THE GREATEST MOMENT When the first astronauts walked on the moon, the President of the United States exclaimed, "This planting of human feet on the moon is the greatest moment in human history." Later, Billy…
Sermon Illustrations
THE ULTIMATE EXCEPTION Someone has noted: "Fifteen million minutes of life on the earth, in the midst of a wicked and corrupt generation -- every thought, every deed, every purpose, every work, privately and publicly,…
OUR GOD RESIGNS A correction was needed in the Milton-Freewater, Oregon, Valley Herald. The title of a First Christian Church program in last week's paper was written as: "Our God Resigns." The actual title was…
UNKNOWN GOOD An old Sufi story tells of a good man who was granted one wish by God. The man said he would like to go about doing good without knowing about it. God granted…
ANALOGY OF THE ANTS Josh McDowell compares the incarnation to that which is needed to save ants. Imagine that you are observing an ant hill... You know that the next time around the farmer's plow…
GOSPEL NEVER PRIVATE Carl F. H. Henry once said, "Christian experience is always personal, but it is never private." The same is true of the gospel message of Jesus - the one who introduced the…
KANSAS CITY CHRISTMAS We went to see the lights on the plaza in Kansas City last Friday night as we were celebrating our daughter's birthday. Oh, the place was beautiful. Even though it was chilly…
THE CHILD IS BORN The child is born in the night among the beasts -- the sweet breath and steaming dung of the beasts -- and nothing is ever the same again. Those who believe…
WATCH OUT A certain little boy wanted a watch. Day after day he begged his parents about getting a watch. His parents did not see the real need and tried to ignore their son's requests.…
I WONDER WHY Curious... that light in the sky I wonder why Curious... a star moving to the East I wonder why Curious... it's pointing down to a stable I wonder why Curious... the star…
HOLY LAND WORSHIP One of the greatest instances of Christian unity I've ever witnessed was in Israel in 1992. On a tour of the Holy Land, our group was made up of United Methodists, Presbyterians,…
THE CHRISTMAS VAMPIRE The world has claimed our holidays for its own, secularizing them by removing their spiritual foundations. I have felt for some time that the church needs to reclaim the true meaning of…
WHEN TO TALK TO JESUS Jimmy talked to Bobby on the playground today. He told him about Jesus. Bobby went home and told his mother. His mother said that if Jimmy kept talking to him…
PARK THE HERALD ANGELS In the midst of practicing Christmas carols for her Sunday school program, our four-year-old seriously noted, "I don't know where we're going to PARK all those herald angels!" Marilyn Vander Ploeg,…
SANTA LIKES DADDY Acting bashful, our three-year-old didn't know what to say to Santa. Her daddy suggested she ask him for educational toys: a globe, Lincoln Logs, a children's dictionary, and things of this sort...…
MISSING ALL THE WEATHER As a Midwest snowstorm swirled around us, I sighed wistfully to our six-year-old, "Your grandparents are in sunny Florida, where it's warm and the grass is green." "Too bad," was her…
SMELLS LIKE DAD My little sister, helping us celebrate the birthday of my father- in-law, took a whiff of one of his gifts -- a bottle of cologne. "Mmm!" she sparkled. "It smells like my…
GRAMMIELAND Our son, age four, is fortunate to have three great-grandmothers and both of his grandmothers living close together. During a visit to them last Christmas, he happily announced, "I love it here in 'Grammieland'!"…
ILLEGAL CHRISTMAS Because so many of its customs were pre-Christian, Christmas was forbidden in Scotland in 1583, abolished in 1647 by the Puritans, and made a penal offense in 1659. Even mince meat pies were…
CHRISTMAS EMOTIONS In the cartoon, Sally Forth, Sally says to her mother after she has just viewed the large family Christmas tree with all the packages lying beneath it: "Have you ever noticed how one…
