C. S. LEWIS In the preface to The roblem of ain, Lewis limits the scope of his book by writing: No one can say "He jests at scars who never felt a wound?" for I…
Sermon Illustrations
JUDSON'S SCARS Adoniram Judson, the renowned missionary to Burma, endured untold hardships trying to reach the lost for Christ. For seven heartbreaking years he suffered hunger and privation. During this time he was thrown into…
LOVE AND PAIN I might, indeed, have learned, even from the poets that Love is something more stern and splendid than mere kindness: that even the love between the sexes is, as in Dante, "a…
THE ONLY GOOD We are bidden to "put on Christ?" to become like God. That is, whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think…
ADVICE FOR THE DARKNESS I 'm browsing in a Delaware Water Gap gift shop and notice a card with this classic verse: "And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the…
DAVID LIVINGSTONE -- THE RIGOROUS BEYOND One of the most fascinating kinds of suffering is that which is voluntarily chosen in order to achieve a great goal. robably the life of David Livingstone, pioneer missionary…
BLESSED HOUR UNDER THE GALLOWS In the writings of Charles Wesley for the year 1738 we find Charles being invited to preach at Newgate prison to ten malefactors under sentence of death. Charles had little…
THE ROAD TO ETERNAL GAIN Russ Chandler, religion writer of the L. A. Times wrote an excellent book a few years ago entitled The Overcomers. It tells the stories of twelve outstanding Christians who have…
THE STREETS I FEARED TO SEE I said: "let me walk in the field?" God said: "Nay, walk in the town." I said: "There are no flowers there." He said: "No flowers, but a crown."…
BOB PIERCE -- SUFFERING FROM OUR MISTAKES Unquestionably, Dr. Bob had no illusions about himself and his sometimes adverse affect on other people. Not long before the Lord took him home, he said, "One of…
AMAZING GRACE A violent storm at sea was the turning-point in John Newton's life. Motherless at six and sent to sea on his eleventh birthday, he soon became a teenage rebel. He was press-ganged into…
THE CANCER OF UNLOVE When Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur, India formed the Sisters of the Common Life, she set forth some principles that were to guide them: As Sisters of the Common Life we are…
EMOTIONALLY SEASICK A good thought from John Greenleaf Whittier to turn to when one feels emotionally and spiritually seasick: Yet in the maddening maze of things And tossed by storm and flood To one fixed…
THE ULTIMATE SURPRISES We live by God's surprises, and the ultimate surprises are ahead, beyond the grave, where our prayers will become communication face to face. Harold Myra, Living By God's Surprises, page 153.
HOW IT WORKS Hope works in these ways: it looks for the good in people instead of harping on the worst; it discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what cannot; it regards…
TO LIVE BY HOPE AND FAITH I see that I am inwardly fashioned for faith and not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is oil. I live better by faith and confidence…
HOPE VERSUS OPTIMISM In a recent Peanuts cartoon, Lucy is out in her regular position in right field. A batter hits a ball to her, she looks up to catch it, and it instead falls…
THE FLOOD IS COMING A man who lives in Maine told of his little hometown by the name of Flagstaff. He said several years ago the town was flooded as part of a large lake…
YES, GET YOUR HOPES UP! The Bible tells an interesting story about two young men who used their hope in an active God to stay positive amid dire circumstances. In 1 Samuel 14, the Israelite…
SECOND TIME AROUND A gentleman who had been very unhappy in marriage married a second time, immediately after his first wife died. Samuel Johnson said of him: "His conduct was the triumph of hope over…
