The following true account is what we might call a salvation experience. One day, as a high-rise apartment building was nearing completion, only two workers remained, putting the finishing touches on the inside of the…
Sermon Illustrations
Omar Khayyam (the poet who wrote the famous line, “A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and thou”) also wrote some lines about hope. “The worldly hope that men set their hearts upon,” he…
Robert Murray M’Cheyne is revered in Scotland as one of that nation’s great Christian Preachers. Although he died at an early age, he had already become a household name in his lifetime. He was fond…
Three professionals, an engineer, a psychologist, and a theologian, were together on a hunting trip in the Canadian Rockies. They came upon an isolated cabin. Seeking shelter and rest, they knocked on the door, but…
A recent seminary graduate with an advanced degree in sociology was called on to deliver a speech to a group of seniors in a retirement community. For what seemed like an eternity to some in…
During the college football season when many will be cheering on their favorite team, we recall the story about Notre Dame traveling to a much-anticipated game against one of its chief rivals. A reporter met…
In Eugene O’Neil’s story “Days Without End,” John Loving, a Roman Catholic boy, prays that his parents, who have been injured, might not die. But their lives were not saved by the kind of miracle…
There is a psychological condition known as “compassion fatigue.” Sometimes referred to as the negative cost of caring, it is characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel…
Comedian Paula Poundstone once quipped, “Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas.” Indeed, life’s journey offers us endless choices. The problem is,…
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, it can be difficult for us to find a sense of hope in the world – a sense that there are people of integrity who know…
Many of you are familiar with the hero in Kurt Vonnegut's famous novel, "Slaughterhouse Five." An ex-prisoner of war, he was an eyewitness to one of history's most devastating fire-bombings. Understandably, he cannot come to…
In the day’s of the Roman persecution, one of the worst things that could happen to a Christian was to be sent to the mines of New Midea in Africa. There the prisoners were brutally…
Omar Khayyam (the poet who wrote the famous line, "A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and thou"), also wrote some lines about hope. "The worldly hope that men set their hearts upon," he…
In Greek mythology there is a legend in which Zeus, the righteous ruler of the world, presents his subjects with a big vase filled with everything they would need to be whole and happy persons.…
More often than not in our culture, being "somebody" means being rich and famous. Or, at the very least, being very athletic or very entertaining or very talented or very good looking. By those standards…
The story is told of a great violinist who owned the most valuable violin in the world. Once, during the course of a superb concert performance, he suddenly smashed his violin over a chair again…
Someone has said (wisely) that God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts! The Gospel truth is that genuine repentance means much more than changing one's mind or feeling sorry for one's sins or telling God…
A little girl had been misbehaving. Her mother sent her to her room, saying, "Pray to God and tell God what a naughty little girl you have been." The little girl went up to her…
In a fantasy story called “A Wizard of Earthsea,” a young man named “Ged” is learning to become a wizard. His training program is aimed at helping him to distinguish between darkness and light, between…
Lacordaire is the name of a very famous French preacher who has gone down in the history of the Church as one of its greatest. In many seminaries, students are required to study his style…
