SYMPHONY To live content with small means; To seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; To be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; To study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act…
Sermon Illustrations
THE PEOPLE OF THE LIE A powerful book that every minister should read is The People of the Lie: The Hope For Healing Human Evil by M. Scott Peck (Simon and Schuster, New York). In…
DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE OUTWARD PARTS Also from The Merchant of Venice, Act III, Scene 2. Bassanio speaks: The world is still deceiv'd with ornament./In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt But, being…
SELF-AWARENESS IS THE KEY When he was eighty-eight years old, the late Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once found himself on a train. When the conductor came by, Justice Holmes couldn't find his ticket,…
PRAYER A farmer asked the district superintendent to assign a pastor to his community. "How big a man do you want?" asked the superintendent. "Well," the man replied, "we're not overly particular, but when he's…
HOW TO SURVIVE A SERMON Strategy #1: Wait for at least one idea in the sermon before giving up. Sometimes a preacher can stand in the way of God's speaking for a long time, and,…
MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE After attending a job-enrichment seminar, a supervisor decided that some of the suggested techniques could help combat his company's problems in productivity. He invited an employee to his office and told him…
UPON EXAMINING OURSELVES Here's an interesting statement I found by C. S. Lewis that was helpful in making a sermon on the Gerasene demoniac very practical (Mark 5:1-20). I was telling the congregation that though…
CAN YOU TOP THIS? The story is told about an old minister who survived the great Johnstown flood. He loved to tell the story over and over in great detail. Everywhere he went he would…
GLORY OF GOD The preacher must present the glory of God as clearly and compellingly as human language will permit. Otherwise both preacher and people will be reduced to dreaming little dreams and attempting for…
PRAYER, PUBLIC PARADING Hugh Sidey, writing on The Presidency in Time magazine, gives some advice to the new President in the Jan 5, 1981 issue. He suggests that there is a need for the President…
I COULD HELP THEM IF Father and son were taking a nature hike through the woods when they came upon some ants working furiously to clear a path. The ants were scurrying here and there…
THE POTENT HOUR Lord, what a change within us one short hour Spent in thy presence will prevail to make! What heavy burdens from our bosoms take, What parched grounds refresh as with a shower!…
EASTER TRUTH The great Easter truth is not that we are to live newly after death -- that is not the great thing -- but that we are to be new here and now by…
YOU CAN'T BUY FORGIVENESS A little boy came to the Washington Monument and noticed a guard standing by it. The little boy looked up at the guard and said, "I want to buy it." The…
THE STING OF DEATH The master preacher Donald Barnhouse was widowed at a young age. The death of his wife left him and a six-year-old daughter in the home. He had real difficulty working through…
CHILDREN'S CANDID RESPONSES Our Kindergarten class went to the fire station for a tour and some instruction in fire safety. The fireman was explaining what to do in case of a fire. He said, "First,…
A METHOD OF PRAYING Be simple and direct in your secret prayer. The grace of simplicity is not to be despised in public prayer; but when we call on God in secret, any formality or…
ON THE RAGGED EDGE The risk is what makes it special. Naturally, I don't want to hurt a finger any more than you do, and I want to enjoy life today, tomorrow and the next…
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION A married man showed a friend a story he had cut out of a newspaper. It concerned a man who had obtained a divorce on the grounds that his wife went through his…
