Sermon Illustrations

Category: Mark Stibbe

  • Mark Stibbe "A friend of

    Mark Stibbe "A friend of mine in the United States had adopted his son. He and his wife had gone to a law court where a judge sat before them. He had read them the requirements of adoption in the strongest possible terms. My friends recalled how nervous they had felt as the judge spoke…

  • Luther "I have difficulty praying

    Luther "I have difficulty praying the Lord’s Prayer because whenever I say ‘Our Father’, I think of my own father who was hard, unyielding and relentless. I cannot help but think of God in that way" Mark StibbeClick to TweetFrom the book “The Father You've Been Waiting For: Portrait of a Perfect Dad” Available on…

  • Reinhold Niebuhr was one of

    Reinhold Niebuhr was one of the most respected theologians of the twentieth century. He wrote the famous prayer associated with Alcoholics Anonymous: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. When Niebuhr was 21 years old, his father…

  • Luke 15:20 "God on the

    Luke 15:20 "God on the neck of a sinner! what a wonderful picture! Can you conceive it? I do not think you can; but if you cannot imagine it, I hope that you will realise it. When God’s arm is about our neck, and his lips are on our cheek, kissing us much, then we…

  • We should remember that the

    We should remember that the punishment Jesus bore was inflicted not by the Father but by those who crucified him. The abuse came not from divine but human hands. This is the point that Mel Gibson was trying to make during the filming of The Passion of the Christ. At a critical moment, when the…

  • The truth that Jesus was

    The truth that Jesus was conveying in the parable of parables is simply this: God is a Father who runs to rescue us. He is truly the God who saves. A minister in a church in America was about to start his sermon during an evening service when he briefly introduced a visiting minister in…

  • You may never have had

    You may never have had a dad who loved you so. You may never have had a dad who felt for you, who ran to you when you were in trouble. If present social trends are anything to go by, it’s rather unlikely that you have a dedicated dad who is physically and emotionally present.…

  • Many parents today will tell

    Many parents today will tell you that they wish they had more of the virtue of patience. I love the story of the man in the supermarket who was pushing a trolley which contained, among other things, a screaming baby. As the man proceeded along the aisles, he kept repeating softly. ‘Keep calm, George. Don’t…

  • The parable in Luke

    The parable in Luke 15 – like all parables – has two levels. On the superficial level it tells the story of a son who said "Drop Dead!" to his father, ran away from home, and came back to find his dad waiting for him with arms opened wide. On the deeper level, it paints…

  • At the beginning of one

    At the beginning of one of his short stories, Hemingway makes reference to the tale of a Spanish father who wanted to be reconciled to his son, who had run away from home to the city of Madrid. The father missed his son and put an advert in the local newspaper, El Liberal. The advertisement…