In 1902, a huge volcano erupted and killed the 30,000 inhabitants of St. Pierre, Martinique. Only one man survived—a condemned prisoner, convicted of murder, who was protected because of the sturdiness of his prison cell. He witnessed the whole calamity and was blinded by the volcanic ash. Government officials evidently thought he had been punished enough and pardoned him. He was so moved by his second chance that he became a Christian missionary.


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About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

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Australia is the only country in the world to have a picture of a convicted forger on its currency. Francis Greenway came to Australia-as many early settlers did-as a convict. He had been convicted in England of forgery. Once in Australia, he changed his life. He began to use his hidden skills as an architect. Some of the most beautiful buildings in Sydney, Australia, were designed by him; and they put his picture on the Australian 10 dollar bill. They believed he had changed.
Jesus always believed that people could change. He also helped them to change, just as He will help you to change.


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About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

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The world was shocked when popular NBC newsman, David Bloom, died while covering the Iraq war. Some thought if he died it would be from hostile fire, but he died from a pulmonary embolism. Bloom had been a White House correspondent and popular host of the “Weekend Today Show” before he volunteered to be an imbedded reporter. What a lot of people didn’t know is that David had experienced a spiritual awakening before leaving for the war. A friend would call him daily and they would share devotionals with each other from Oswald Chamber’s, My Utmost for His Highest. Moments after sharing his morning devotional, Bloom collapsed and died. What was most touching was the last message he wrote to his wife. No doubt recognizing the risks he was facing Bloom wrote, “When the moment comes in my life when you are talking about my last day, I am determined that you and others will say, ‘He was devoted to his wife and children; he was admired; he gave every ounce of his being for those whom he cared most about-not himself, but God and his family.'”

-Michael Shannon, Preaching November/December 2003


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About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

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Blaise Pascal was a theologian, mathematician, scientist and philosopher. At the time of his death, those who cared for him found a parchment sewn into his clothing. It was a testimony concerning his conversion. Part of it says this: “Year of grace 1654, Monday 23, November…from about half past ten at night to about half an hour past midnight, FIRE.” No one knows exactly what he meant by that, but we can make a guess.

Many have testified to a fire in their lives as conversion. We might need to ask the question, Where is that fire now? Is it smoldering? Has it gone out altogether? Does it need to be rekindled?

-Michael Shannon, Preaching January/February 2002


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About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

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Newspapers recently carried the story of Malibu, a yellow Labrador, who disappeared from her owners’ yard in Gloversville, N.Y., in 2000. She was only 9 months old. Cyndi McCullough was surfing the Web when she saw a picture of Malibu at an animal shelter site. Even thought he dog was older, Cyndi recognized him. Workers at the shelter said Malibu was found wandering just a few blocks from the McCullough’s home. Where has she been for three years? Malibu isn’t saying, but her owner is sure happy to get her back. All wanderers from God will be glad to know that no matter how long we’ve been away, God will welcome us home.

-Michael Shannon, Preaching May/June 2003

 


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About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

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Newspapers ran a story about a 55-year old North Florida man who went to a judge with an unusual request. He asked the judge to allow him to change his name to “God.” The judge refused, so the man went a second time with an alternative. He asked to have his name changed to “I am who I am,” the translation of the name God in the Old Testament. The judge agreed, so the man’s first name is “I am” and his last name is “Who I am.” The man said that his decision was based on his recent conversion.
If this man wanted to honor God, a better way would be to live out the principles taught by the Lord. There is a sense, however, in which all believers have had their names changed. We have been called “Christian.”

-Michael Shannon, Preaching January/February 2003


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About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

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Jan Karon is the author of the beloved and hugely successful Mitford book series. The books follow the lives of the denizens of a small North Carolina mountain village called Mitford. One of the central characters is the small town Episcopal minister, Father Tim. Karon’s books are embraced by the Christian community for their loving view of small town and church life. In her newsletter, Karon tells the story of something that happened to her at a recent speech. In one of Karon’s books, A Light in the Window, there was a character named Buck Leeper. Buck was drunken, profane and violent. In one scene, he breaks up the furniture in front of Father Tim, while the minister prays for help. Eventually Buck finds hope and help and is a changed man. This leads to what happened at the speaking engagement. As the author stood in a receiving line, she noticed a large man at the back of the line. He greeted her and said shyly, “I was Buck Leeper. I wanted to thank you.” Jan Karon said that she was profoundly moved and will never forget this man. There are at least two things we can learn from this. One is that you never know how the gospel will get through. The second is: people can and do change and it is it not just fiction.

-Michael Shannon, Preaching September/October 2003


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About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

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We have traditionally marked our calendars, BC and AD. This is a tribute to the effect Jesus has on history. We can mark the difference between the time “before Christ,” and “the year of our Lord,” but we can also mark our individual lives, BC and AD. Jesus should have made a radical difference in our lives. As a tribute of the difference he has made in our lives, we can mark our personal histories with Jesus as the watershed. A woman who was greatly troubled, frightened and pregnant without a husband came to a church and found acceptance. After a time she came to a place of decision. She gave her life to Christ and submitted to Christian baptism. She said to her preacher that time, “Now I know why they call it being born again.” She had a BC to AD experience.

