THE SIMPLIFIED LIFE A magazine cartoon shows a middle-aged lady talking to her boss at work. She says: "I've decided to simplify my life. Just send my paycheck to Visa." Woman, Jun 1986, page 68.
Sermon Illustrations
CHILDHOOD -- FROM A MODERN FATHER'S PERSPECTIVE A cartoon in Forbes magazine shows a modern father talking with his young boy, giving him some fatherly perspective: "Remember, son, these are your tax-free years. Make the…
THE AGONY OF FATHERHOOD A young father- to-be was pacing back and forth, wringing his hands in the hospital corridor while his wife was in labor. He was tied up in knots of fear and…
EXPERTS: THEORY V S. PRACTICE Charlie Brown is walking along the street rewinding his kite-string and following the string to his downed kite. As he goes he is waxing the expert to his friend and…
NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE: WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? If you only look for holes you will think a screen is useless; yet it keeps the flies out. Sumbmitted by Scott Widmer, Harmony United Methodist Church,…
THINK ABOUT IT A former undertaker applied for a job with a Monticello, N.Y. business firm. The application asked: "What did you like about your previous job?" The applicant replied: "Working with people." Funny, Funny…
COVENANT LOVE My daughter Kelly (age 6) grew to be close friends with Michelle (age 11). Michelle had recently learned about covenant love and persuaded Kelly to become a covenant sister. They got all excited…
DIFFERING STANDARDS Everyone looks at life with their own perspective, bringing their own standards, their own ways of assessing a situation. A. H. Livingstone is a man who sells etchings to hotel managers. He is…
FAITH -- NOT QUITE I once heard P. V. George, a Congregational minister, tell the story of an elderly woman who was so frightened by the possibility of an airplane crash that she would never…
CRITICISM / ADVICE If one person calls you an ass or a donkey, pay no attention to him. But if five people call you one, go out and buy yourself a saddle. Arabian proverb
HONKING ENCOURAGEMENT Maggie Kuhn, head of the Grey Panthers, tells of some interesting facts about sandhill cranes. It seems that these large birds, who commute great distances and traverse continents, have three remarkable qualities. First…
SUMMER PERILS In a small church during the summer, a pastor was preaching with gusto. Due to the warmth of the evening, the windows were open and bugs of all sizes were attracted to the…
LAWS OF NATURE -- "If you file it, you'll never need it. If you need it, you never file it." Michael Berla. -- "History does not repeat itself; historians simply repeat one another." Otto Bettman…
EXCUSES A young Palermo man arrested for stealing a car, had the year's most novel excuse. He'd found the automobile in front of a cemetery, he explained, and thought the owner was dead.
BENDING THE TRUTH A young mother encountered her son on the street when he should have been in school. When the boy finished explaining why he was not where he was supposed to be, the…
SO MUCH FOR TRAINING Helene Hanff, author of 84, Charring Cross Road, first went to New York City nearly 40 years ago after winning a playwriting contest. She writes about the results of that contest:…
INVOLVED VERSUS COMMITTED Football coach Lou Holtz of Arkansas pointed out the difference between being merely involved and being truly committed to a cause. "The Kamikaze pilot that was able to fly 50 missions was…
SPARKY WAS A LOSER When he was a little boy the other children called him "Sparky," after a comic-strip horse named Sparkplug. Sparky never did shake that nickname. School was all but impossible for Sparky.…
INDIVIDUAL GIFTS, TALENTS, SKILLS We each have different gifts. Certainly the New Testament teaches this principle. It isn't important that we all have equal gifts or the same gifts. So also we each have different…
RUT Why this passion for shaking people out of ruts? I am devoted to ruts. Moreover, most of the people who are in ruts are much nicer, and much happier, than the people who are…
