Sermons on Metaphors:

Soldiers Of Christ

Contributed by John White on May 11, 2017

One of the most challenging metaphors of the Christian life is presented in this simple passage. Here, as in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul compares Christian life to a soldier called to wage spiritual warfare. (Eph. 6:10-18)

Soldiers Of Christ II Tim. 2:1-15 The Word of God compares the Christian life to many things. Christians are to be fishermen of men; witnessing and winning souls in the waters of the world in which they live. (Matt. 4:19, Acts 1:8) Christians are also called to be dutiful and diligent farmers; ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

Husband, Love Your Wife-Body (Ephesians 5:15-33) Series

Contributed by Garrett Tyson on Oct 9, 2025

Husband, you love your body. Your wife is your body. Love your wife. We focus on the head; Paul's interested in the head-body metaphor. Love by sacrificing, cherishing, providing.

Today, we continue our series on Ephesians, and we continue to talk about husbands and wives, Christ and the church. Last week, I focused on wives, because that's where Paul starts. We saw that what it means for a wife to submit to her husband primarily revolves around the idea of treating ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-33

Potholes Of Fear Series

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Sep 26, 2005

2nd in 5 part series on overcoming the obstacles and difficulties of life using five different Psalms. We used a "journey" or "road" metaphor in terms of the bumps of success, fear, guilt, the religious rut and grief, etc.

POTHOLES OF FEAR Navigating the Bumps of Life - Week 1 PSALM 27 INTRODUCTION:(Video-“What are you afraid of?” 2:12 www.sermonspice.com) How would you answer that question? Now, being afraid of spiders, snakes, girls or heights may not be your particular phobia but there are countless concerns ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 27:1-14

Denomination: Christian Church

Righting The Religious Rut Series

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Oct 8, 2005

4th in 5 part series on overcoming the obstacles and difficulties of life using five different Psalms. We used a "journey" or "road" metaphor in terms of the bumps of success, fear, guilt, the religious rut and grief, etc.

RIGHTING THE RELIGIOUS RUT Navigating the Bumps of Life - Week 5 PSALM 63:1-8 INTRODUCTION: (Faith Story - Beth Rampleberg) Thank-you Beth. Did you catch the words and phrases in Beth’s faith story? “Obligation,” “knowledge in my head but not my heart,” “something was missing,” “emptiness,” ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 63:1-8

Denomination: Christian Church

The Grief Gauge Series

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Oct 15, 2005

5th in 5 part series on overcoming the obstacles and difficulties of life using five different Psalms. We used a "journey" or "road" metaphor in terms of the bumps of success, fear, guilt, the religious rut and grief, etc.

THE GRIEF GAUGE Navigating the Bumps of Life - Week 6 PSALM 116:1-8 INTRODUCTION: Paul Harvey tells the true story of a lady who went to a newspaper to report the death of her husband. She took a glowing four page report to the obituary counter. Upon seeing it, the news clerk said, "Ma’am, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 116:1-8

Denomination: Christian Church

Splash Of Colour -A Night To Remember Christmas Eve...2

Contributed by John Gullick on Dec 23, 2015

2nd sermon of this title by me ten years apart. This one is for Christmas 2015 - uses a metaphor that Christmas eve is a splash of colour on a black backdrop of history. I will probably do a painting as I preach it.

Christmas eve. A night to remember LK 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-20

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Pentecostal Fire Or Hell Fire

Contributed by Ernie Arnold on May 20, 2015

The Bible shares with us two different fires - the Fire of the Holy Spirit and the Fire of Hell. This sermon shares four different ways they are both similar and yet vastly different. It is a way to use the metaphor of fire in a sermon on Pentecost.

Scripture: Acts 1:1-13 and Luke 16:19-31 Theme: Pentecostal Fire or Hell Fire? INTRO: Good morning! A few years ago, the story goes that a certain pastor asked his congregation as rather particular question on Pentecost Sunday. He asked all those sitting in the sanctuary, “How ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:1-13

Denomination: Nazarene

Soldiers For Christ

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Nov 9, 2014

A Veteran's Day sermon. The Bible often uses warfare as a metaphor for the Christian life. This sermon examines how Paul likens the Christian life to warfare and what this teaches us about how to win the battle in the Christian life.

