Sermon Stories

"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God" ( Romans 15:7 ). Acceptance is one of the quietest forms of love. It does not excuse what someone has done, but it refuses to leave them standing alone. This story about acceptance, retold in our own words, comes from a funeral in Washington in January 1978, when a disgraced former president walked into a room full of people who did not know what to say to him. It ends with a takeaway for sermons or personal reflection. Story in this post: Welcome Home, Mr. President: Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon ──────── ✝ ──────── Welcome Home, Mr. President: Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon This story is widely told in sermons and is usually credited to the Methodist preacher Maxie Dunnam, who cites a report in Newsweek . The setting is well documented; we have not been able to locate the original magazine report or confirm the exact words of the greeting, so they are given here as the story tells them...

The best stories about empathy show something sympathy alone cannot: what it looks like to step inside another person's pain and stay there for a while. Paul put it simply: "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn" ( Romans 12:15 ). Empathy is not fixing people. Very often, it is just refusing to leave them alone. Below are five sermon illustrations about empathy, each retold in full in our own words. You will meet the twelve people who refused to look away from the slave trade, a rabbi who raised his son in silence so he would learn to hear suffering, a little girl who could not fix a bicycle, a Holocaust survivor who found an unexpected companion in Jesus, and a soldier who finally saw his enemy's face. Each story ends with a takeaway for preaching or reflection. Stories in this post: The End of Slavery: Twelve People Who Refused to Look Away In the Silence, Hearing the World Cry "I Stopped to Help Her Cry" "After All, He Was a J...

The best stories about Easter do not need special effects. Some of them need nothing more than a child and an empty plastic egg. "He is not here; he has risen, just as he said" ( Matthew 28:6 ). That is the whole Easter message in one line, and in the story below an eight-year-old boy says it better than most sermons do. We have retold this Easter story in full, in our own words, so you can read it, preach it, or share it in a Sunday school class. It is a story about the resurrection, but it is also a story about belonging, about a child who was always on the outside and the moment the empty tomb brought him in. A takeaway for preaching follows the story. Stories in this post: Philip's Egg: "The Tomb Is Empty!" ──────── ✝ ──────── Philip's Egg: "The Tomb Is Empty!" This story has been told in churches for decades. Its original author is unknown, and we have not been able to confirm the names or details. Philip was born with Down syndrome. H...

  "Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God" ( Romans 14:12 ). Accountability is the conviction that what we do matters, to God and to the people affected by our choices, even when no one else is watching and even when circumstances seem to excuse us. This story about accountability, retold in our own words, comes from a film based on a real incident in the Vietnam War. It is a hard story, but it asks a question every one of us faces: when the rules seem to fall away, do our choices matter less, or more? It ends with a takeaway for sermons or reflection. Stories in this collection: "Maybe It Matters More": One Soldier's Conscience in Casualties of War ──────── ✝ ──────── "Maybe It Matters More": One Soldier's Conscience in Casualties of War This story involves sexual violence in wartime. We describe it without graphic detail. The 1989 film Casualties of War , directed by Brian De Palma, is based on a real incident during the Vietnam War....