TELEVISION NEWS -- LACK OF RESPONSIVENESS TO THE PUBLIC BODES ILL I don't know how I get on so many mailing lists, but one publication I get is called Wooster Reports from The College of…
Sermon Illustrations
THE JEWISH MOTHER SYNDROME I don't know about you, but when I was growing up we had quite a few pastors whose style can only be described as "Jewish Mother," That is, they were like…
NAMES I went to a restaurant one day recently wearing a shirt with the designer's signature on the right sleeve. As I stood in line to wait for a table, an elderly gentleman tapped me…
PROPHETIC EVENTS OF 1981 RECAPITULATED Just today I received my annual year end letter from my friend Ken Johnson. Someday I am going to collect all of his letters in a book and sell them…
PROPHECY Over the past few decades there has been a great deal of interest in the topic of prophecy. What is the test of the prophet? (Deut.) Who is the true prophet? People are always…
WHY ARE FIRE TRUCKS RED? Well, fire trucks have four wheels and eight men, and four and eight are twelve. There are twelve inches in a foot. A foot is a ruler. Queen Elizabeth is…
JARGON A newly commissioned ensign, at sea for the first time, was entering the wardroom when he bumped into a seaman carrying a mop and pail. The ensign asked him, "Where you going, sailor?" And…
DOUBLE MESSAGE A young woman quickly signed for a library book, the title page of which read: HOW- To Reach Men, To Hold Men, To Win Men; It Has Been Done.When she got home and…
AUTUMN RITUALS The start of the deer hunting season in Vermont is an event of special significance. Each year, on opening day, a substantial portion of the male population retires to outlying cabins and lodges…
DOGGEREL DEPT -- THE AFTERGLOW OF GLADNESS There was a dachshund once, so long He hadn't any notion How long it took to notify His tail of his emotion; And so it happened, while his…
HOLIDAY RECIPE SWAP Since the Holiday season is a time for a great deal of special cooking, I am reminded of one of my favorite stories about swapping recipes. I think there's a parable in…
KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING We make a living by what we get out of life . . . but we make a life by what we give. Rev. Don Maddox
FLATTERY In Ancient Greece, the politically crafty philosopher Aristippus had learned to get along in court by flattering the tyrant Denys. Aristippus looked down his nose at some of his less prosperous fellow philosophers and…
FRACTURED PARABLES Barry Clanton, Pastor of the Westside Christian Church of Martinez, Georgia sent in a story I've always liked but had forgotten. In fact, I thought we had printed it before but in a…
BINDING UP THE BROKEN HEARTED In a fallen world not all the stories have happy endings. As you well know, as a pastor, there are many tragedies that are tough to live with but yet…
STRENGTH/WEAKNESS Actor Jim Garner (Rockford, Maverick) was asked what his greatest strength was in an interview in the Saturday Evening Post (Nov, 1981). He replied without hesitation, and very matter-of-factly, "My honesty." But when asked…
THE VIRTUES I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle…
HUMOR, ET C. Jokes are no laughing matter to the brain. They are a type of release valve that enables us to think the unthinkable, accept the unacceptable, discover new relationships, adjust better and maintain…
FATHER Father -- The Locus Classicus: Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. (Psalms 103:13) The Ideal Father: The father of five children had won a toy…
AUTUMN IS IN THE AIR One of my favorite cartoon strips is Funky Winkerbean by Tom Batiuk. One I particularly liked showed two leaves in conversation with one another at the end of a branch.…
