Jesus used nature to illustrate spiritual truths. Constuct a sermon (or series) using the same elements. Note Paul's reference in Romans 1:20, "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen..."

Examples of Jesus references to nature:

• "Consider the lillies"
• Used the sky to illlustrate time discernment
• Pointed to the wind to illustrate the Holy Spirit to Nicodemus
• Referred to fruit to illustrate character qualities
• Seed and soil were used to illustrate truth within one's heart
• A storm was used to test wisdom as opposed to foolishness
• He compared himself to living water

This is a simple, but powerful concept: There are things you can't do without.

Structure your outline around the following -

Without works, faith is dead.
Without vision, the people perish.
Without hope, the heart is sick.
Without counsel, purposes are disappointed.
Without hearing, there is no faith.
Without the Spirit, there is no liberty.
Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.

Introduce this sermon by noting that Rand McNally will provide you a road map for your next business trip or vacation, but the book of Psalms gives you a map for life.

Search the word "path" at BibleGateway.com, limiting your search to the book of Psalms. There you will find 14 instances where we are given "traveling directions" along life's highways.

For example, your first point could be "There are right roads and wrong roads." Ask your congregation if they've ever made a wrong turn, then use a personal experience as humorous illustration. Note, then, that Psalm 16:11 and Psalm 17:4 give clear directions as to the wrong and right routes.

When it gets dark, don't forget to turn on the headlights. God's word is lamp for your feet (that's where you are right now) and a lamp for your path (that's where you going to be later) (see Psalm 119:105. You can see clearly for your present and your future. Note, however, you need no tailights. There's no going back (Hebrews 10:38).

Your first point, then, could be "Choose the Route." The second point could be titled, "Check Your Lights." "Challenge Your Comfort Zone" could be the point you use when talking about driving in difficult conditions (see Psalm 142.3

Construct your outline from the other ten verses in Psalms where the word "path" is used.

Call this sermon, "God's Do It Yourself Manual"

The Bible is full of things we are to do ourselves. Granted, we are to trust God. But it is God who works through us, not instead of us.

Search the Bible for those things God says we are to do ourselves. Each of these will be a point in your sermon.

For example, 1 Timothy 5 22 teaches that we are to keep ourselves pure.

II John 1:9 teaches that we are to look to ourselves. We are to keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 1:21.)

The key to this sermon idea is to look up the words "yourself," "yourselves," "selves," etc., at BibleGateway.com, considering each result as a prospective point in your outline.

Ask your congregation to look through the wall and tell you what they see. They will, of course, be somewhat confused at your strange request. After all, they can't see through the wall.

Then, if your auditorium has frosted or stained-glass windows, ask them to describe what they see beyond those windows. Again, they will be a bit confused.

Last, ask what they see through clear glass. If there is no clear glass in your auditorium, you may want to have a large plexiglass to show them.

Some Christians, like the wall, are opaque. When the world looks at them, they don't see Jesus shining through. Most Christians are transluscent. Like stained glass, the light of Christ shines through, but Jesus cannot be clearly seen because the Christians are in the way. They don't mind the light of Christ shining through them, providing they get some of the glory.

A few Christians are transparent. Like clear glass, these few Christians "make not provision for the flesh" but allow Jesus to fully be seen through them because they get out of the way.

The sermon outline is: Are you a 1) opaque, 2) transluscent or 3) transparent Christian?

This is one of many sermon illustrations and ideas found in the book, The Prayer of Hannah.

Begin this sermon by asking your congregation if they can guess the meanings of the following Australian terms:

1) mince
2) serviette
3) tomato sauce
4) tucker
5) cossie
6) bonnet
7) boot
8) garbo
9) nappy
10) chips

The congregation will enjoy trying to guess the "Americanese" counter-part to "Australianese" English.

Then ask, "Do you speak Christianese?"

Explain that Christians often fail to communicate to the world because they use terms that — though familiar to other Christians — are foreign to the unchurched. The purpose of this sermon is to heighten effective communication skills of your congregation by making them aware that their "Christianese" is a foreign language to many.

Note that, while we speak the same language, we often fail to communicate when we use terms unfamiliar to those to whom we are speaking. That often happens when we use Christianese (words such as "saved", "rapture", "witness", "go forward", etc) when speaking to the unchurched or even to new converts. ("Convert", by the ways, is also Christianese.)

With the above introduction, your semon could take one of many directions. You could construct your outline of "powerful words for a powerless world" in which you provide better terms for Christians to use. Or, you could construct a sermon in which each point consist of a way to effectively communicate the Christian message.

By the way, here is the "Americanese" for the above terms: 1) hamburger (as in "mince meat"), 2) napkin, 3) catsup, 4) food, 5) bathing suit, 6) hood of a car, 7) trunk of a car, 8) garbage man or just garbage, 9) diaper and 10) french fries.