A school superintendent and an elementary school principal were conducting a review of an eighth grade teacher’s work. As they entered the classroom through the back door, they heard the teacher say to the tallest…
Sermon Illustrations
Have you seen a kindness shown? Pass it on! ’Twas not given to you alone! Pass It on! Let it travel down the years, Let it wipe another’s tears, Till in heaven the deed appears,…
Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile,…
Pick a day, any day. Choose a person . . . then say something unexpected, or nice, or flattering like: “Everyone is secretly in love with you.” Other nice things to say to people are:…
Most of us miss out on life’s big prizes. The Pulitzer. The Nobel. Oscars. Emmys. But we’re all eligible for life’s small pleasures: A pat on the back. A kiss behind the ear. A four-pound…
In the New York Times best seller based on the author's convocation address at Syracuse University, George Saunders writes, "here's something I know to be true: What I regret most in my life are failures…
NO REGRETS I have wept in the night/For the shortness of sight/That to somebody's need made me blind; But I never have yet Felt a tinge of regret/For being a little too kind.
FAMILY ENCOURAGEMENT Mary was having a tough day and had stretched herself out on the couch to do a bit of what she thought to be well-deserved complaining and self-pitying. She moaned to her mom…
REALLY GOOD NEIGHBORS When preaching on the story of the Good Samaritan, and illustrating the idea of proving to be a good neighbor, you might consider the following story from the early days of the…
REKINDLE THE FLAME OF THE SPIRIT The Holy Spirit is often compared to a flame or a fire. Paul told Timothy to stir up the gift of God. The Greek word for "stir up" means…
WEARING ONE ANOTHER'S BURDEN In Booker T. Washington's autobiography, Up From Slavery, Mr. Washington recalled a beautiful incident of an older brother's love. He said the shirts worn on his plantation by the slaves were…
KINDNESS While Penny and I were walking in the park the other day, a ten-year-old boy came racing around a tree, almost running into us and said, "Dad, where's Amy?" Instantly he realized his mistake…
HOW TO SINK A SERMON Let me sink this fortnight's sermon by starting with a long quotation. (Just kidding: we don't want it to sink!) W. B. J. Martin: "Last Sunday, I heard a young…
GETTING READY FOR RESURRECTION Richard Selzer, a surgeon at the University of Dallas Medical School, is a "craftsman with pen and scalpel." He writes "to search for meaning in the ritual of surgery, which is…
TIMELY OPPORTUNITIES TO DO GOOD And speaking of Paul Harvey, I think it was his radio program that I heard this reportedly true story. A young man was busy at his job of taking out…
KINDNESS will influence more than eloquence. Chestnuts, Freshly Roasted
CYNIC'S VIEW A word of kindness and a loaded revolver will get you more than a word of kindness alone.
THE ARREARS OF KINDLINESS I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year. David Grayson, as quoted…
FINDING HAPPINESS Guard within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness. Know how to replace in your heart, by the happiness of…
JUST WHAT I ALWAYS SUSPECTED Sometimes we think of God as the author of all the things that go wrong in our lives. The following story is used to illustrate this concept. A friend of…