-Michael Shannon, Preaching November/December 2003


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About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

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There
was a young convert in Haiti whose family believed in voodoo. They urged him not
to forsake the family faith for this new Christian religion. But he ignored the
family pressures and came for baptism. He walked into the water, stopped, and
turned back! The missionaries were sure he had changed his mind. They were certain
that the family pressures had prevailed. But he went back to shore to empty his
pockets of all his voodoo charms. Then he reentered the stream and was baptized.

 

_______________

J.
Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati,
OH.


View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

Related Posts

The world was shocked when popular NBC newsman,
David Bloom, died while covering the Iraq war. Some thought if he
died it would be from hostile fire, but he died from a pulmonary
embolism. Bloom had been a White House correspondent and popular host
of the “Weekend Today Show” before he volunteered to be an imbedded
reporter. What a lot of people didn’t know is that David had
experienced a spiritual Awakening before leaving for the war. A friend
would call him daily and they would share devotionals with each other
from Oswald Chamber’s, My Utmost for His Highest. Moments after
sharing his morning devotional, Bloom collapsed and died. What was
most touching was the last message he wrote to his wife. No doubt
recognizing the risks he was facing Bloom wrote, “When the moment
comes in my life when you are talking about my last day, I am
determined that you and others will say, ‘He was devoted to his wife
and children; he was admired; he gave every ounce of his being for
those whom he cared most about – not himself, but God and his
family.'”

_______________

J. Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati, OH.


View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

Related Posts

Jan Karon is the author of the beloved and hugely successful Mitford
book series. The books follow the lives of the denizens of a small
North Carolina mountain village called Mitford. One of the central
characters is the small town Episcopal minister, Father Tim. Karon’s
books are embraced by the Christian community for their loving view
of small town and church life.

In her newsletter, Karon tells the story of
something that happened to her at a recent speech. In one of Karon’s
books, A Light in the Window,
there was a character named Buck Leeper. Buck was drunken, profane
and violent. In one scene, he breaks up the furniture in front of
Father Tim, while the minister prays for help. Eventually Buck finds
hope and help and is a changed man. This leads to what happened at
the speaking engagement.

As the author stood
in a receiving line, she noticed a large man at the back of the line.
He greeted her and said shyly, “I was Buck Leeper. I wanted to thank
you.” Jan Karon said that she was profoundly moved and will never
forget this man.

You never know how the gospel will get through. People can and do change and it is it not just fiction.
_______________

J. Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati, OH.


View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

Related Posts

Newspapers
recently carried the story of Malibu, a yellow Labrador, who
disappeared from her owners’ yard in Gloversville, N.Y., in 2000. She
was only was 9 months old. Cyndi McCullough was surfing the Web when
she saw a picture of Malibu at an animal shelter site. Even though
the dog was older, Cyndi recognized him. Workers at the shelter said
Malibu was found wandering just a few blocks from the McCulloughs’
home. Where has she been for three years? Malibu isn’t saying, but her
owner is sure happy to get her back. All wanderers from God will be
glad to know that no matter how long we’ve been away, God will
welcome us home.

_______________

J. Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati, OH.


View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

Related Posts

Senator Jim Talent says he prayed to trust Jesus as his Savior in response to an invitation he heard on the radio. The Missouri Republican gave his Christian testimony at a National Day of Prayer event this month on Capitol Hill. Talent said he was not raised in any faith, but began reading the Bible in college. After a couple of years, he said, he knew “a lot about God.” But Talent said he did not “know God” until he was driving one day in 1984 and heard evangelist Luis Palau on a Focus on the Family broadcast. Talent said he pulled over, prayed the sinner’s prayer with Palau, and — in his words — “passed over from death to life.”

 


View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

Related Posts

Blaise Pascal was a theologian, mathematician, scientist and philosopher. At
the time of his death, those who cared for him found a parchment sewn into his
clothing. It was a testimony concerning his conversion. Part of it says this:
“Year of grace 1654, Monday 23, November … from about half past ten at
night to about half an hour past midnight, FIRE.” No one knows exactly
what he meant by that, but we can make a guess.

Many have testified to a fire in their lives at conversion. We might need to
ask the question, Where is that fire now? Is it smoldering? Has it gone out
altogether? Does it need to be rekindled?

___________________________

Illustration by J. Michael Shannon, Professor of Preaching, Cincinnati Bible
College & Seminary, Cincinnati, OH.


View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

Related Posts

In the year 1723 the office of King of the Romans was vacant. Ruling princes
were supposed to elect a person for this office, but they had neglected to do
so. There was so little law and order that the Pope commanded them to elect a
king. They wanted none, but felt they had to obey. So they picked Rudolf of
Habsburg. They picked him because he seemed to be a weak person, and they
wanted a weak king. However, they got a surprise. As he rose from his knees
after his coronation he said, “I am not he that once before you
knew.” He proved to be a strong and effective ruler. His words fit every
person who ever was converted to Jesus Christ. Every convert can say, “I
am not he that once before you knew.”


View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

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The advertising slogan for the Louisiana tourist industry is, “Come as you
are. Leave different!” That could well be the slogan of the church. For
years we have sung the great decision hymn, ‘Just as I Am’. We have tried to say
to people that you do come to Jesus just as you are, but that you certainly
will be different after you come to Him.


View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

Related Posts