SOLZENITSYN ON EVIL "If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good…
Sermon Illustrations
GREAT AWAKENING Overheard at the barber shop: "When the preacher finished his sermon Sunday, there was a great awakening." From "The Way I Heer'd It" by Jim Reed, The Ozarks Mountaineer, May- June, 1985
THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT An advertisement for Gulf Oil Corporation several years ago carried some words by Production Superintendent Bob Valentine. Bob states that typically in movies about oil there is a gusher and…
DEPTH OF GOD'S LOVE There's an event that took place that scared a young couple in our church yet expresses God's love for us and God's willingness to come to our rescue. It was the…
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH The choir director came to the senior pastor one day and complained to the pastor that a man had joined the choir who could not sing. He told the pastor that…
SOMETHING HAS CHANGED One of my favorite illustrations of faith is a cartoon I saw years ago. I no longer remember who wrote it or the title of the cartoon, but the picture and dialogue…
THE THINGS WE SAY Nobody talks much who doesn't say unwise things -- things he did not mean to say. Talk, to me, is only spading up the ground for crops of thought. I can't…
HOW DID GOD GET TO HEAVEN? One of the children from our third grade Sunday School wrote a question for God as part of her assignment in class that day that's worth pondering: "How did…
FRIENDSHIP WITH THE MONARCH The story is told of Shah Abbis, a Persian monarch who loved his people very much. To know and understand them better, he would mingle with his subjects in various disguises.…
BACKSLIDING SIGNS Author and commentator, James Smith gives SEVEN EVIDENCES OF BACKSLIDING: 1. Neglecting the Word of God; 2. Little desire for secret prayer and communion with God; 3. Growing fondness for worldly pleasures; 4.…
THE ART OF DIPLOMACY The art of diplomacy is saying, "nice doggie, nice doggie," until you can find a stick. By Will Rogers, similar to one used in the November, 1989 issue of Parables, Etc.
MICE AND ELEPHANTS Question: How are mice and elephants alike? Answer: They are both extremely large animals, except for one of them. From Lea Groth-Wilson, Denver, Colorado
TYRANNY OF SURVIVAL Choosing death. When life loses its meaning, is suicide our right? More of us have come to reject what psychiatrist and ethicist Willard Gaylin provocatively calls "the tyranny of survival." He says:…
WIT AND WISDOM Wisdom is a shield that protects; Wit is a sword that attacks.
COVER CHARGE FOR THE UNIVERSE Calvin and Hobbes are walking along and Calvin says, "You know what the problem is with the universe?" Waiting for the bomb, Hobbes just responds, "UM..?" And Calvin says, "There's…
PEOPLE ARE SUCH ANIMALS Recently Detroit's zoo added four new employees -- security guards, not to contain the animals, but to protect them from people. In the past two years they have had a baby…
THE LITTLE HAND A man was sitting in his living room wondering what time it was, when he heard his small son out in the kitchen. "Bobby," he called out, "What is the little hand…
NIXON ON GREATNESS Richard Nixon was fond of quoting de Tocqueville: "America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." From Loving God,…
KOSTNER ON FAME According to the wire reports, Kevin Kostner has gobs of money and heaps of acclaim following the success of his film Dances With Wolves. Recently he was asked how he likes being…
GET AWAY FROM TEMPTATION "Let me speak plainly: we must get it straight in our hearts that temptation is a water moccasin waiting to bite; we must make up our mind to get away from…
