THE CHIMES Everything is in readiness. The tree is trimmed. The cards are taped to the doorframe. The boxes stacked in glittering disarray under the tree. Why don't I hear chimes? Remember the small boy…
Sermon Illustrations
THE GIFT It was Sunday, Christmas. Our family had spent the holidays in San Francisco with my husband's parents. But in order for us to be back at work on Monday, we found ourselves driving…
THE PUSHY CHURCH Just a few days before Christmas two ladies stood looking into a department store window at a large display of the manger scene with clay figures of the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph,…
LET'S GET PRACTICAL And then there was the wife who said to her husband, "This year let's give each other more practical gifts like socks and fur coats."
A CHRISTMAS LULLABY Sleep, baby, sleep! The Mother sings: Heaven's angels kneel and fold their wings. Sleep, baby, sleep! With swathes of scented hay Thy bed By Mary's hand at eve was spread. Sleep, baby,…
CHRISTMAS EVE At midnight in the church a hush falls and we hear Only a gentle rustling, like the sound He heard as near His bed the golden straw Rustled as the cattle gathered round.…
'TWAS THE BIKE BEFORE CHRISTMAS ' Twas the night before Christmas, when all through our house Not a creature was sleeping, not even my spouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with screws. (If…
THE CHRIST OF BETHLEHEM Some tell us that Jesus' earthly life was not very important. They say he wrote no books, composed no songs, drew no pictures, carved no statues, amassed no fortune, commanded no…
WHOSE BIRTHDAY? There was once a family that celebrated Christmas every year with a birthday party for Jesus. An extra chair of honor at the table became the family's reminder of Jesus' presence. A cake…
SPONTANEOUS BROTHERHOOD Amid the horrors of World War I, there occurred a unique truce when, for a few hours, enemies behaved like brothers. Christmas Eve in 1914 was all quiet on France's Western Front, from…
A BROTHER LIKE THAT A college friend of mine named Paul received a new automobile from his brother as a pre-Christmas present. On Christmas Eve, when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin…
A WINTER RIDE Who shall declare the joy of running! Who shall tell of the pleasures of flight! Springing and spurning the tufts of wild heather, Swooping, wide- winged, through the blue dome of light.…
THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS There is something about the Christmas time, Something in the spirit of it That sweeps it clean of the dust of other days And hallows it./Something that proves the depths of…
THE STORY OF THE CHRISTMAS CHILD First heard above a lonely hillBy humble shepherd men --Repeated down the centuries Again -- and yet again -- The story of the Christmas Child Remains as near, as…
FORGIVEN -- AND GONE! Corrie Ten Boom, in her book, Tramp For The Lord, had these words to say regarding forgiveness: It was 1947 . . . I had come from Holland to defeated Germany…
ACTIVE FORGIVENESS A small boy at a summer camp received a large package of cookies in the mail from his mother. He ate a few, then placed the remainder under his bed. The next day,…
THE TEST Keith Miller tells the story about a bishop somewhere in Europe and a young nun who claimed to have had a vision of Jesus. As was the custom when someone claimed such a…
FORGIVENESS IS FREEDOM My six-year-old son used one of those super adhesive glues on an airplane he was building. In less than 3 minutes, his right index finger was bonded to a shiny blue wing…
SELF-SACRIFICE Once upon a time there was a loyal servant of a great lord. The lord's castle overlooked a stormy channel, separating his domain from the homeland of a lovely lady. The servant, in charge…
SELF-INVENTORY The story is told of a farmer who had lived on the same farm all his life. It was a good farm, but with the passing years, the farmer began to tire of it.…
