THE PLODDER A runner testifies: Cecil Lampert was my inspiration. He was the poorest runner on the cross country team. But he always kept me going. Cecil consisted of some wired-together skin and bones, and…
Sermon Illustrations
PATIENT ENOUGH TO WAIT Hanging on a nail in the den of my father's house in Alabama is a dried, dipper gourd. It gleams with shellac. It is very old. That common gourd has one…
PERSEVERANCE By perseverance the snail reached the Ark. Charles H. Spurgeon
THE CLASSIC -- THE FROGS IN THE CREAM Then there's always another version of the famous frogs in the cream bowl: Two Frogs fell into a can of cream, Or so I've heard it told;…
TORN BY DUTIES A messenger was once sent by his king to deliver vital information to a distant city in the kingdom. Since the messenger bore the king's authority, he was rehearsed over and over…
JUST THE PLACE When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the…
TEAR IT UP Norman Vincent Peale still exercises his unique ministry in New York City. In his earlier days, as success came, there was a swelling tide of criticism of the message he preached. It…
DILIGENCE AND PRAYER: LORD SHAFTESBURY (1801- 1885) On a rainy day in 1885 a funeral procession wound its way to Westminster Abbey. In it were people from all walks of life: representatives of religious societies…
NO SUBSTITUTE Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will…
REMARKABLE PERSISTENCE Many have read the books of Peter and Barbara Jenkins, Walk Across America, and The Walk West: A Walk Across America 2. It's an amazing tale, a true life odyssey. Peter Jenkins walked…
FINISHING We rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt.
THOMAS EDISON The wizard of Menlo Park finally found the elements for the filament of the incandescent light bulb. He had experimented for months. In fact, he put together over 8,000 experiments to find what…
MORE THOMAS EDISON The famous inventor was known for his patience and perseverance. He worked non-stop, day and night on the electric light bulb. Finally, late one evening it happened. The light went on. It…
AND EVEN MORE EDISON The great inventor said, "From eighteen to twenty hours a day for the last seven months, I have worked on the single work 'specia.' I said to the phonograph, 'Specia, specia,…
NOT MUCH MARKET Millions of people in our culture make decisions for Christ, but there is a dreadful attrition rate . . . In our kind of culture anything, even news about God, can be…
PERSISTING IN PRAYER AND PRESSURE In 1873 a group of women at Hillsboro, Ohio, met and prayed and then read the 146th Psalm. Then they prayed and pleaded with the saloon keepers to give up…
HAVE PATIENCE One cold February day a snail started climbing an apple tree. As he inched slowly upward, a worm stuck its head from a crevice in the tree to offer some advice. "You're wasting…
DILIGENCE There is no poverty that can overtake diligence. Japanese Proverb
A GRIP ON OUR PLAIN DUTIES There are duties we accepted when we joined the Church, duties of worship, service, loyalty, financial support. How is our grip on these things? We should not fall into…
GREAT WORKS are performed not by strength but by perseverance. Samuel Johnson
