THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF LEADERSHIP I will tell you what makes a great manager: a good manager has a knack for making ballplayers think they are better than they think they are. He forces you to…
Sermon Illustrations
LOVE Let love not visit you as a transient guest, but be the constant temper of your soul. See that your heart is filled at all times and on all occasions with real undissembled benevolence,…
ADLAI STEVENSON: "It is my job today as speaker to talk. It is your job as the audience to listen. If you get finished before I do, please feel free to leave."
HARMONY In a life out of harmony with itself, events seem to conspire to go wrong, but by the same token they mesh wondrously when you start to live your bliss. Don't climb the ladder…
RUNNING OUT No one believes we're running out of anything. I think we're running out of everything. We're running out of 'out.' 'Out' is where my parents threw the garbage out. You can't throw the…
LET'S HEAR IT FOR OLD! Let us take note that it is the old apple trees that are decked with the loveliest blossoms. That it is the ancient redwoods that rise to majestic heights. That…
WILLIAM MENNENGER The good doctor gave the answer as to how to achieve mental health: "find a mission in life and take it seriously."
EPITAPH FOR THE WORN OUT Here lies a woman who was always tired; She lived in a house where help was not hired. Her last words on earth were: Dear friends I am going Where…
A BAPTISM TO REMEMBER As the new associate pastor of a Baptist church in Memphis, Tennessee, my husband was given the responsibility of baptizing all baptismal candidates. One Sunday, in preparing for a baptism, he…
BROKEN RECORD The minister kept boring his congregation with sermon after sermon about baptism. Finally church leaders told him to preach on another subject the following Sunday. They chose the subject of pills. Certainly, they…
IMMERSIONIST CHECK LIST To help remedy this situation, I hereby offer for your consideration the following immersionist's checklist: Number one - Remove your watch. I once heard a baptismal end with "In the name of…
MORE THAN RITUAL As a preacher's kid I was born, bred and raised in the Church. I have seen hundreds of baptisms. Now a pastor myself, I have officiated at numerous baptism. In the midst…
PASS IT ON There was once a family who brought their youngest child, a girl, to be baptized. When it came time for the baptism, the family went forward, including a very happy three year…
THE DANGERS OF BAPTISM On the Moscow radio, March 1963, Christian baptism was castigated as a "health menace" and "a senseless and dangerous rite." In the weekly pro-atheist broadcast, the communist commentator said that "thousands"…
ON FIRST KNOWING WHO WE ARE In Alex Haley's book, Roots, he tells about the "eight day" ceremony in which a West African baby is given its name. The name is both a gift and…
CHILD'S EYE VIEW Rev. James Boler was talking with the preschool children during the worship service. They had been studying the sacrament of baptism, so he stood with them by the font and asked, "Why…
WOE IS ME A part of the act of baptism in the Church of India is for the candidate to place his own hand on his head and say, "Woe is me if I preach…
IDENTITY Martin Luther saw much of his identity wrapped up in his baptism. Often when depressed or when feelings of anguish would prowl around him, he would recall in Latin the words, "Baptizatus sum." I…
FROM THE TOMB A study of Christian archaeology reveals the interesting fact that the shape of classical Christian fonts and baptisteries bears a close resemblance to that of tombs and mausoleums. The womb from which…
AMBROSE ON BAPTISM I was dead, but because in Baptism I died together with Christ, I received the light of life from Christ. And he who does in Christ, being warmed by Christ, receives the…
