Jump directly to the Content
Jump directly to the Content

Sermon Illustrations

Home > Sermon Illustrations

Buechner on the Coming Day of Judgment

Whenever we speak of the end times, our hearts often quicken—partly out of joy, yet also out of fear. To speak of end times is to speak of somewhat uncertain times. "No one knows about that day or hour," Christ says, "not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son." But the uncertainty of calendars and dates isn't what troubles us most. It's the notion of final judgment. So perhaps these words from author and pastor Frederick Buechner can offer us a bit of comfort—words that both acknowledge the reality of coming judgment and the grace-filled love of the Judge:

The New Testament proclaims that at some unforeseeable time in the future, God will ring down the final curtain on history, and there will come a Day on which all our days and all the judgments upon us and all our judgments upon each other will themselves be judged. The judge will be Christ. In other words, the one who judges us most finally will be the one who loves us most fully.

Related Sermon Illustrations

Will Willimon Learns Hard Truth at Funeral

Pastor Will Willimon writes:

Early in my ministry, I served a little church in rural Georgia. One Saturday we went to a funeral in a little country church not of my denomination. I ...

[Read More]

Tollbooth Violations Offer a Lesson About Christ's Return

As we look at Christ's first coming this Christmas season, here's a story from CT editor Kevin Miller to help us keep in mind Christ's Second Coming:

In April of 2008, I ...
[Read More]