Sermon Illustrations

Frank Bernadone bore the emotional wounds of his time in the military.

His unit had already been through four years of battles when they came to Perugia. The town was heavily fortified, leading his unit’s assault against it to be disastrous. A bloody day of fighting culminated in what was almost an extermination.

Only a handful from Frank’s unit were left alive by day’s end. Those few survivors became prisoners of war and wouldn’t be released for a year.

After his release, Frank showed the marks of the severe stress he’d endured. He stopped eating and sleeping. He wept often. He was reclusive. He avoided friends and family.

But God wasn’t done with Frank. In fact, God continued to work heavily in Frank’s life, drawing him from where he was to a place where He could work powerfully through him.

You’ve heard of Frank. He usually went by Francis and is usually identified with his hometown of Assissi. The movement he led even after dealing with PTSD was one of the most spiritually significant of the Middle Ages.

Remember that God can do great things through the broken.

Related Sermon Illustrations

Related Sermons