Curated Sermon Illustrations from John 5

Have you ever seen As Good As It Gets, the late-nineties film starring Jack Nicholson? In it, Nicholson plays a cranky, misanthropic writer in New York City, snapping at anyone who crosses his path.

Though wealthy, he lives in self-imposed isolation, trapped by an endless list of phobias—he avoids sidewalk cracks, refuses to reuse a bar of soap, and shuns physical contact. His life is a rigid cycle: the same restaurant, the same table, the same meal, served by the same waitress.

When his anxieties finally push him to seek professional help, he steps into a waiting room full of troubled patients. Looking around, overwhelmed, he sighs deeply before voicing the question that lingers with many long after the credits roll: “Is this as good as it gets?”