sermon-illustrations
Inspirational Sermon Illustrations on Journeys
Explore powerful illustrations on journeys. Discover stories, analogies, humor and more as you bring your sermon to life.
Featured Illustration
Rejoice for the Ship Returning
In a time where leader after leader's calls end in disgrace, it is helpful to remember that finishing, not starting, is what is most important. The following story illustrates this well:
Two ships sailed in a harbor: one setting out on a voyage, the other returning to port. The crowd cheered for the departing ship, while the arriving one went unnoticed. Observing this, a wise man said,
"Do not rejoice for a ship departing, for you do not know the perils it may face. Instead, rejoice for the ship that has returned safely with its passengers." Similarly, in life, we celebrate a child's birth and mourn a person's death. Yet, perhaps it makes more sense to rejoice at life's end rather than its beginning. The future of a newborn is uncertain, but when someone dies, they have completed their journey.
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Watching the Same Movie Over and Over Again
I met a man who watches The Lord of the Rings movies every night. When he told me this I pushed back: “Every night?” He said that when he gets off work he goes home, fixes his dinner, turns on the m... -
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Gandalf: I am looking for someone to share in an adventure
Gandalf: I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone. Bilbo: I should think so—in these parts! We are plain, quiet folk and have n... -
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Not Getting Comfortable
Sir Ewan Cameron of Lochiel (1629–1719) was a legendary Scottish Highland chieftain, famously reputed to have killed the last wolf in Scotland. Known for his fierce leadership and rugged Highland spir... -
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Following the Sunstone
Vikings made long open-sea voyages when most European cultures were sticking close to the coasts. This allowed them to reach Iceland, Greenland, and even the tip of North America. But this was long be... -
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One Mile at a Time
Journalist Eric Severeid recalls a valuable lesson he learned at seventeen while preparing for an ambitious journey. He and a friend had set out to canoe from Minneapolis to the historic fur-trading p... -
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The Flight to Nowhere
The "flight to nowhere" sold out in just ten minutes, with Qantas Airways declaring it the fastest-selling ticket in the airline's history. By nature, humans are constantly on the move, ... -
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Beyond the Darkness of Their Blindness
One of the biggest challenges in the Christian journey is grasping the heart of grace. Oftentimes there is an internal battle between our theology and our lived experience. In this short excerpt, Fred... -
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Jesus Discerned Between Invitations
Jesus knew his spiritual journey depended on responsiveness to God’s invitations. Although his job was the most crucial in human history, Jesus did not get compulsive, preoccupied or unable to practic... -
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The Two Pilgrims
Tolstoy’s tale "The Two Pilgrims" describes two Russians on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, eager to attend the solemn Easter festivities. One pilgrim was so focused on reaching the destination t... -
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Rejoice for the Ship Returning
In a time where leader after leader's calls end in disgrace, it is helpful to remember that finishing, not starting, is what is most important. The following story illustrates this well: Two ship... -
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Tell us about Being a Christian
In Soul-Making , Allen Jones shares an intriguing visit to the Coptic Monastery of St. Macarius out in the Egyptian desert. There, he meets Father Jeremiah, a monk who spins tales of the desert fathe... -
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The Slowness is the Point
[T]he old adage “it’s the journey, not the destination that matters most” is particularly true of modern pilgrimage. If the destination is the point, I can get to Santiago from anywhere in the world i... -
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Not All Who Wander are Lost
In the novel The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien, there is a poem called the “Riddle of Strider.” One stanza goes like this: All that is gold does not glitter; Not all who wan... -
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A Long Trek for an Interview
We think it's difficult to apply for jobs today, what about a hundred years ago when traveling did not mean jumping on a flight or the interstate. Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain once tra... -
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Plus Ultra: There is more Beyond
Before Columbus crossed the Atlantic, many believed the world ended somewhere beyond Gibraltar, reflected in Spain’s royal motto: “Ne Plus Ultra,” meaning, “there is no more beyond.” But when Columb... -
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Only the Penitent Man Shall Pass
With the recent release of a new installment in the Indiana Jones movie series, our family decided to re-watch the original trilogy (I like to act as though Kingdom of the Crystal Skull never existe... -
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Packing for Passage on the Mayflower
Many of us struggle to know exactly what to pack when we go on our various travels. The Pilgrims in their voyage to the new world were no different. As Bill Bryson describes in his book Made in Americ... -
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There and Back Again, A Human Tale
Let us begin with a question. Do you really know how to enjoy the world? Do you know how to enjoy yourself? One of the greatest parables in the New Testament has to do with the search for enjoyment an... -
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The Valley of the Shadow of Death
In his excellent study of the famous Biblical passage on shepherds, ( The Good Shepherd: A Thousand Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament ) , scholar Ken Bailey provides context to the 23... -
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The Greatness of Roads
One could spend long hours making a list of great human achievements-from the wheel to the great cathedrals to the discovery of DNA and the development of computers-and Ivet leave out one of the most ... -
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How Did I Get Here?
