A PROGRAM OF IMPROVEMENT Soon after Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes retired he had his legal secretary, Dean Acheson, come to read to him. Holmes chose Plato's Symposium to be read to him. Acheson was not…
Sermon Illustrations
IN HIS STEPS He is a Christian who tries to be the kind of neighbor Christ would be, and the kind of citizen Christ would be, and who asks himself in all the alternatives of…
HUMILITY A young American student visiting the Beethoven museum in Bonn was fascinated by the piano on which Beethoven had composed some of his greatest works. She asked the museum guard if she could play…
SIN AND FORGIVENESS Martin Luther's colleague, Philip Melanchthon, vexed his more ebullient friend by his quiet and virtuous ways. "For goodness' sake, why don't you go and sin a little?" cried Luther in exasperation, "doesn't…
A MYSTERY OF PURPOSE This life were brutish did we not sometimes Have intimations clear of wider scope, Hints of occasion infinite, to keep The soul alert with noble discontent And onward yearnings of unstilled…
INFLUENCE The most important part of the training of the Twelve was one which was perhaps at the time little noticed, though it was producing splendid results -- the silent and constant influence of His…
TEMPTATION A youngster was asked what he did when he was tempted. He replied, "Well, when I hear Satan come knocking at the door of my heart, I just say to the Lord Jesus, who…
SEARCHER OF HEARTS Searcher of Hearts! -- from mine erase All thoughts that should not be, And in its deep recesses trace My gratitude to Thee! Hearer of Prayer! -- oh, guide aright Each word…
THE MYSTERIOUS The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause…
AN INAUSPICIOUS END Li Bo, considered one of China's greatest poets, led a wandering life, briefly enjoying spells of court employment. He was a lover of beauty and wine and met his death appropriately. According…
RENUNCIATION He might have built a palace at a word, Who sometimes had not where to lay His head; Time was when He has nourished crowds with bread; Would not one meal unto Himself afford.…
RENEWAL To keep God at the center of one's life requires frequent renewal of power through prayer. But such renewal is not measured by the amount of time it takes, rather by the degree to…
RESPONSIBILITY In the harbor, where both great ships and small pleasure craft berth, there is a warning. Plain for all to see is a sign which reads, "Slow! You Are Responsible For Your Own Wake!"…
HYPOCRISY Sometimes I shut the door on all the world And go alone to that most secret place Where there is only God. Just God and I! Then Together we go over subtle acts, Mistakes…
FOLLOWING I read a magazine article about an interesting technology contest. Each competitor had to create a robotic mouse which would race through a maze trying to find the end. The mouse that completed the…
AND WHAT ABOUT GOD? I overheard a little girl who, after a day at church, was in a particularly theological mood. She asked her mother, "Mommy, does God believe in us?" After a good laugh,…
IN TOUGH TIMES While Prime Minister of Great Britain, David Lloyd George had many problems to contend with -- including World War I, the economic crisis and the Sinn Fein movement for Irish liberation, to…
JUST PAY ATTENTION I heard about a factory in which the management conducted an experiment. They thought that improved lighting would boost production. To reduce the financial risk they decided to install the new lighting…
BLOCKING THE LIGHT It was the summer before I entered 6th grade when I joined several other boys at a friend's house one afternoon. It was a beautiful day -- bright and sunny, a gentle…
THE SCARS REMAIN During early childhood I had a fiery temper which often caused me to say or do unkind things. One day, after an argument had sent one of my playmates home in tears,…
