“Sing a new hymn to Yahweh! Let his praise resound from the ends of the earth, let the sea and all that it holds sing his praises, the islands and all those who inhabit them”…
Sermon Illustrations
During a college music workshop, the great trumpet player, Louis Armstrong, was being asked questions about his early musical training, his trumpet technique, his repertoire, his singing style, etc. Then, a hush came over the…
“Watch and be on your guard against avarice of any kind for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs” (Luke 12:15). Oscar Wilde…
“...and He took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). In a poem called, “Out of Order,” the author describes how he felt when he saw a young mother…
"He saw a great throng; and He had compassion on them" (Matthew 14:14). A little girl was leafing through a children’s book of illustrated Bible stories. When she came to the story of the loaves…
“Would Jesus wear a Rolex on His Television Show?” That is the title of a song that appeared on the country music scene several years ago. An enterprising journalist put that question to several of…
“But you are... a people set apart to sing the praises of God, who called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light” (I Peter 2:9). Several years ago, the first people in the…
“My dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another” (I John 4:11). We have heard and we have learned from the Gospel story of what Jesus did when…
“…you are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described” (I Peter 1:8). Ancient Egyptians believed in a kind of final judgment after death that consisted of only two questions. If…
“…receive the word with joy” (Luke 8:13). Thomas Jefferson once edited his own version of the Bible. He wanted to create a more rational approach to Christianity, so Jefferson snipped out of his Bible all…
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…He sent Me to bring glad tidings” (Luke 4:10). Many of you have read Mark Twain’s delightful story about a Mississippi River steamboat. The owners decided that it…
One Sunday morning, the pastor of a large parish announced to the congregation that Jesus Christ Himself, in person, was going to visit them the following Sunday. A record crowd showed up for the big…
“Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:13). The story is told of a certain backwoods preacher who ventured high up in the mountains in search of new members for…
“Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye” (Lk. 6:42). During World War I, the famous U.S.…
“When the Lord saw her, He felt sorry for her, ‘Do not cry,’ He said” (Luke 7:13). Charles Lindbergh’s father-in-law, Dwight Morrow, was a friend and admirer of Calvin Coolidge. He told a group of…
He who pursues virtue and kindness shall find life and honor too (Prov. 21:21). There is a wonderful passage in “Zorba the Greek” in which Zorba says: One day when I was a child, an…
“... applying all diligence, in your faith--supply goodliness, brotherhood and kindness, and in our brother’s kindness, christian love” (I Peter 1:5,6,7). A bus was bumping along a back road. In one seat, an old man…
“…we urge you… to make more and more progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live: The life that God wants” (I Thessalonians 4:1). Many mythical years ago, word went out…
“My son, pay attention to my words... They are life to those who grasp them” (Proverbs 4:20, 22). Dr. Wilfred funk, the famous author of many dictionaries, was once asked to list the ten most…
Lists of people’s “Famous Last Words” can be found in books of quotations and other sources. One such list includes those of President Franklin D. Roosevelt: I have a terrible headache. The last words of…
