65 Sermon Illustrations on Help

Where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble. — Jeremiah 2:28

Ever notice how people react to tragedy? Even the nonreligious try to get the attention of God, whom they have previously ignored. Accounts of plane crashes, floods, tornadoes, or hurricanes often tell of someone who calls on the Lord for help.

It would be nice to think that the heavenly Father is just waiting for such times of panic so He can send all the emergency equipment of heaven to the rescue. But the Bible indicates otherwise. Through Jeremiah, the Lord challenged His people who were in trouble to get help in the hour of death from the idols they had worshiped. He wanted them to see the futility of trusting false gods.

The Lord may ask the same question of us. In an hour of distress, He may say, “Why do you cry for Me now? Where are your sports heroes and movie stars? Why not seek help from the TV, appeal to your paycheck, take comfort in your possessions, or rely on your credit cards? Let these gods whom you’ve served so faithfully now serve you!”

God doesn’t want us to think we can go on trusting false gods and still expect Him to protect us from trouble. He graciously grants forgiveness to us if we are truly repentant. And He offers hope and help to those who have learned to depend on Him all the time. — MRDII

The gods of this world are empty and vain,

They cannot give peace to one’s heart;

The Living and True One deserves all our love—

From Him may we never depart. — D. De Haan

Those who walk with God always find Him close at hand.

On the night of October 23, 2009, a 15-year-old girl in Richmond, California, was brutally assaulted by as many as seven young men between the ages of 15 and 20.

One policeman called the events of that night a “barbaric act” and “one of the most disturbing crimes in my 15 years as a police officer.”

What disturbed him wasn’t only the overt criminal acts but the response — or more precisely, the lack of a response — of those in a position to help.

According to the police, the victim had left a dance at Richmond High School and was in the school’s courtyard when she was gang-raped. As heinous as this crime was, what made it a national story was that approximately 20 kids witnessed the attack and did nothing. Nothing.

Actually, it was worse than that. As word spread about the attack, people came to check it out. There are reports that some of the bystanders took pictures of the assault with their cell phone cameras instead of calling for help. Others laughed and a few even joined in the attack.

No sooner had police found the victim, semi-conscious under a bench, than attention focused on the behavior of the crowd. Comparisons were made to the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in New York, in which her neighbors supposedly ignored her cries for help because they didn’t want to get involved.

While how many of Genovese’s neighbors actually heard her cries for help is in dispute, there are no such doubts in this case.

So why didn’t anyone do something to help? An obvious factor is fear. Richmond, California, has been described as “one of the nation’s most dangerous cities,” and its murder rate is higher than Oakland’s or Los Angeles’. The school even recently approved the use of surveillance cameras following a series of violent crimes on campus.

In this setting, people have reason to believe that authorities cannot protect them and, thus, getting involved will put them at risk.

Even so, many people live in dangerous neighborhoods where “snitching” is dangerous, but they don’t gather to watch another person being brutalized, much less take photos or laugh. After all, the attack ended when people down the street from the school learned what was happening and called the police.

The response that shocked the nation speaks to an indifference to the well-being of others among some of our children. Instead of empathy, these young people showed apathy — and, as one observer said, “a total indifference to [behavior], customs, mores, and sensibilities,” the things we associate with being civilized.

What happened in Richmond, California, is an unsettling reminder that the standards that make a good society possible cannot be taken for granted. It doesn’t take much to set them aside. That’s why those standards and the beliefs that make them possible must be taught and renewed continuously.

As one Oakland pastor wrote, what happened on October 23rd “is reflective of a societal breakdown that is not limited to the Richmond city limits.”

And that’s what should disturb us the most.

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Copyright (c) 2009 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

1. Is your burden heavy as you bear it all alone?

Does the road you travel harbour danger yet unknown?

Are you growing weary in the struggle of it all?

Jesus will help you when on His name you call.

Chorus:

He is always there hearing ev'ry prayer, faithful and true,

Walking by our side– in His love we hide all the day through;

When you get discouraged just remember what to do–

Reach out to Jesus, He's reaching out to you.

2. Is the life you're living filled with sorrow and despair?

Does the future press you with its worry and its care?

Are you tired and friendless, have you almost lost your way?

Jesus will help you– just come to Him today.

CHURCH

(NEEDS GOD'S STRENGTH AND HELP TO GROW)

David Huxley owns a world record in an unusual category: he pulls jetliners.

On October 15, 1997, for example, he broke his own record at Mascot Airport in Sydney, Australia. He strapped around his upper torso a harness that was attached to a steel cable some fifteen yards long. The other end of the steel cable was attached to the front-wheel strut of a 747 jetliner that weighed 187 tons. With his tennis shoes firmly planted on the runway, Huxley leaned forward, pulled with all his might, and remarkably was able to get the jetliner rolling down the runway. In fact, he pulled the 747 one hundred yards in one minute and twenty-one seconds. A superhuman feat indeed.

