KEEPING HOPE ALIVE At the University, in the Music Department, there was a piano teacher that was simply and affectionately known as "Herman". One night at a University concert, a distinguished piano player suddenly became…
Sermon Illustrations
COURAGE AND PEACE IN THE STORM Do you remember Tom Dooley, that young doctor who organized hospitals, raised money, and literally poured out his life in the service of the afflicted peoples of South East…
CHURCH STAFF JOB DESCRIPTIONS PASTOR: Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. More powerful than a locomotive. Faster than a speeding bullet. Walks on water. Gives counsel to God. ASSOCIATE PASTOR: Able to…
TESTING -- ONE, TWO, THREE When my brother and his wife were considering adopting some children they first took two little boys into their home as foster children to see how they would all relate…
GETTING WHAT YOU WANT "Be careful," runs the old saying, "or you may get what you want." One who would agree is a man who lived in a squalid tenement on a side street in…
THE HIGH HIDDEN COSTS I don't know who was responsible for it, but I vividly recall the picture that appeared in our high school paper. It featured a brand new convertible and underneath was the…
STEWARDSHIP Here's a short but symbolic stewardship story I used recently. I got it from Funny Funny World. It seems that in Baltimore a William Stammer says the $1200.00 he kept in an old pair…
MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT In reading W. Phillip Keller's book Wonder O' The Wind I was reminded of one of my favorite old stories I first heard back in the sixties…
THE MOMENT OF DECISION I was close to forty when I discovered I was a failure. I had a job working at a resort hotel, and was supposedly in charge of building a golf course.…
CHALLENGE The next time somebody tells you nothing is impossible, ask him to put his skis over his shoulder and go through a revolving door.
AN OLD FAVORITE One of the greatest joys of writing this letter is receiving the many varied versions of familiar and beloved old stories. My problem is I can't always remember to use some stories…
EVANGELISM Dr. Harold Fickett, former pastor of the First Baptist Church, Van Nuys, California, tells the delightful story of a monastery in Germany. This particular monastery trained Christian brothers for various responsibilities within the Roman…
OUT OF CONTROL Bruce Rowlison also sent in this one that he got from Deanne Hendricks of Santa Cruz, California. Supposedly a true story that Deanne clipped from a newspaper: A newly retired couple cashed…
GIFTS A 38 -year-old scrub woman would go to the movies and sigh, "If only I had her looks." She would listen to a singer and moan, "If only I had her voice." Then one…
AND HAVE NOT WORKS? I was naked, and you questioned my lack of modesty in my appearance. I was imprisoned, and you debated the legal aspects of interference. I was penniless, and you discussed tax-deductible…
YOU KNOW YOU'RE GETTING OLDER WHEN Almost everything hurts. What doesn't hurt doesn't work anymore. It feels like the morning after the night before, and you haven't been anywhere. All the names in your little…
THE POWER OF LIFE I found these observations in A. Wetheral Johnson's autobiography Created For Commitment. (She's the woman who founded Bible Study Fellowship): Before the second World War, there was a grave in Germany…
PRAYER Leslie Weatherhead tells the story of an old Scot who was quite ill, and the family called for their Domini, or minister. As he entered the sick room and sat down, he noticed another…
WHAT MAKES COURAGE? George Zaharias, the husband of the great golfer Babe Didrikson Zaharias once told Bob Richards this story: Babe was dying of cancer, and he stood by her bed, crying like a baby.…
RISK -- Out Where the Fruit Is The story is told of Will Rogers who came to his friend Eddie Cantor for advice. Will wanted to make some important changes in his act -- but…
