Sermon Illustrations

FULFILLING YOUR PURPOSE

When we lived in Wiesbaden, some missionary friends bought a German toaster. When they got home, they plugged it in, placed some bread in it, and then waited for the toast to pop up a few minutes later. Well, the toast never did pop up from it because...well, it didn’t work. It just sat there, all nice and shiny. Oh, it was real pretty, all right, matching the decor of the kitchen perfectly. It had that brand new look about it...[PAUSE] but it wouldn’t toast bread.

Well, they packaged it back up to take it back, but since they couldn’t find their receipt, the German store wouldn’t exchange it, so they were stuck with it. So they brought it back home and tried to figure out what they could do with it.

Now let me ask you a question: What good is a toaster that doesn’t toast? Absolutely nothing! It’s too big for a paper weight; too ugly for a doorstop; and it would rust if you put it out as a law ornament. So they ended up throwing it in the trash and buying a new one that worked. It was USELESS because it didn’t fulfill the purpose for which it was made.

The same is true of the Christian who doesn’t fulfill the purpose for which HE was made. You see everything has a purpose, and it’s of little or no value if it’s not fulfilling that purpose. Now if we started living in a conscious and intentional way for the purpose for which God created and saved us, it would revolutionize our Christian lives.

Related Sermon Illustrations

Related Sermons

  • Broken: How God Uses Defective People

    Contributed by John Beukema on May 1, 2013
    based on 4 ratings
     | 26,433 views

    The Bible is filled with stories of fractured lives and messy situations. From these we can learn truths about how God works.

  • Into The Wilderness Series

    Contributed by Chris Kelly on Jul 5, 2012
    based on 4 ratings
     | 20,606 views

    What I at first thought was a dry and boring book with no relevance to my life, turned out to be one of the most profound and exciting books in the bible, with full of application to my life! Learn how to make it through the "wilderness" of this life suc

  • Great Expectations Series

    Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 26, 2012
    based on 1 rating
     | 17,423 views

    ?” People with a great life purpose reach forward with great expectations. Here’s the good news: God is able to abundantly exceed all that we ask or think. Said another way: your expectations will never be so great that God is not able to more than meet

  • Saved For A Purpose

    Contributed by Daren Mitchell on Dec 10, 2013
    based on 1 rating
     | 11,669 views

    You don't have to be a theological scholar to figure out what God expects of those who follow Jesus. He made it really clear. Take care of those who are in need in Jesus Name because you love God and you love people.

  • What Is Man? Series

    Contributed by Perry Greene on Feb 7, 2012
    based on 1 rating
     | 9,460 views

    Psalm 8 asks a probing question and indirectly answers some basic ones -- Who Am I?; Why Am I Here?; Who Is God?