RULED BY THE ROCK He that won't be ruled by the rudder must be ruled by the rock. -- Scottish Proverb:
Sermon Illustrations
GEESE MADE SWANS We are to be like Alexander Whyte, of whom it was said, "All of his geese became swans."
COMPASSION LOST "Is this going to take long? I've got someplace to go tonight." An eight-year-old Chicago boy being questioned by detectives after he shot a girl classmate in the spine with a semiautomatic handgun.
CALL ME BROTHER Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian writer, tells of the time he was walking down the street and passed a beggar. Tolstoy reached into his pocket to give the beggar some money, but…
AGREEABLE PERSON My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me. -- Benjamin Disraeli
RESPECTIVE PERSPECTIVES When the other fellow acts that way, he's ugly. When you do it, it's nerves. When he's set in his ways, he's obstinate. When you are, it's just firmness. When he doesn't like…
LEGALISM IS LETHAL Legalism has several serious problems: (1) pretending that we can measure up to God by keeping rules we have written, (2) trying to create morality from the outside rather than the inside,…
SAVING PLEASANT THOUGHTS When saving for old age, be sure you put away a few pleasant thoughts.
DEATH'S TRIBUTE The highest tribute to those who have died is not grief, but gratitude. -- Anna Quindlen
TWISTED COMPASSION A mother had a son and a daughter, who were both married. The mother told her friend: "My daughter was fortunate! She married a fellow who is so helpful. He frequently washes the…
REASONS TO CARE FOR YOUR PASTOR On the Light Side: 1. Your church voted him in. 2. You might just need him for a reference. 3. You may need his prayers. 4. You may need…
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD Playing it safe versus risk taking: You can't play it safe forever. My daddy always told me there's only two things in the middle of the road: yellow lines and dead…
BUILDING BOYS It is better to build boys than to repair men.
FORGETFUL PROFESSOR The university professor and his wife were leaving church. The professor confronted his wife: "Ah-ha! So who is absent-minded now? You forgot your umbrella and left it in church, but I remembered mine…
GAMBLING DEBTS & DEATHS Many communities have found the solution to their fiscal difficulties through legalized gambling. But an even greater number of individuals and families have paid a disproportionate price to support this gambling…
POWER OF THE MONEY The dollar is a miraculous thing. It's our personal energy reduced to portable form and endowed with power we do not ourselves possess. It can go where we cannot go; speak…
WORK AS A CALLING In an article in the Sunday, January 29, 1995 issue of the Fort Wayne, Indiana Journal Gazette, reporter Terri Hughes-Lazzell writes about a 1988 study of 31 upper class and middle…
BELIEF WORKS HARDEST Those who believe the most about the world to come are those who work the hardest for the world--that is to try to make life better and more redemptive here for all…
CHILD ABUSE & SOCIETY Various news sources tell of continued alleged cases of child abuse and destruction. While at the prom, a girl delivers her baby and suffocates the child in the bathroom. No one…
LOST & UNLOVED CHILDREN A teenager is visited in the psychiatric ward by her pastor. The family rarely attends church but still looks to this pastor as their pastor. The pastor has expected that, sooner…
