FREEDOM G. K. Chesteron, a great lover of paradox himself, once spoke of St. Francis of Assisi as God's tumbler, the court jester who stands on his head for the pleasure of the king. But…
Sermon Illustrations
THE OLDEST PROFESSION A surgeon, an engineer and a politician were debating which of their professions was the oldest. The surgeon said, "Eve was made from Adam's rib, and that, of course, was a surgical…
THAT'S THE SPIRIT A little boy called at a house selling picture post cards for a dime a piece. He was asked what he was going to do with the money he was earning. He…
DON'T STAND ON YOUR DIGNITY Like the Father of the Prodigal Son, God can see repentance coming a great way off and is there to meet it, and the repentance is the reconciliation. If God…
FRESH PERSPECTIVE I heard the following on the radio recently as I was driving through Los Angeles: It seems there was a young man who was trying out for the football team and the coach…
IT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE A hospital administrator was startled to see a patient fleeing down the hall out of the operating room, his loose hospital gown flapping in the breeze behind him. He stopped…
OUT OF CONTEXT Dick Butkus, Chicago Bears star of yore, is born again. So he is trying to shrug off his reputation for having played dirty: "I never set out to hurt anybody deliberately unless…
THE SINGING SALZBURGERS They lived in the 1700's in Salzburg, Austria. In those days each geographical area was to have only one religious group. Salzburg was not Lutheran, yet a large Lutheran congregation developed there.…
VERSATILE HELP A woman was interviewing a prospective servant and asked "Can you serve company?" The applicant replied, "Yes, mum, both ways." The lady looked puzzled and asked, "What do you mean, both ways?" "So's…
WORKING NEAR NATURE'S SONG BIRDS In a secluded, wooded area, my father and brother-in-law were working on a new house. Dad, working alone on his side of the house, amused himself doing bird whistles. One…
THE CALL TO COMMITMENT For the sake of each of us he laid down his life -- worth no less than the universe. He demands of us in return our lives for the sake of…
A SPECIAL KIND OF LOVE Linda Ballard is a Southern Baptist chaplain at Sunland Center in Gainesville, Florida. It is an institutional home for 750 "developmentally disabled" people, who have been diagnosed as having mental…
MAKING CONTACT -- GOD'S WAY One day a pastor was called from a children's party at the Sunday school to visit a young woman whose world had collapsed into an acute depression following the death…
FAITH When Mark Twain married Olivia Langdon, she was a very religious and optimistic person. Her faith stood firmly in God. But Mark Twain had no faith. He scoffed at her beliefs and made light…
TAME DUCKS There are three tame ducks in our back yard, Dabbling in mud and trying hard To get their share, and maybe more, Of the overflowing barnyard store, Satisfied with the task they're at,…
HOW TO FIND GOD "I felt the church was a place for Sunday mornings and long ago times and old people and easy answers." Graduate student reflecting on her adolescent impressions of the local church.…
SEMANTIC PITFALLS 1. Prayer before a sermon: "Wherever among us there is a spark of faith, O God, water, Thou, that spark." 2. He spoke to her like a Dutch oven. 3. I don't play…
ESTABLISHED D.L. Moody told a story of a man who was asked by his ten-year-old son, "Daddy, why don't you ever go to church with us?" The father replied, "I don't need to go to…
EXPECTING THE WORST Helen Hayes, the actress, tells the following story in her autobiography. It was Thanksgiving day, and she was cooking her first turkey dinner for her family. Before serving it she announced to…
TRUST GOD TO DO WELL LaFontaine gives us the delightful fable of "The Acorn and the Pumpkin." One day a man was walking through the woods, praying and meditating on the goodness of God. All…
