A Pastor Speaks Healing

Author

Rob Reimer

Keywords

Scripture

James 5:14-15, Mark 16:17-18, Acts 4:29-30, John 14:12, 2 Corinthians 5:7

I grew up in a church where healing never happened. We had theology that Jesus healed, but I never saw anyone healed growing up in the church. One day, I’m a pastor, and I decide we have to move beyon...

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The End of Jesus’ Ministry?

Author

Andrew Purves

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 7:24-25, Acts 2:32-33, John 14:16-18, Colossians 1:27, 2 Corinthians 13:5

The ministry of Jesus does not end with his resurrection. In his ascension, he does not abandon his humanity. He is not the ascended Lord apart from everything that has happened between his incarnatio...

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Jesus the Irresistible One

Author

John Stott

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 1:19-20, Romans 8:1-2, Luke 7:36-50, 1 Corinthians 1:18, Mark 10:45, Matthew 20:20-28, John 14:6

In his seminal work, The Cross of Christ , British pastor and author John Stott describes the unique, upside-down kingdom instituted on the cross: ‘Irresistible’ is the very word an Iranian stude...

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Do Not Be Afraid

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 10:28, Matthew 14:27, John 14:27, Luke 12:32, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 23:4, Deuteronomy 31:6, 2 Timothy 1:7

The Gospels list some 125 Christ-issued imperatives. Of these, 21 urge us to “not be afraid” or “not fear” or “have courage” or “take heart” or “be of good cheer.” The second most common command, to l...

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The Protestant Buddhists

Author

Michael Reeves

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 18:9-14, Ephesians 1:7, John 14:6, Psalm 23:1, John 17:3, Titus 3:4-5

In his insightful book, Delighting in the Trinity , Michael Reeves shares an interesting point of connection between the Protestant understanding of sola grati discovered by Francis Xavier during...

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How Do You Recognize a Christian?

Author

Randy Alcorn

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:34-35, Luke 6:27-28, John 14:6, Philippians 2:5-8, 1 John 4:9-11, Ephesians 2:8-9, Psalm 103:8-12

A friend sat down in a small London restaurant and picked up a menu. “What will it be?” the waiter asked. Studying the puzzling selections, my friend said, “Uhh …” The waiter smiled. “Oh, a Yank. What...

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The Forgotten French Soldier

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 142:4-5, Isaiah 49:15-16, Psalm 34:18, Hebrews 4:15, Matthew 28:20, John 14:18, Romans 8:38-39, Lamentations 3:21-23, Psalm 40:1-12

This story is probably apocryphal, but conveys a truth nonetheless. During the early 19th century, following the Napoleonic Wars, a French soldier was captured and imprisoned. He was thrown into a...

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The Holy Spirit Births Faith

Author

Tim Chester and Christopher de la Hoyde

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 1:23, Titus 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 8:15-16, 1 John 5:6-8, John 14:15-17, John 7:37-39

Hannah was one of my wife’s work colleagues. She used to love spending time with our congregation, but she found the gospel message just plain weird. We did some Bible studies with her over the summer...

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Seeing Through the Lens of Jesus

Author

Shane Claiborne

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 2:9, John 14:9, Hebrews 1:3, John 1:18, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Philippians 2:6-7

By the way, I have terrible eyesight. When I don’t have my glasses on, I can see shapes and forms and colors, but not much else. And that’s sort of what I think it’s like to look at God without Jesus....

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Is Faith Blind?

Author

John Piper

Keywords

Faith

Scripture

Psalm 19:1-2, 2 Timothy 1:12, John 14:11, Proverbs 3:5-6, James 2:18, Romans 1:20, 1 Peter 3:15

In his book, A Peculiar Glory , John Piper provides an illustration of the kind of faith we are called to. This is no “blind faith,” in which we are supposed to simply believe without using our minds...

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The Crucial Thing

Author

Søren Kierkegaard

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 22:37-39, 1 Corinthians 8:1-3, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Colossians 1:9-10, Philippians 3:10-14, James 1:22, John 14:21

In a journal entry by the Danish Philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, the great existentialist philosopher describes the importance not simply of grasping the truth of the Christian faith, but having the tr...

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Looking Back to Find the Way Out

Author

Casey K. Tygrett

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:26, Revelation 2:5, Philippians 1:3, Isaiah 46:9, 2 Peter 1:12-15

Barbara Brown Taylor recounts her first experience with caving, the exploration of caves that are not prepared or made easily accessible for inexperienced explorers. Her guides gave her a bit of helpf...

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The Self-Miniaturization Of God

Author

Frederick Dale Bruner

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 1:15, John 1:14, Hebrews 1:3, John 14:9, Philippians 2:6-7

Origen, in the third century, had a great analogy. He told of a village with a huge statue—so immense you couldn’t see exactly what it was supposed to represent. Finally, someone miniaturized the stat...

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Rescue from the Dark

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 2:1-4, Acts 1:8, John 16:13, John 14:16-17, Romans 8:26-27

Max Lucado likens the coming of the Spirit to a dramatic rescue. Recall the twelve boys trapped in the Tham Luang cave in Thailand in 2018 for eighteen days? Imagine how they felt when the first rescu...

Sermon Illustrations on relying on jesus

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