Jump directly to the Content
Jump directly to the Content

Sermon Illustrations

Home > Sermon Illustrations

Riding the Wave of God's Kingdom

There's a popular surfing video that captures well what it feels like to step into the awesome work of the kingdom of God. To view the video, click here. It is just over a minute and a half long.

The video starts with famed surfer Laird Hamilton upright on his board. He is holding on to a rope being towed along the water by a speeding jet ski. You sense a massive wave rests just underneath Laird and the jet ski, but the camera is focused in a manner that you can't quite tell how big it is.

As Laird gains speed via the power of the jet ski, you begin to see that he is on the downward slope of the wave. He lets go of the rope and the jet ski moves out of the camera's view. The focus is on Laird alone. As the camera pulls back, back, back, you see the surfer for what he is—a mere speck on a wave so enormous it defies comprehension. You realize that Laird is standing on the crest of a 65-foot breaker. The wave curls and the surfer zooms down its face, propelled by the wall of water crashing around him, exhilarated by the ride of a lifetime.

Like the wave, God's kingdom is on the move. It is enormous beyond our comprehension, and it's there whether we're ready to catch it or not. Should we want to ride this wave, we soon learn that it travels so fast, we can't do a thing on our own power. Our paddling simply won't do. We need the Holy Spirit to tow us along to get up to speed. Even when we catch it, we still don't do the bulk of the work. We are simply willing to ride the wave of what God is doing, exhilarated all the while by its awesome nature.

Related Sermon Illustrations

A Willingness to Be Lonely

The unoccupied fields of the world await those who are willing to be lonely for the sake of Christ.

—Samuel Zwemer, U.S. missionary (1867–1952)

[Read More]

The Partnership of Missions and Business in China

In an article for Today's Christian about the rapid growth of the church in China, Rob Moll tells the story of a missionary and businessman called Uncle Daniel, offering a glimpse ...

[Read More]