The church resembles that 747 jetliner. The strength of a few extraordinary humans can pull the institution of the church for very short distances. Or we can pray until God starts up powerful engines that enable His church to fly thousands of miles on the wings of Christ. The church needs God's strength and help to grow.

Choice Contemporary Illustrations For Preachers, Teachers, & Writers

Craig Brian Larson, Baker Books, p. 37.

The composition teacher asked the class to write about an unusual event that happened during the past week. Little Johnny got up and read his essay.

It began, “Daddy fell into the well last week...”

“Oh, my!” the teacher exclaimed. “Is he all right?”

“He must be,” said the boy. “He stopped yelling for help yesterday.”

We are surrounded in the church, in the workplace, in our community with people in need crying out for help. Sometimes the cries stop and we assume they’re now all right. The truth may well be that they have grown weary of seeing their pleas unanswered.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27).

Do you hear the cries for help?

We were crossing a long bridge across the Arkansas River. Now, the bridge was long because the river was wide. My wife made an interesting comment about the river. She said, "Now, we've seen how it got that way" - wide, she meant. Actually, we've seen the Arkansas at its headwaters where it's, well, a very unimpressive little stream. And as we've driven across the western United States, we've seen many creeks and streams that feed into the Arkansas, taking her from being a dinky little stream into a wide and mighty river.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Mighty Rivers Get Mighty."

Tributaries - that's what creates great rivers. From all directions, those tributaries contribute to a river, feeding it, enlarging it. That's not just the way rivers grow - it's the way people grow, too, if they're open to the contribution the people in their life can make. And to the contributions they can make, as well. In a sense, you are supposed to be a river, enlarged and improved by the people in your world - and you're suppose to be a tributary, building and enlarging the lives of the folks around you.

Paul models that in Romans 1:11 and 12, our word for today from the Word of God. He says to the believers in Rome, "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong - that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." Paul understands this tributary thing - his purpose in wanting to be with these people is so he can give them some help, some encouragement, something that will make them stronger. But he also looks forward to how they are going to feed his stream, too, enlarging his spiritual life.

Now, this is an exciting way to view the relationships and the people in your life - you are with those people both to give and to receive. I wonder if your coworkers, your family members, your friends, the folks at church feel richer because of the good things you're depositing into their life. You are one of God's designated tributaries to help them become the mighty river that He's designed them to be. You wouldn't be there with them if He hadn't decided that they need someone like you ... and that you need someone like them.

Because you're also a river. What you are today is because of some human tributaries who have marked your life - parents, teachers, spiritual leaders, friends, someone who listened, even those who've confronted you about things you didn't want to hear about. Maybe it's time to call or write or talk to some of the tributaries who've enlarged the river of your life, just to thank them. Don't wait for their funeral to say all those nice things. Say it to them while they can still hear them.

And then, about those tributaries God has put in your life right now. Would you listen to them, would you open yourself up to them, even to those who are critical. Sometimes those people are God's mirrors to help us see things that we haven't seen and that we might not see otherwise. A river with no tributaries is going to remain small, it's going to remain stagnant - and so will you.

Mighty rivers become mighty because they are fed and enlarged from many sources feeding into them. You and I are like that, too. So, would you be a tributary everyday for other people, and let them help you become a mighty river.

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. 'Practical Answers to Real Life Issues'

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Motivation often makes the difference between success and failure. We know that we are more excited to do those tasks that interest us, and we are less interested in doing the things we see as “chores.” The answer to stagnation, then, could be something as simple as motivation.

In terms of the Christian life, a loss of motivation can have a devastating outcome. Remember, when we think about the task before us-making disciples of all nations-the results of inaction go far beyond ourselves. In fact, the implications for our unbelieving friends may well have eternal consequences.

What motivated the early church? It was the transforming work of Christ. He gave them hope, help, strength, power, and purpose. Moreover, He gave them the assurance of His own unending presence.

Think about that. The disciples knew that in order to do what He had called them to do, they would have to go into a hostile world without Him. So, what did Jesus do? He assured them that He would never be far away, and that He would send the Holy Spirit of God upon them. (Acts 1:8; John 14:23-31) He met their need-and also provided their greatest motivation-by promising to be right with them every moment, no matter what they faced. This was their fuel in spreading the Gospel around the world!

The good news for us is that the same motivation is available today. Jesus still stands with us, empowering us to action, and providing the motivation to accomplish His call to service.

1. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!

What more can He say that to you He hath said–

To you, who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

2. “Fear not, I am with thee — O be not dismayed,

For I am thy God, I will still give thee aid;

I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by my gracious, omnipotent hand.

3. “When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;

For I will be with thee they troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

4. “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;

The flame shall not hurt thee – I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

5. “The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,

I will not, I will not desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavour to shake,

I’ll never – no, never – no, never forsake!”

[Tune “Foundation”]