THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT Some time ago I received a call from a colleague asking if I would be the referee on the grading of an examination question. He was…
Sermon Illustrations
DOGGED PERSISTENCEI once heard W. A. Criswell, long time beloved pastor of the famous First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, tell a story about an evangelist who loved to hunt. As best I recall, the…
PERSISTENCE Although I disagreed with many of Senator Russell Long's stands, I appreciate his persistence. He once said, "I expect to fight that proposition until hell freezes over. Then I propose to start fighting on…
WITNESS The following is from a book by Carl Lawrence entitled, The Church in China, (Bethany House Publishers, 1985): She was only nineteen at the time when her crumpled body was roughly thrown into the…
LIMITED HANDICAP She was old in years but young in spirit. Although she got around on crutches and sometimes in a wheelchair, she was a dynamo. She ran a highly successful real estate business, served…
THANKS FOR THE WEEVIL In southern Alabama is the town of Enterprise, in Coffee County. There they have erected a monument to an insect, honoring the Mexican boll weevil. In 1895 the boll weevil began…
RECIPE FOR MOTHERS Preheat oven . . . check for rubber balls or plastic "He-Men," which might be lurking inside. Clear counter of wooden blocks and "Key-Cars." Grease pan. Crack nuts. Measure flour . .…
AND HE DID Born on a Kansas farm and educated in a one-room school, he lived a tough and difficult existence as a boy. Glenn and his brother kept the school's fire going, and one…
RISKS OF APPEARING FOOLISH William Barclay tells the story related by Rudyard Kipling of his meeting with General Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army: Kipling tells how on a world tour at a certain…
HOW YOU CAN TELL WHEN IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY You see a "60 Minutes" news team in your office. You call Suicide Prevention and they put you on hold. You turn on…
PROBLEMS -- SOLUTIONS There is always an easy solution to every human problem -- neat, plausible and wrong. H. L. Mencken, Bits and Pieces
BE SURE OF YOUR COURSE AND KEEP ON GOING! The setting was a cold January morning in a little town in Wisconsin, where I then was, on the southern shore of Lake Superior. It happened…
COURAGEOUS CONFRONTATIONS Some stories keep reappearing with new faces, new ethnic identities, new locales. I saw this version in Reader's Digest: Boris the Russian arrived at the Pearly Gates and was welcomed by St. Peter.…
TRUE CLOUT Three burly fellows on huge motorcycles pulled up to a highway cafe where a truck driver, just a little guy, was perched on a stool quietly eating his lunch. As the three fellows…
I'M NOT SURE JUST WHAT THIS ILLUSTRATES But it's a funny story. It was sent in by Pastor Dale Bean of the Calvary Assembly of God Church of Carthage, IL. Two fellows, both in their…
WHICH WAY DOES THE INFLUENCE FLOW? I was reminded of an old chestnut by Kit Hoag of Sonoma, CA. A dignified old clergyman owned a parrot of whom he was exceedingly fond, but the bird…
ACTIVE MEMBERS The pastor of a small Southern church was on his way home when he met an acquaintance from town who was not a member of his church. After chatting awhile the man asked…
TO FLY ON RAINBOW WINGS Guy Robinson, pastor of Plainview Friends Church in Plainview, Nebraska sent in the following story which he found in an Aldersgate Sunday School book. Four additional months will be added…
POWERLESS -- YET CALLED As the days and weeks pass by and I come to know the students of the language school better, I realize more and more how insecure, fearful, and often lonely many…
TOUGH INITIATION It seems that two Texans were trying to impress each other with the size of their ranches. One asked the other, "What's the name of your ranch?" He replied, "The Rocking R, ABC,…
