NOW IS THE TIME A friend in Arizona was once accosted by a gunman. The man pointed his gun at my friend's head and said, "tell me there is no God or I will pull…
Sermon Illustrations
A POINT OF REFERENCE Picasso asked his friend, Rodin, "Do you like this painting? I have not yet signed it, but I thought I would ask your opinion first." Rodin took the picture, turned it…
BE SURE YOU GET THE WHOLE STORY A farmer in Bloomington bought a horse and was told, honestly, by the seller that there was only one thing wrong with the horse. He likes to sit…
ANGELS UNAWARE I 've always found missionary biographies to be a rich source of stories that are both true and inspiring. One I've just read and found to be filled with fascinating illustrations is Steel…
CONVERSATIONAL GRACE An attractive woman was taken to dinner one night by William E. Gladstone, the distinguished British statesman. The next evening she attended a dinner where she sat next to Benjamin Disraeli, his equally…
SHORT-SIGHTED A pig ate his fill of acorns under an oak tree and then started to root around the tree. A crow remarked, "You should not do this. If you lay bare the roots, the…
HEAL THE BLIND The following story is by Dr. Paul Brand, world-renowned surgeon who has pioneered medical work with lepers in India. I have found his book Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (with Philip Yancey) to…
I WANT TO BE USED LORD, BUT There was a pious old gentleman of an earlier generation who used to get up regularly at prayer meeting in his church to pray: "Use me, O Lord,…
THE VISIBILITY OF JESUS Ben Haden of Chattanooga, Tennessee says he heard recently about a little seven-year-old boy who went to an evangelistic service. He went on Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night,…
A STONE IN THE SUN We were hiking in the mountains out West when I saw the stone -- a small one, about the size of a half-dollar, with smooth rounded edges. Ordinarily I would…
THE CRITIC British columnist Bernard Levin, commenting on the taste of two music critics: "If this pair had been present at the miracle of the loaves and fishes, one of them would have complained that…
CARE FOR MY SON A wealthy man died, apparently without leaving a will. Consequently, according to law, the estate was to be divided among the several surviving cousins who were the next of kin. Also…
JUST THE SITE! London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows,…
A SENSE OF DESTINY I was re-reading the biography of Peter Marshall, A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall and found, once again, this story about Peter's sense of God's hand on his life: One…
PRAYER REMINDER George Reindrop, in his book No Common Task, tells how a nurse once taught a man to pray, and in doing so changed his whole life from being a dull, disgruntled and dispirited…
SOMETIMES BEING JUST A VISITOR HAS ITS ADVANTAGES A preacher was addressing the people one Sunday, trying to impress upon them the importance of religion. "All you people of this congregation," he cried from the…
GET READY FOR THE TOUGH TIMES I enjoyed an article in ML Journal (Vol. VI, No. 1, Word, Inc.) entitled "Get Ready for The River's Rising" by Vernon Grounds, President Emeritus of Denver Theological Seminary.…
COURAGE, OR JUST PLAIN SPUNK I 've been reading a biography of Mary Slessor and have found the account of the well-known 19th century missionary to be particularly inspiring. In her early days in Scotland,…
SIMPLE EXEGESIS Last month I shared an item from an article by Vernon Grounds. Here's one more that's too good to hide. He tells a story that he heard from a friend, Pastor Bernard Travaieille,…
THE TREASURE AND THE KNOWLEDGE An ancient Rabbinical legend tells of a man named Simon who lived in Krakow, Poland. In the story, Simon has a vivid dream about a great treasure buried under a…
