5 Sermon Illustrations on Communion with God

God is a centre to the soul; and, just as in a circle, what is nearest the centre is subject to least motion: so the closer the soul is to God, the less the movement and agitation to which it is exposed. Make the experiment upon a level area: sink a staff into the ground, attach to it a line, and around it as a centre describe a circle of considerable extent; then bid some friend walk round that circle while you do the same round another drawn at a short distance from the staff. You will find that your friend will have to walk long and fast to accomplish his task, but that a few steps will be enough for yours. It is the same with the soul. The greater its distance from God and from spiritual and heavenly things, the wider the circuit it will have to make, the faster it will have to speed without knowing why, and the more will it seek, but be unable to find, rest. He, however, who by devotion and faith, love and resignation, keeps as near as possible to God, finds that which his heart desires. Gotthold.

The house Beautiful sets forth Bunyan's realization of the communion of saints. It stood by the roadside. Watchful was the porter at the door. Discretion, Prudence, Piety, and Charity talked with Christian till supper, when their communion was about the Lord of the hill; after which, good Christian slept in the chamber called Peace, and in the morning was shown the study, the armory, the Delectable Mountains, and other rarities; and went on his way rejoicing.

When a pagan beheld Christians receiving the blessed sacrament, and observed with what reverence and devotion they demeaned themselves in that holy business, he was inquisitive what that action meant. It was answered by one of them, that God, having first emptied their hearts of all their sins, as pride, envy, covetousness, contention, luxury, and the rest, did now enter into them himself, with a purpose to dwell there. He was silent for the present, but followed and watched them whom he saw to be communicants in that action for two days together; and perceiving some of them to fall into quarrels, uncleanness, rapacity, and drunkenness so soon, he declared his censure of them with this exclamation, "I confess that your religion may be good, your devotion good, your profession good; but your hospitality is stark nought, that you will not give your God two days' lodging." Spencer.