I KNOW WHO HOLDS TOMORROW A few days before I left home to prepare for the ministry my gray-haired pastor, Rev. Temple, told me this story. I have told it many, many times since, especially…
Sermon Illustrations
BEHOLD THE WATERMELON I have observed the power of the watermelon seed. It has the power of drawing from the ground and through itself 200,000 times its weight. When you can tell me how it…
THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING "This rabbi," said Merlyn, "went on a journey with the prophet Elijah. They walked all day, and at nightfall they came to the humble cottage of a poor man, whose…
GOING OUT OF BUSINESS This sign appeared in the window of a store in New York City: "Don't be fooled by imitators who claim to be going out of business. We have been going out…
BREAKAWAY Richard Armstrong and Edward Watkin tell the story of a biologist's experiment with "processional caterpillars." On the rim of a clay pot that held a plant, he lined them up so that the leader…
PRAYERS WITH MORE POWER A young minister, learning that a lady from Boston who was visiting in town had been taken ill, stopped in to cheer her up. "I'd like to say a brief prayer…
ASSUMPTIONS We all find ourselves operating on assumptions from time to time that prove to be all wrong from square one. Like the new salesman who was carrying an important-looking document and walked over to…
ADJUSTING TO THE REALITIES A factory manager found that production was being hampered by the tardiness of his people returning from the lunch hour. When the whistle blew few were at their machines. He posted…
SLOW DOWN A woman who had been living a very high-pressured life, moved with her family from the city to the country. The family had resolved to reduce the stresses and tensions they had been…
WILL POWER/CONSCIENCE A man consulted a psychiatrist. He complained, "I've been misbehaving, Doc, and my conscience is troubling me." The doctor asked, "And you want something that will strengthen your willpower?" The fellow replied, "Well,…
HE CONQUERED DEATH At one time, Dr. Harry Rimmer was travelling in Egypt and negotiating with their Secretary of State, a refined and cultured man. Dr. Rimmer began to talk to him about religious matters.…
CANDID PRAYER There was a farmer who had three sons: Jim, John, and Sam. No one in the family ever attended church or had time for God. The pastor and the others in the church…
SILENT VIOLINS Luigi Tarisio was found dead one morning with scarce a comfort in his home, but with 246 exquisite fiddles, which he had been collecting all his life, crammed into an attic, the best…
A THOUGHT THAT LED TO A STRATEGY One of the missionary biographies I found inspiring to read a few years back was Sensei by Russell Hitt. It is the story of Irene Webster Smith, a…
BETRAYING THE SECRET A group of prospectors set out from Bannock, Montana (then capital of the state) in search of gold. They went through many hardships and several of their little company died en route.…
GOD LEADS A PRETTY SHELTERED LIFE Billions of people were scattered on a great plain before God's throne. Some of the groups near the front talked heatedly -- not with cringing shame, but with belligerence.…
APPRECIATING OUR OWN GIFT In Milan, Italy a mechanics union took a group of children to the circus. The children were either deaf or blind . . . but all seemed to be thrilled by…
TOTAL COMMITMENT "I recall the words of a Salvation Army nurse in their fine hospital in Surabaja, East Java, referring to a statement that their founder, General William Booth made when asked the secret of…
A GLORIOUS ATTRIBUTE -- LISTENING His thoughts were slow, His words were few, and never formed to glisten. But he was a joy to all his friends -- You should have heard him listen. Quoted…
DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS The two members of the Hell's Angels brought their motorcycles to a stop at a crosswalk. A nun with her arm in a sling crossed in front of them. One of the bikers…
