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sermon-illustrations

Engaging Sermon Illustrations on Love

Explore powerful illustrations on love. Discover stories, analogies, humor and more as you bring your sermon to life.

Featured Illustration

Taking (A Huge) One for the Team

On a beautiful April afternoon in 2008, two college softball teams faced off in a decisive playoff game beneath the Cascade Mountains. The Western Oregon Wolves battled Central Washington University, with the winner advancing and the loser going home.

Sara Tucholsky, playing for the Wolves, was a struggling hitter with a .153 average, got the start only because the regular right fielder had made an error. She had never hit a home run in her life. But with two runners on base, Sara connected with a curveball and sent it soaring over the left-field fence.

Sara was apparently so shocked that she forgot to touch first base. When her coach yelled for her to return and touch it, she turned back—and something popped in her knee. She collapsed, dragging herself to the bag in agony, clutching her knee and asking, "What do I do?"

The umpires huddled in confusion. If her teammates helped her, she'd be out. If she tried to stand, she'd collapse. She was trapped between triumph and disaster.

Then Mallory Holtman stepped forward. She played first base for the Central Washington—the very team that would benefit if Sara's home run was nullified. As a senior, Mallory desperately wanted to win and advance her own season.

"Can I help her around the bases?" Mallory asked the umpires.

"Why would you want to do that?" one responded, puzzled.

The umpire shrugged. "Do it."

Mallory signaled her shortstop to help. Together, they walked to Sara and gently lifted her. "We're going to pick you up and carry you around the bases," Mallory said.

Tears streamed down Sara's face. "Thank you."

The two opponents carried Sara around the diamond, pausing at second and third base to lower her foot and touch each bag. By the time they reached home plate, the entire crowd was on their feet, Sara's teammates had gathered to welcome her, and Sara was beaming.

The only one who could help did help. In that moment, sportsmanship transcended competition, and compassion conquered rivalry. Sometimes the most profound victories come not from defeating others, but from lifting them up when they fall.