During the Vietnam War, the legendary pacifist Pastor A.J. Muste stood in front of the White House night after night with a lit candle, in persistent and peaceful protest. A reporter asked him, “Do you…
Sermon Illustrations
Some of you are familiar with Will Davis Campbell, the Baptist minister and award winning author who died recently at age 88. One of the last surviving icons of the civil rights movement, Campbell’s prophetic…
Pastor and popular author Ronnie McBrayer admits to a certain mistake that he says many preachers are guilty of. He writes, "My mistake, one of many, is that I tell the people listening to me…
A talented cellist was scheduled to play before a very critical audience. Although he had a fine instrument, he was not satisfied with the quality of its sound. So he said to his colleague, “Tonight,…
TV newsman Tom Brokaw told of how he was wandering through an upscale department store in New York one day, shortly after he was promoted to co-host on the Today Show. That show was a…
In a book called "Peace of Mind," a famous psychiatrist says that "The supreme foe of inner-victory, is rigid pride." The Bible often calls it being "stiff-necked." In Biblical terms it means a kind of…
A wise old man of business once said, “Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in people." And for us, the trouble is if we are a competitive people, as long as…
There is the story of the "changed man" who was asked, "You stopped smoking because she asked you to?" "Yes," he answered. "And you stopped drinking because she asked you?" "Yes." "And you stopped swearing…
With a seemingly profound sense of humility, the great saxophonist, John Coltrane, wrote the following in the liner notes of his breakthrough album, "A Love Supreme." "During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace…
There is a beautiful little parable in which a high-flying sparrow looks down at her shadow skimming along a parched, withering landscape. This saddens the little bird. "If it were not for the constant sun,"…
In sixth-century China there lived a man named Lau-Tzu, who lived a simple life. There is a wonderful story told about him in which he is in poor health and wants to leave his native…
A wise author has written, “It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others.” -1 In a most direct way, that one sentence sums…
The following words were found inscribed on the tomb of an Anglican bishop buried in Westminster Abbey: When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world.…
Author Rob Bell asks us to ponder the mysteries of the Gospel. Mysteries which include the dusty, messy, bloody and unexpected stories about this man, Jesus of Nazareth. This Jesus who touches lepers, whom no…
A blind man was asked by a sympathetic woman, "Doesn’t being blind rather color your life?" The blind man replied, "Yes, but, thank God, I can choose the color. And since I am responsible for…
According to Malcolm Muggeridge, in "Something Beautiful for God," Calcutta's Angel of Mercy, Mother Teresa, shared her insight into the true value and meaning of Christian responsibility in these words: When I was homeless, you…
It has been said that we live in a time that holds the happiness of the individual paramount. That is to say, we live in the times of "What’s in it for me?" We live…
The timeless paintings of the great French Impressionist, Auguste Renoir, literally glow with life and light and color. Renoir seemed to put light inside the people he so beautifully portrayed on canvas. For the last…
There is a short story in which a self-centered old man dreams that he died and went to hell. In the midst of his anguish, he looks heavenward and cries out for a second chance.…
An extremely wealthy man, reflecting on his business career and the life it brought him, said: ""If you go into business with the idea of satisfying all your wants, your greed will erect for you…