Sermon Illustrations

Tag: joy

  • The link between suffering and joy

    Often it is the people closest to suffering who have the most powerful joy. Friends of Mother Teresa say that instead of being overwhelmed by the suffering around her, she fairly glows with joy as she goes about her ministry of mercy. One of the English officers imprisoned at Flossenberg with Dietrich Bonhoeffer said of…

  • Counterfeit love, joy and peace

    I remember one day, and so this is Sydney, Australia 1986-1987, and so it was the height of rave parties in Australia. So, the drug ecstasy was running rampant, and in the university scene, people were doing ecstasy and people going to rave parties. I hadn’t seen my friend for about three days. I was…

  • What if God approached work like we often do?

    Imagine Genesis if God approached his work as we so often do: In the beginning, it was nine o’clock, so God had to go to work. He filled out a requisition to separate light from darkness. He considered making stars to beautify the night, and planets to fill the skies, but thought it sounded like…

  • Enjoyable spiritual disciplines

    Many of us have got the impression somewhere that for an activity to count as a spiritual discipline it must be something that we would rather not do. However if we are training for a life characterised by joy, peace, and affection, we should assume that some of the practices are going to be downright…

  • Love, joy, peace

    Love, joy, and peace are the triumvirate at the heart of Jesus’s kingdom vision. John Mark Comer – American Pastor (1980 – )Click to TweetFrom the book “The ruthless elimination of hurry” Available on amazon.co.uk*Available on amazon.com*

  • Joy and happiness

    We’re often taught to be careful of the difference between joy and happiness. Happiness, it is said, is an emotion that depends upon what “happens.” Joy by contrast, is supposed to be enduring, stemming deep from within our soul and which is not affected by the circumstances surrounding us. . . . I don’t think…

  • Satisfaction

    Gratitude is often the only difference between pervasive sadness and pure satisfaction. Nancy Leigh DeMossClick to Tweet

  • Overjoyed to be alive

    Steve Dale, a syndicated columnist who answers people’s questions about their pets, received an email from someone seeking advice on what to do with her twelve-year-old boxer that had a large tumor on his leg. Two different veterinarians had agreed that the tumor needed to be removed, but admitted that doing so would require the…

  • Bouyant joy

    Seek to cultivate a bouyant, joyous sense of the crowded kindness of God in your daily life Alexander MaclarenClick to Tweet

  • Choosing gratitude means choosing joy

    Over time, choosing gratitude means choosing joy. But that choice doesn’t come without effort and intentionality. It’s a choice that requires constantly renewing my mind with the truth of God’s Word, setting my heart to savor God and His gifts, and disciplining my tongue to speak words that reflect His goodness and grace–until a grateful…