WORD VALUES One picture is worth a thousand words -- but which words? The Lord's Prayer, Hippocratic Oath, a Shakespearean sonnet, 23rd Psalm, Gettysburg Address, the Boy Scout oath, the American Constitution's preamble have 1000…
Sermon Illustrations
INSANE OR FOREIGN In 1921, the police in Philadelphia picked up a twenty-four- year-old girl who was wandering around mumbling incoherently. They took her to a mental hospital where she remained for forty-eight years. Then…
GOSSIP IN NOT OURS One day, an 8 year old boy was playing beside an open window while a neighbor confided to his mother about another person. When the visitor was gone, the mother, realizing…
FIGHTING RUMORS A scholar says rumors reveal our fears and desires. "It's very important to hear about them the instant they start," he says. "A rumor is like a fire. You have to be on…
CONGREGATIONS FULL OF GOD Congregations that are full of God are full of people. -- Marcus Borg From The God We Never Knew, by Marcus Borg
LAW & FAITH The law is a mirror... that reflects what is WRONG with me. Faith is a window... that lets me see what is RIGHT with God.
CAREFUL COMMUNICATION When Edmund Muskie was called to give his first political speech it was at a women's luncheon. He consulted with his speech coach, and expressed a great deal of nervousness about the event.…
LIMITS OF THE POSSIBLE The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible. -- Arthur C. Clarke
ANONYMOUS GIVER Anonymous givers are fascinating. And sometimes shocking. I read recently about an insanely generous man. This is a true story. the man's name is Charles Feeney. He made his money by owning a…
PRESIDENT CLINTON'S VERSE President Bill Clinton chose Isaiah 58:12 as his theme verse for his second term as President of the United States. His decision was prompted by television evangelistic Robert Schuller. The verse reads…
IF HORSES WENT TO CHURCH Henry Ward Beecher was in the market for a good horse. The owner of the horse described the horse: "This horse is a dependable horse. She is obedient. She'll stay…
PRAYING FOR CHANGE It is strange that, while praying, we seldom ask for change of character, but always a change of circumstances.
WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE Our dreams cannot come true until we finally wake up.
ENLISTED SKYDIVING AMPUTEE SFC Dana Bowman was a member of the US Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights. In 1994 he lost both legs in a tragic skydiving accident. He and a friend collided in…
NEW MAN -- REVISED It's easier to mope than to cope, to grovel that to grow to weep than to work, to whine than to win, to passively hurt than to actively heal, to walk…
DEPENDS ON HOW WE LIVE Paul Anka was asked if it was possible, since he made so much money from the royalties he received from the theme song for the Tonight Show, if he could…
FACE TO THE SUN He who keeps his face towards the sun shall find that the shadows fall behind him. Source unknown
MISS PIGGY ON EATING Muppet star Miss Piggy shares her considerable wisdom and experience concerning food: "You should never eat more at one sitting than you can lift."
BROKEN HORSES A horse becomes useful when it is broken and becomes willing to submit to the will of his master. The Christian is also only useful when willing to submit to the will of…
SIMPLE TO COMPLEX TO SIMPLE Life is a journey from simplicity through complexity and back to simplicity. In 1966, there was a famous exhibit of Picasso's paintings at Cannes, France. It was a retrospective exhibit,…
