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…
Sermon Illustrations
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
THE HUMAN SCENE Perhaps you picked up your newspaper one morning and read an editorial that went something like this: The world is too big for us. Too much going on, too many crimes, too…
DIVINE INTERCESSION An elderly gentleman passed his grand-daughter's room one night and overheard her repeating the alphabet in an oddly reverent way. He asked her, "What on earth are you up to?" She explained, "I'm…
IDENTITY CRISIS One day Charlie Brown was talking to his friend, Linus, about the pervasive sense of inadequacy he feels all the time. Charlie moaned, "You see, Linus, it goes all the way back to…
MOTIVATION FOR SELLING After his tour of duty overseas Corporal Jones was sent to a stateside induction center where he advised new recruits about their government benefits, especially GI insurance. Soon he had an almost…
THE CHURCH OF ALL TITHERS Dr. Hugh McKean of Chiengmai, Thailand, tells of a church of 400 members where every member tithes. They receive a weekly wage of 40 stangs [less than twenty cents] and…
A NAIL FOR REMEMBERING At one time at the City Temple in London, there was in the congregation a restaurateur named Emil Mettler, who was a close friend of Albert Schweitzer and a kind of…
TITHING AND TRUSTING A church member was having trouble with the concept of tithing. One day he revealed his doubts to his minister: "Pastor, I just don't see how I can give 10% of my…
SENDING IT ON AHEAD Sigmund Freud's favorite story was about the sailor shipwrecked on one of the South Sea Islands. He was seized by the natives, hoisted to their shoulders, carried to the village, and…
DOES YOUR GIFT REPRESENT YOU? It happened one time after a pastor had made an appeal in church for a great and worthy cause, that a certain woman, a member of the church, came to…
EVANGELISM METHODS One day a lady criticized D. L. Moody for his methods of Evangelism in attempting to win people to the Lord. Moody's reply was "I agree with you. I don't like the way…
LISTENING President Franklin D. Roosevelt got tired of smiling that big smile and saying the usual things at all those White House receptions. So, one evening he decided to find out whether anybody was paying…
GIFTS Someone has imagined the Carpenter's tools holding a conference. Brother Hammer presided. Several suggested he leave the meeting because he was too noisy. Replied the Hammer, "If I have to leave this shop, Brother…
