Sermon illustrations on grace

John Bunyan, a profane tinker tormented for years by the fear that he had sinned past forgiving, finally found assurance in Christ's righteousness and titled the story of it Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. The title is the sermon: grace that abounds precisely where sin seemed to win.

1 Timothy 1:14

From Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan (1666) — read the account →

Augustine, worn out by years of resisting God, heard a child's voice in a Milan garden chanting 'take up and read.' He opened Paul's letter, read a single verse, and the long fight was over. Grace met him not at his best but at the end of himself.

Romans 13:13–14

From Confessions by Augustine (397) — read the account →

George Müller went from a thieving, dissolute student to a man who cared for thousands of orphans without once asking anyone for money — only God. His life answered a single question: is grace enough to live on? He staked everything on yes.

2 Corinthians 9:8

From A Narrative of Some of the Lord's Dealings with George Müller, Written by Himself by George Müller (1837) — read the account →

Born enslaved, Amanda Smith became an evangelist who preached on three continents and founded an orphanage. She framed her whole autobiography as 'the Lord's dealings' with her — grace as the through-line of an entire life, not a single moment.

Ephesians 2:8

From An Autobiography: The Story of the Lord's Dealings with Mrs. Amanda Smith by Amanda Smith (1893) — read the account →

The poet William Cowper, sunk in despair and more than once bent on taking his own life, was restored and converted — and went on to write “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood.” Grace that reaches the very bottom and lifts a man out of the miry pit.

Psalm 40:2

From Memoir of the Early Life of William Cowper, Written by Himself by William Cowper (1816) — read the account →