Sermon Illustrations

Category: Gordon McDonald

  • Forgiveness

    Forgiveness I came to see is about cleaning up the memory by renouncing and flushing vengeful feelings about other people. Forgiveness is about surrendering the right for vengeance and retribution. It is about acknowledging that we are all failures in one way or another and that we stand on level found with any offender before…

  • Repairing the past

    What are the chief responses to a past so full of things, that, if one is not careful, can weigh us down and make the long race of life a difficult journey? The Biblical people had at least four answers to this question. The way of repentance, the discipline of forgiveness, the life of gratitude…

  • 3 categories of memories

    1 About key people who have influenced me, for good or ill. 2 About major ideas that have guided me, noble or ignoble. 3 About critical events that have changed me, happy or sad. Gordon McDonaldClick to TweetFrom the book “A Resilient Life” Available on amazon.co.uk*Available on amazon.com*

  • Generosity

    Generosity is the authenticating symbol of resilience, and it is the antithesis of a life trapped in materialism, self centredness and an obsession with pleasure. Gordon McDonaldClick to TweetFrom the book “A Resilient Life” Available on amazon.co.uk*Available on amazon.com*

  • Mind boggling, seemingly impossible objectives

    Writing on God’s call on our lives, Gordon Macdonald shows the common point in most of the Biblical call stories: “they were often focused on mind boggling, seemingly impossible objectives. Build a boat, Noah, lead people out of Egypt, Moses; face down a wicked king, Elijah; preach to Gentiles, Paul. But such calls were so…

  • Dreadfully inadequate people

    A steady diet of television, cheap publications, and shallow literature will make us dreadfully inadequate people. A daily exposure to the Scripture and to literature that focuses on Scripture is a necessary part of the diet. Gordon McDonaldClick to TweetFrom the book “A Resilient Life” Available on amazon.co.uk*Available on amazon.com*

  • Surface change

    Surface change usually doesn’t work. It’s only when one does a root canal (an apt metaphor, I think) on one’s soul and rebuilds at the foundational level of life that real change happens. And this means that we’re at character level. Gordon McDonaldClick to TweetFrom the book “A Resilient Life” Available on amazon.co.uk*Available on amazon.com*

  • The default me

    Character is a word that describes the default me. The person I am over the long haul of life. The person who emerges in the most difficult, challenging moments. Character identifies the attitudes, convictions and resulting behaviours that distinguish my life. Let’s put it another way: character is what people can expect of me in…

  • Questions different ages ask

    Questions different life phases ask Twenties What am i becoming? Am I different from my mum and dad? What will I do with my life? No longer get away with quirky, irresponsible or unsocial behaviour – what do I need to change? Thirties Longer range responsibilities. How do I prioritise the demand on my life?…