Soldiers for Christ Veteran’s Day Sermon November 9, 2014 TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy 2:3-4 INTRODUCTION Illus. – For a long time I didn’t understand my father-in-law, Sydney Robertson. He was the quietist man I ever met; almost unnervingly so. Having ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:3-4

Denomination: Baptist

The Armor Of God Series

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Nov 7, 2020

1) The Belt of Truth (Ephesians 6:14a) , 2) The Breastplate of Righteousness (Ephesians 6:14b), and 3) Feet prepared with the Gospel (Ephesians 6:15) These are metaphors for the spiritual resources given to those in Christ.

Ephesians 6:14-15 [14] Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, [15] and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. (ESV). The retailer “Whole Foods” raised great hostility this week when they ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:14-15

Denomination: Other

Transformed By Truth: Building On A Firm Foundation 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 Series

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Jun 18, 2024

1 Corinthians 3:10-11 speaks about the importance of building our lives on a solid foundation. The Apostle Paul uses the metaphor of a builder to convey a powerful truth about our faith and the centrality of Jesus Christ.

Transformed by Truth: Building on a Firm Foundation 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 (NLT): "Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, Isaiah 28:16, 1 Corinthians 3:10, Ephesians 2:19-20, Colossians 2:6-7  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Bond Slave Of Christ

Contributed by John Gaston on Dec 4, 2017

The more deeply a person surrenders to Christ and becomes dependent on Him daily, the more likely they are to finish the spiritual race in victory. Early Christians described it with the metaphor "bond-slave." It's what we're supposed to be!

BOND SLAVE OF CHRIST 1 Cor. 6:19-20 INTRODUCTION A. HUMOR: A SURE-FIRE SOLUTION 1. "I could sure do with your help, Steve," Isaac said to his best friend. “All right, so what's your problem?" replied Steve. 2. "Whenever I talk to my wife," replied Isaac, "she never seems to be interested in ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Revival Through The Whisper Of Water SermonCentral

Contributed by SermonCentral on Sep 10, 2023

A sermon inspired by the metaphorical language of Job 14:7-9, illustrating how a seemingly dead tree can spring back to life at the mere 'whisper of water'. God calls us to be carriers of this life-giving water.

Today, I want to share a message inspired by the poetic language found in Job 14:7-9. In this passage, Job speaks of a tree that appears dead and without hope, but miraculously comes back to life at the "scent of water." This imagery reminds us that God wants us to be like water carriers, bringing ...read more

Scripture: Job 14:7-9

Topics: Encouragement, Hope, Revival

No Reserve, No Retreat, And No Regret

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 27, 2018

Let’s discuss these 3 metaphors from Philippians 2:14-18 (Title and outline adapted from Stephen Davey at: http://www.wisdomonline.org/files/2405/Humility%20Part%209.pdf)

HoHum: In 1904 William Borden graduated from a Chicago high school. As heir to the Borden Dairy estate, he was already a millionaire. For his high school graduation present, his parents gave him a trip around the world. Now William’s mother had a profound influence on his life. In fact, she had ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:14-18

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Thorns And Grace (July 2012).

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Aug 14, 2020

Perhaps one of the most intriguing passages of scripture is that of Paul's mention of the "thorn in his flesh." Paul expounded upon his metaphor of the thorn as he said that it was something that kept his pride in check.

THORNS AND GRACE 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 I remember going barefoot as a ten year old kid, when I was living in Aiken as a preacher’s kid. As I was going barefoot, I wound up stepping on a board that had three nails in it. The pain got my attention and definitely ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Denomination: United Methodist

Washing Off The Grime Of Guilt Series

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Oct 8, 2005

3nd in 5 part series on overcoming the obstacles and difficulties of life using 5 different Psalms. We used a "journey" or "road" metaphor, i.e.,bumps of success, fear, guilt, the religious rut and grief, etc.

WASHING OFF THE GRIME OF GUILT Navigating the Bumps of Life - Week 3 PSALM 32 INTRODUCTION: The story is told that Noel Coward, the well known playwright, as a prank, once sent an identical anonymous letter to 10 notable men in London. The note said, "We know what you have done. If you don’t ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:1-11

Denomination: Christian Church