PEOPLE WHO COMPENSATE Some well-intentioned pastors spend most of their time trying to take care of their weakest role. For example, those with poor administrative skills may spend endless hours preparing the bulletin and midweek…
Sermon Illustrations
HOW TO BECOME AN ATHEIST A certain elementary school got a new teacher. This new teacher was an atheist and proud of it. In fact, he was always talking about it, and since the kids…
THEOLOGY & PRACTICE OF EVANGELISM What all Christians need is a theology--and especially a practice--of evangelism that emphasizes the gospel as invitation, not admonition, and that points to the light of Jesus, not the darkness…
Bible Authority | Church | Commitment | Controversy | Impact | Increase | Love | Persecution | Truth
NEVER ESCAPE NOTICE Local churches which are respected and even attended by "the public" -- interpreted as people who under different circumstances would not feel obliged to attend church at all - - are often…
MEMBERSHIP EXPECTATIONS The church is the organization that refuses to accept qualification for membership, except one: I am in need of grace, and that grace through Jesus Christ. There is only one qualification for entering…
PLACE OF ACCEPTANCE Beetle Bailey's buddy, Killer, bends down to pet Sarge's dog, Otto. Otto growls at him. Next you see him in the General Halftrack's office and he tries to touch Miss Buxley. Miss…
A LITTLE CHURCH A little church on Sunday morning is a negligible thing. It may be the meekest, and the least conspicuous, thing in America. Someone zipping between Baltimore's airport and beltway might pass this…
RESIDENT HERETICS For some reason, just about every church has a member who digs deep into the Word and comes up with unusual doctrines that nobody has ever heard of before. His only way to…
IN DEFENSE OF TACKY THEOLOGY Richard J. Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, argues that some "intellectual Christians" should be more understanding of the sometimes shallow and tacky theology found in some areas of the…
GIVE MONEY & RUN A little girl became restless as the preacher's sermon dragged on and on. Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered, "Mommy, if we give him the money now, will…
KNOWING HISTORY & SOCIETY "I grew up in rural America in the '50's and '60's. On any given day, you could walk through the high school parking lot and observe that half the vehicles parked…
DOES MOMMY KNOW ME? Like physical parents, God does not forget his children just because they sin. But sometimes his children do not have that assurance of their true relationship and identity with their heavenly…
MISSED THE PUTT A man goes to the confessional. "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned." "What is your sin, my son?" the priest asks back. "Well," the man starts, "I used some horrible language…
RIDING WITH SATAN If you give Satan a ride, he will end up driving. From a church sign in Stuggart, Arkansas
TOO OPEN-MINDED Don't be so open-minded your brains fall out. Debby Somer
A HEAD FOR SMARTS A customer at Green's Gourmet Grocery marveled at the proprietor's quick wit and intelligence. "Tell me, Green, what makes you so smart?" "I wouldn't share my secret with just anyone," Green…
CONSUMERISM & LIFE Richard John Neuhaus writes, Consumerism is, quite precisely, the consuming of life by the things consumed. It is living in a manner that is measured by having rather than being . .…
BIG JOHN DOESN'T PAY One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops, a few people got…
WATCH YOUR WEAPONS This is the army's analysis of improper maintenance and handling of their weapons: "A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you…
ELIMINATING ENEMIES When Narvaez, the Spanish patriot, lay dying, his father-confessor asked him whether he had forgiven all his enemies. Narvaez looked astonished and said: "Father, I have no enemies, I have shot them all."…
