CHURCH LEADERS Bruce Larson, in his book Wind and Fire, points out some interesting facts about sandhill cranes: "These large birds, who fly great distances across continents, have three qualities. First, they rotate leadership. No…
Sermon Illustrations
ROOTS WITH ANIMALS "Noah's Ark: the Miniseries" was among Brandon Tartikoff's favorite pitches when he was chief of NBC Entertainment. Tartikoff says in his new autobiography, "The Last Great Ride," co-written by Charles Leerhsen, senior…
UNUSED HUMAN POTENTIAL Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are dampened, our drafts are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our possible…
TAXES OR PROFITS A visitor to the Ozarks admired a Hereford heifer grazing on the hillside and drove around the hill to the farmer's home. "How much will you take for your white-faced heifer?" he…
USEFULNESS OF FAITHFULNESS It is precisely those who have the greatest faith in the life to come who are of greatest use in the life that is. From a sermon by Frank Harrington, Peachtree Presbyterian…
THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF REST Years ago, the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin took two years' leave of absence from the concert stage. He was at the very zenith of his international acclaim. His reason, in his…
SCHWARZKOPF'S LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES General H. Norman Schwarzkopf gained notoriety as the commander of the U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf War. In an interview with INC. Magazine, the general reveals his leadership principles: 1. You…
REALITY OF CHARITY The world is full of desperate And wounded people Who hobble through life in pain/. Some die of hunger, Some of loneliness and despair In plain sight among us. Their skeletons rattle…
CONCEIT A young pastor often boasted in public that all the time he needed to prepare his Sunday sermon was the few minutes it took him to walk to the church from the parsonage next…
ADDITIONAL HORSEPOWER Camping was the standard vacation in my family. Every year in August my father would pack up all of the camping gear into the wagon and off we would go towards the mountains…
THERE IS NO GOD? There is no God. All of the wonders around us are accidental. No almighty hand made a thousand-billion stars. They made themselves. No power keeps them on their steady course. The…
KIND OF LIKE A PRINTER "Friday night, I brought a typewriter home from work so I could fill in a seven-part form. My four-year-old daughter took a look and said, 'What's that, Daddy?'" "I answered,…
THE JESUS FASHION Dad was tired of hearing his son complain about what his friends had and he did not have. Dad had an idea: set a higher standard for his son. The next time…
REDUCTION IN APPRECIATION Lucy asks Charlie Brown to help with her homework. "I'll be eternally grateful," she promises. "Fair enough. I've never had anyone be eternally grateful before," replied Charlie. "Just subtract 4 from 10…
A LESSON IN DRIVING During a mission project in Italy, my wife and I took some unforgettable taxi rides through the city of Rome. Although we were seasoned travelers, nothing could have prepared us for…
CHANGE AND RESPONSES Here are a few responses to change identified by Ken Blanchard, Ph.D. as the "Seven Dynamics of Change:" People will feel awkward, ill-at-ease and self-conscious. People initially focus on what they have…
REDEEMING THE TIME A woman recently died in Austin, Texas. The woman smelled smoke and ran from the house to safety. But then she ran back in to call 911 for the emergency. Before she…
NO FOG ON THE MAP Surveyors were sent to a remote mountain to map the terrain. Everyday they would go forth over the rugged hills and every night, returned to their camp. Frequently, they were…
NO FUSS FORGIVENESS Forgiveness warms the heart and cools the fuss. From The Christian Word by The Downtown Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
JUST ASK FOR IT During the Spanish-American War, Clara Barton was overseeing the work of the Red Cross in Cuba. One day Colonel Theodore Roosevelt came to her wanting to buy food for his sick…
