Preaching Well 4-11

Preaching Well} A wellspring of resources for today’s pulpit
Volume 4, Number 11

Sermon illustrations, humor, ideas and resources for the busy preacher

[Anxiety, Obsessiveness, Restlessness] 0861
Edwin Teale, the naturalist writer, tells about a period of anxiety in his life during which he could not sleep. One night he decided to try the old remedy for insomnia: counting sheep. He says he went to bed and closed his eyes, but when the first sheep came along, it stumbled and fell. His state of mind was such that he became totally involved with the situation. Would someone come along to help the sheep? How many more sheep would stumble over the fallen one? How much money would the shepherd lose as a result of the accident?

[Anxiety, Addictions, Denial] 0862
There are many superficial and, therefore, unsuccessful ways in which modern men and women try to handle anxiety:

Some use alcohol or other drugs. They try to tranquilize away their anxieties.

Some…