THE INFLUENTIAL MOTHER -- Eve, Jezebel, Priscilla, Debra, Susannah Wesley, etc. I was reading about the revered and sainted Susannah Wesley, mother of John and Charles and 17 other children, who supposedly spent such a…
Sermon Illustrations
MOTIVATION -- THE PLUS FACTOR I had one of those civic responsibilities the other day -- to be the invocator at a luncheon. I heard one good story there about the two fellows who were…
SPREAD THE WORD The story is told of a small dog which had been struck by a car and was laying by the side of the road. A doctor, driving by, noticed that the dog…
CLOUT -- WHO HAS IT? An ad appeared in the classified section of the newspaper that read: "I would like to announce that the ad I put in this newspaper last Saturday was in error.…
THE AMBIGUITY OF SINNERS/SAINTS There is the story of the man who came down from the Carolina mountains. He was all dressed up and carrying his Bible. A friend saw him and asked, "Elias, what's…
PERSPECTIVE The police were called to help restore order at the Presbyterian Home for the Aged -- the scene of a week-long revolt. Three militant octogenarians were arrested after a scuffle in the north parlor.…
GOD'S LOVE We call it mercy -- it is God's forgiving love. We call it providence -- it is God's caring love. We call it kindness -- it is God's understanding love. We call it…
WE NEED ONE ANOTHER A young woman was waiting for a bus in a slum area one evening when a rookie policeman approached her. "Want me to wait with you?" he asked. She replied, "Thank…
HUMAN SELF-SUFFICIENCY A few years ago I was home alone in bed with the flu while our church was having its annual Thanksgiving dinner. When the family began to arrive home afterwards one of the…
Which also reminds me of the old story of the Pastor who began his sermon with an apology. He said, "Friends, I must confess I am not well prepared this week. It has been a…
DEATH I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails in the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and…
PERSISTENCE Weary With Good Behavior? Pastor, do you ever get just bone weary with well doing? I like the story in Peanuts that illustrates the texts in Galatians and II Thess. on this topic. The…
THE PLODDERS FOR CHRIST When William Carey began thinking of going to India as a pioneer missionary, his father pointed out to him that he possessed no academic qualifications that would fit him for such…
RISK The Risk of Living In Only One Tree Writer Oscar Schisgall tells the following story as reported in Bits and Pieces. When I was a young writer with a very uncertain income, I went…
DESIGNED TO RISK A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for. John A. Shedd
SURRENDER TO CHRIST Why do people resist surrendering themselves to Christ? For many, the reason they give is that they don't really trust God to handle their lives to their suiting. A young lady stood…
SECOND OPINION A tourist came too close to the edge of the Grand Canyon, lost his footing and plunged over the side, clawing and scratching to save himself. After he went out of sight and…
IMPACT -- THINGS THAT MATTER Some things make great impact, others make none. Some truths are potent, some are innocuous. I like the story about the Irish attorney that was making the best he could…
RECOMMENDATIONS One day Dr. Barnardo was approached by a dirty, little, ragged boy who asked for admission to the London orphanage. The doctor looked at him and said, "But my boy, I do not know…
APPROPRIATE CHURCH BEHAVIOR In church last Sunday, I was intent on a small child who was turning around smiling at everyone. He wasn't gurgling, spitting, humming, tearing the hymn books or rummaging through his mother's…
