LYRICS FROM AN OLD HYMNAL Behold! the grace appears The promise is fulfill'd; Mary, the wondrous virgin, bears, And Jesus is the child. To bring the glorious news, A heav'nly form appears; He tells the…
Sermon Illustrations
THANK GOD, HE CAME From the warmth of the womb to the chill of the cave he came. Thank God, he came. From Mary's body, smooth and soft, to the manger's slivered shelf he came.…
GENTLY, CHRISTMAS Gently, Christmas, fall tonight On the ghettos of our lives. Let your snow cover the sooted shingles, The broken windows of our dreams, The torn shades of our despair. Manger us with the…
GIFT EXCHANGE It was the day after Christmas at a church in San Francisco. The pastor of the church was looking over the creche when he noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from among…
A BIG CHRISTMAS FAMILY GATHERING On Friday evening before Thanksgiving Mr. and Mrs. Benoit of Creston, Connecticut received word that Mrs. Benoit's sister and her husband had been in an accident on the icy highway…
PRAYER IN KIND It was the Christmas season and a meeting was held in a small church for the announced purpose of praying for a local family that was having a tough time of it.…
PRINCE OF PEACE Jesus the Christ child is called the Prince of Peace -- and often the picture of that peace is limited to the innocuous babe in the manger and the quiet and still…
CHRISTMAS BEAUTY The earth laid white beneath the sky, Marked by shadows from trees nearby -- Winged by chickadee's flying grace To branches trimmed in icy lace. High overhead the heavens blue Were streaked with…
SHEPHERD OF TENDER YOUTH Shepherd of tender youth Guiding in love and truth Through devious ways; Christ our triumphant king. We come Thy name to sing; Hither our children bring Tributes of praise. Thou art…
THE INNKEEPER I knew them not, and I had never seen A man whose face was quite so trouble-lined; Nor any woman who, so great with child, Possessed an air of such angelic ease. The…
JOY BEARING The test of Christian character should be that a man is a joy-bearing agent to the world. Henry Ward Beecher
TWO SURPRISES The world is equally shocked at hearing Christianity criticized and seeing it practiced. D. Elton Trueblood
SUFFICIENCY As if it knew there is no end To its supply, the daisy throws A quilt upon the meadow land As white and vast as winter's snows. It quite ignores the fact this field…
NEED AND WANT Sometimes we don't know the difference between what we need and what we want. We want so much, but God gives us what we truly need. I heard the following story in…
THE MOST OBVIOUS LEPER The late Bishop Fulton J. Sheen once was asked to describe his "Most Inspiring Moment." This is what he wrote: A few years ago I visited a leper colony in Africa.…
MOVING UP I was feeling quite sorry for myself that day when I boarded the airplane in Oakland for a flight to southern California, because I had been assigned a middle seat. I hate sitting…
PICKING THE FRUIT In The Cider House Rules by John Irving, we learn a little bit about fruit picking through the character Melony. She takes a job picking apples and the foreman instructs her in…
EXPOSURE "Thou shalt not get found out" is not one of God's commandments; and no man can be saved by trying to keep it. Leonard Bacon, quoted in Forbes, "Thoughts On The Business of Life"…
JUNGLE WISDOM A reporter was interviewing an African safari guide. He asked: "Is it true that jungle animals won't harm you if you carry a torch?" The guide replied, "That depends on how fast you…
THE OFFER OF AN EYE IN THE SKY I know a salesman from Oklahoma City who uses a small aircraft for business trips because he travels to many out-of-the-way spots across the country. He was…
