THE MISSING STRING I 'm the owner of a 12-string guitar. Not being a perfectionist, quite often I have tolerance for sounds that require finer tuning. One day I broke the G-string. With a 12-string…
Sermon Illustrations
NO EXCUSES! I came across an article where a preacher anonymously wrote in a magazine his answer for people's excuses for not coming to church. He had quite a few members in his church, but…
THE SURVIVORS For all those born before 1945 - consider the changes we have witnessed... We were born before television, before penicillin, before polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, frisbees and the PILL.…
AFFLICTION AND COMFORT Many years ago, I was manuscript editor at a religious publishing house in Chicago. One of the projects for which I was responsible was a book about preaching to which several prominent…
MAIL BUOY WATCH I can recall how strong the sense of homesickness was when I was stationed aboard ships during my time in the Navy. It's difficult to explain the sense of isolation on board…
LIFE IS BIRTH T.S. Eliot wrote, "Old men ought to be explorers." Like the young, the old can crawl off their maps, toddle or totter into uncharted territory. In fact, if one is to get…
IT'S RELATIVE! Manager: "I'm sorry I can't hire you, but there isn't enough work to keep you busy." Applicant: "You'd be surprised how little it takes."
PEANUTS Charles Schulz, creator of the "Peanuts" cartoon says that the success of his cartoons comes from the fact that Charlie Brown is unsuccessful. "After all, people don't laugh at success. Readers wouldn't chuckle if…
KEEPING UP A successful young attorney sat waiting for a red light to change when a young boy rode alongside of him on a moped. The boy motioned the man to lower his window. As…
DRAW NEARER When I was a boy, my mother used to send me outdoors to get a birch stick to whip me with, when I had to be punished. At first I used to stand…
THIS SIDE UP I 'll bet you a big jar of raspberry jam And also the strawberry milk in your cup That no matter how long you practice each day You can't drop your jelly-…
WHY PUNISH OTHERS? Ruth: Say Karl, Ay understand you und your vife celebrated your 25th anniversary last month. Ay suppose you had a party -- killed a chicken or something? Karl: Oh, no -- ve…
RALPH WALDO EMERSON'S SUCCESS To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to…
Here's one from the Phoenix Baptist Church Newsletter: HUBBLE TROUBLE It seems there's trouble with the Hubble. You know, that multi- kazillion-dollar telescope currently floating 380 miles above the planet, peering myopically at distant galaxies.…
ISAAC NEWTON Sir Isaac Newton sure was smart, Beneath the apple tree. When one fell off and hit his head, He said, "Wow, gravity!" For Isaac was a genius And not a common slouch. A…
INSIDE ARSON REPORT Recently we had a large fire in the Boston Store, a large department store in Lathams, N.Y. The guard did a good job of reporting the fire after it had broken out.…
A BETTER HEART The present system, unless it can develop a better intelligence and a better heart, is manifestly destined to foster fresh wars and to continue wasting what is left of the substance of…
HISTORY: THE IDIOT'S TALE There can be no unity of Mankind without the participation of God; and, conversely, when the heavenly pilot is dropped, Man not only lapses into discord which is at variance with…
DEADLY DECISIONS Bruno Bettelheim writes in his newest and his last book: "All people, Jews and Gentiles, who dare not defend themselves when they know they are right, who submit to punishment not because of…
THEOLOGY OF ECOLOGY From an article, "Reflection on Moltmann," George Laird Hunt writes: "Moltmann is working on a theology of ecology and believes the root of the (ecological) crisis is the will to dominate, and…
