COMMUNICATION FLOW -- WHICH DIRECTION? I recently have been reading Henry Trewhitt's McNamara: His Ordeal In The Pentagon (Harper and Row, 1971 pp. 12, 13). In it I found this story which illustrates the problem…
Sermon Illustrations
EMERGENCY NUMBER As my boss prepared to go on vacation in another state, I kiddingly asked him to leave a telephone number where we could reach him at least once a day. After he left,…
FACE THE FACTS BOLDLY An Englishman went abroad leaving his much loved dog and servant home. While away, the man received a cablegram from the servant with the message, "Your dog died." The man was…
COMMUNICATING LOVE Ole and Olga lived on a farm in Iowa. Olga was living on a starvation diet of affection. Ole never gave her any signs of love, and Olga's need to be appreciated went…
COMMUNICATIONS FEEDBACK William Barclay, world-famed Scottish bible scholar who died in February of 1978, claimed that his unique ability to communicate the Gospel was due to an old Scot lady who lived alone in an…
THE DIFFICULTY IN COMMINCATING ABOUT LOVE Lucy says to Charlie Brown: "You know what I don't undertand? I don't understand love!" He says, "Who does?" She says, "Explain love to me, Charlie Brown." He says,…
BECOMING POSSIBLE The teacher asked her class what each wanted to become when they grew up "President," "a fireman," "a teacher." One by one they answered until it became Billy's time. The teacher asked, "Billy,…
LIFT UP YOUR HEAD When my son was a toddler, washing his hair was always a problem. He would sit in the bathtub while I put shampoo on his hair. Then, when I poured on…
IT'S TOUGH TO BECOME A SAINT Young Brian, age 5, had been told the story of the 'pillar-monk,' Symeon the Stylite, in Sunday School. He was captivated by this Godly man's approach to seeking God's…
WHITEWASHING THE FAMILY'S BLACK SHEEP The children in a prominent family decided to give their father a book of the family's history for a birthday present. They commissioned a professional biographer to do the work,…
FOLLOW ME Stanley Jones tells of a missionary who got lost in an African jungle -- nothing around him but bush and a few cleared places. He found a native hut and asked the native…
GOD'S STRATEGY FOR OUR INCARNATION One of the most rewarding aspects of living in a strange land is the experience of being loved not for what we can do, but for who we are. When…
EVEN IN A DUBIOUS BIRTHPLACE Beneath the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, a silver star marks the alleged precise spot where Christ was born. A stone slab nearby is supposed to mark the exact…
INCARNATION FOR COMMUNICATION My grandfather owned a farm. On this farm he had several very good horses. One night the barn caught fire. He and some of his sons went out to rescue the horses.…
THE GENTLE ASPECTS OF INCARNATION Dear Friend, I just had to send a note to tell you how much I love you and care about you. I saw you yesterday as you were walking with…
THE COMMUNION OF LIFE WITH LIFE "The best way to send an idea," said scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, "is to wrap it up in a person." The theological word for all of that is "Incarnation,"…
TO SEE THE BEAUTY ABOVE Norman A. McMurry tells about a palace in the city of Rome which has a great high dome. Inside that dome there is a painting known as "The Dawn" by…
HE CLIMBED IN WITH US I read about a grandfather who found his grandson, jumping up and down in his playpen, crying at the top of his voice. When Johnnie saw his grandfather, he reached…
EAGLET ERNIE One of my favorite stories is about a boy who spent the summer in the country with his grandfather. One day when they were out in the field they found a small strange…
GOD IN CHRIST Kierkegaard, the theologian, once sought to describe the incarnation of God in Christ. He used this simple illustrative story. A certain King of a mythical country was very rich. His power was…
