THE SEARCH IN THE WRONG DIRECTION When my children and I had finished unpacking in our new home, we noticed our poodle was missing. Concerned that she couldn't find her way back in the unfamiliar…
Sermon Illustrations
WAKE UP AND HELP A three-year-old girl liked to say the blessing before the meals and always asked to do it. One day, though, everyone in the family had the heads bowed and eyes closed…
ABSOLUTES IN PARENTING I think that what children in the United States desperately need is a moral purpose, and a lot of our children here aren't getting that. They're getting parents who are very concerned…
GIGGLE LANGUAGE A five-year-old girl had the opportunity to meet a little German girl her own age. All afternoon they ran and played tag and chased butterflies. Her parents marveled at how well they got…
DEVIL DID NOT GET FAR Grandma walked into the kitchen just in time to see her granddaughter stick her hand in the cookie jar. When the little girl saw Grandma she quickly pulled her hand…
MARTIN LUTHER KING OR ADOLPH HITLER Dad's influence. A man of vision. His father pointed a finger at him and said, "Son, you're as good as anybody." Who: Martin Luther King, Jr. Scarred for life.…
TALKING TO HIS PLATE A little boy went to dine with his parents at the home of an elderly gentleman. After watching the old man bow his head and speak in a soft voice, the…
A DAD IS GOOD FO R. . . A dad is good for putting worms on a hook. A dad is good for helping you learn to ride a two-wheel bike because he can run…
CARELESS SLEEPER I remember a story about a little boy who fell out of bed one night. His father rushed in to check on him: "What happened, son?" The boy answered, "I don't know, Dad.…
SET LIMITS ON CHILDREN Mom and Dad are sitting and talking. Mom is reading the newspaper and she says, "According to this... parents should set limits where children are concerned." Dad replies, "I agree and…
GRAND REBELLION Four year old Susanna was staying with her grandfather for the weekend. She played and played, and by the end of the day her toys were all over the den. Being a good…
IN NEED OF ANOTHER CHRISTMAS Nancy Dugan was nearly four as Christmas drew near. The parents and four older children all had tried to prepare Nancy for Christmas by talking with her about the real…
WRONG SCARECROW Years ago a boy had a crush on a girl, Laura Mae, in his high school freshman class. It was a farm community and everyone planted gardens. They also protected them with scarecrows.…
"DREAMER OF DREAMS" We are all of us dreamers of dreams,/ On visions our childhood is fed;/ And the heart of the child is unhaunted, it seems,/ By the ghosts of dreams that are dead./…
VIOLENT VIEWS "A New York ex-con who was charged last year with slaying six women said he killed for the first time after renting a videotape of "RoboCop," a violent thriller. True or not, there's…
HOW WE LISTEN TO GOD Discipline is not God's way of saying, "I'm through with you." It is not a mark of abandonment by God, but the last loving act of God to bring you…
GOD'S PLAN The spirit of our age is to keep religion in its place, and that place is often very secluded. We hear over and over again that a person's faith is his own affair,…
A REASON FOR CHILDREN Why do we have children? William Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas in their book "Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony," (1990, Abingdon Press) give what I think is an excellent answer…
THE VICARIOUS COMFORT OF OTHERS The Russian writer Dostoevski tells about an experience he had as a boy. As a child, he loved to walk in the forest on his family's country estate. Often he…
ONE LOUD BABY BROTHER Mom Ryatt is talking to a little neighbor boy, "Hi, Timmy. How is your baby brother? Timmy responds, "Okay, I guess. But he sure is loud when he's crying! Mommy said…
