Jump directly to the Content
Jump directly to the Content

Sermon Illustrations

Home > Sermon Illustrations

God Turns Persecution into Opportunity

John Rucyahana, the Anglican bishop of Shyira, Rwanda, served as a pastor in Uganda during the brutal reign of dictator Idi Amin. Amin targeted 200,000 political opponents, Christian leaders, and members of certain ethnic groups for extermination.

One day the government soldiers came for John. He remembers, "One put the cold barrel of a gun against my ear and held his finger on the trigger. They put me in a vehicle and made me sit on a sack of explosives. As we began moving, I thought, Even the slightest jolt, and I'm dead."

The soldiers finally released John, figuring they had successfully intimidated him and that he would no longer speak out.

What the oppressors meant for evil, though, God used for good. Two days after John's harrowing brush with death was Sunday. That day, John walked into the cathedral to find it packed—people were standing in the aisles. People had heard what happened and had come to find out what he would say. Would he speak out for Christ?

John did speak for Christ, only this time to a larger group than he could ever have gathered on his own.

Related Sermon Illustrations

"Quo Vadis": The Faith of the Early Christian Martyrs

The epic film Quo Vadis depicts the decadent Roman Empire and the struggles of the early Christians living there in 64 AD. Military commander Marcus Vinicius falls in love with the ...

[Read More]

"Song for My Sons": Sara Groves on Leaving a Legacy

In an interview with Carolyn Arends, singer and songwriter Sara Groves explains why she begins her 2007 album Tell Me What You Know, which primarily addresses social issues, with "Song ...

[Read More]