In John Perkins’ memoir, Dream with Me, the civil rights leader describes how a life lived with God can change very suddenly, and what was seemingly impossible can become possible: How in the world ... -
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The Path We Tread
From valley to valley out over the hilltops, From sunshine to fog like the darkest of night; So we follow the Lord down life’s winding pathway, And walk much by faith and little by sight. It would be... -
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An Astronaut Enters Jerusalem
Neil Armstrong, the great astronaut, once took a trip to the Old City of Jerusalem. He went to the Hulda Gate, which opens to the Temple Mount. Armstrong asked a guide whether Jesus had in fact walked... -
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Journeying: Finding the True Value of Life
“Follow the yellow brick road.” In L. Frank Baum’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (later made famous by the 1939 film adaptation, The Wizard of Oz ), these words provide the directions given to Doro... -
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Peregrinatio Pro Amore Dei
Here’s a true story, from the year 891, of those who cast off in an embodied journey to live “in a state of pilgrimage, for the love of God.” Three Irish pilgrims, Dubslane, Macbeth, and Maelinmun, ma... -
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When Success looks like Failure
Sometimes our successes can be more devastating than our failures. We fight, strain, and struggle in pursuit of something or someone that looks to be good, and after days or months or years, we obtain... -
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Being Born Again
This being born again is no longer the active transfer of our will from the realm of inclination into that of obedience. It is, in the sense of the third chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, t... -
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Putting Life on Autopilot
There’s a true story about a couple who dreamed of one day driving across America during their “golden years.” They sold their home and bought a top-of-the-line RV. They took the trip seriously, inves... -
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Leaving Late and Arriving Early: The Power of a Good Detour
Not long ago I came upon a wreck on a road that leads from our national office to our local church. It appeared that the wreck had happened only minutes before I arrived. A car was completely overturn... -
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You Have Been Chosen
“I am not made for perilous quests,” cried Frodo. “I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?” “Such questions cannot be answered,” said Gandalf. “You may be sure that ...
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- Daily Life (1)
- Danger (3)
- Darkness (1)
- Death (1)
- Death and Dying (1)
- Decision-Making (1)
- Defining Moments (1)
- Depression (1)
- Desire (1)
- Desires (1)
- Despair (1)
- Destination (1)
- Direction (1)
- Directions (1)
- Discernment (1)
- Discipleship (1)
- Disciplines (1)
- Disorientation (1)
- Don't Give up (1)
- Drifting (1)
- Driving (1)
- The Dying (1)
F
G
H
J
L
P
R
S
- Safety (1)
- Search for Quotes, Stories, Illustrations by Author (1)
- Searching (1)
- Self-Discovery (1)
- Shepherds (1)
- Slowing Down (1)
- Space (Outer) (1)
- Spiritual Blindness (1)
- Spiritual Direction (1)
- Spiritual Discernment (1)
- Spiritual Formation (1)
- Spiritual Growth (1)
- Spiritual Nurture (2)
- Spiritual Thirst (1)
- Spiritual Transformation (1)
- Staying Humble (2)
- Steadfast (1)
- Step by Step (1)
- Storms (1)
- Storytelling (1)
- Strength (1)
- Strength of Character (1)
- Struggles (1)
- Success (1)
- The Soul (1)
- The Spiritual Life (1)
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