AUTUMN DAYS Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me; when his lamp shone upon my head, by his light I walked through darkness;…
Sermon Illustrations
AUTUMN COLORS A young friend of mine wrote in his late teens, Steve Forden, was killed in an automobile accident. He wrote these words while still in the vital breath of youth. Live life to…
HONESTY Robert Orben is quoted in a recent issue of Reader's Digest: "I have only one thing to say about runners: anyone who says they run ten miles a day with their muscles aching, their…
WEIGHT LOSS When a matron was signing up for exercise classes, the instructor told her to be sure to wear loose clothing to class. She responded, "Listen, if I had any loose clothing, I wouldn't…
AGING Great-Aunt Lucy had become somewhat deaf, and a specialist suggested an operation to improve her hearing. But she promptly vetoed the idea, saying: "I'm 94 years old, and I've heard enough"
MARRIAGE CLOSENESS At their 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration, the husband was questioned about any secrets that might exist between him and his wife even after these long years. He was asked "Do you ever hide…
I MEAN REPULSIVE Did you ever get hooked by an author's ability to describe a scene so graphically that it just grabs you and holds you by the throat? I find many of those kind…
A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME I 'm always impressed with the human tendency to try to change reality by renaming things. You see it in academic papers where they often pour forth commonalities --…
PRIME TIME PASSAGES We've heard a great deal in recent years about the changes we go through in our ages and phases of life, both through the writings of Gail Sheehy's Passages and Daniel J.…
THE GIFT OF MOTIVATION There was a young man who took a short cut home late one night-through the cemetery. And he fell in an open grave. He called, he tried to climb out. To…
CONFUSED After he was defeated for the Presidency, Thomas E. Dewey said the best analogy of his feelings the day after -- when he saw defeat snatched from the jaws of victory -- was of…
DON'T PUSH! Frank Goodman, Pastor of the Oasis Community Church of Twentynine Palms, California sent in the following note: Last week I heard a sermon by Dr. Paul Risser of Downey, California. He told of…
VALUED PET The minister preached a very short sermon. He explained, "My dog got into my office and chewed up some of my notes." At the close of the service a visitor asked, "If your…
RARE RESTRAINT Albert Einstein had a wholesome disregard for the tyranny of custom. Once as a guest of honor at a dinner given for him by the President of Swarthmore College he was called on…
SERMONS AND TEXTS David Goodroe, Baptist pastor from Burlington, North Carolina sent in this item from a book called A Time to Laugh, or Grandpa Was A Preacher by Leroy Brownlow. Grandpa thought a text…
OPENING LINE I went to hear a lecture by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. the other night at Flint Center in Cupertino. He started out with one of my favorite openers, saying "I feel like a mosquito…
LOVINGLY PORTRAYED -- WARTS AND ALL This summer I read a very impressive biography entitled Man of Vision - Woman of Prayer by Marilee Pierce Dunker. It is the story of Bob Pierce, founder of…
REAGAN'S WORK IS CUT OUT FOR HI M. In ten years the Congressional staff has grown from 11,700 to 18,400. The combined payroll has shot up from $150 million a year to $500 million. The…
DOUBT Doubt is the ants in the pants of faith, it keeps it alive and moving. Frederick Beuchner, Wishful Thinking
ALIBI A husband and wife were sitting in a movie theater, engrossed in a suspenseful Hollywood whodunit in which there were at least a dozen possible murder suspects. "I bet Paul Newman is the killer,"…
