In Melbourne, Florida, firefighters got so consumed with an emergency they forgot to turn off a fryer in their kitchen and started a fire in their own station. A firefighter from a neighboring department saw smoke coming from the firehouse and called 911. The firefighters from Station 72 then returned to fight the fire at their own station. There is a lesson in this for church workers. While trying to minister to others we need to make sure we keep our own house in order.


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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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I saw an interesting political cartoon the other day in the paper. John Tower was on the witness stand and was asked:

“What would you do if we rejected your nomination on the grounds that you’re a boozing womanizer?”

His reply:

“Move to Massachusetts and run for the U.S. Senate…”

While acceptable moral standards may vary from state to state, the standards of moral conduct have never changed with God.

-Sermons Illustrated May/June 1989

 


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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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In
Melbourne, Florida, firefighters got so consumed with an emergency they forgot
to turn off a fryer in their kitchen and started a fire in their own station.
A firefighter from a neighboring department saw smoke coming from the firehouse
and called 911. The firefighters from Station 72 then returned to fight the
fire at their own station. There is a lesson in this for church workers. While
trying to minister to others we need to make sure we keep our own house in order.

_______________
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.

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In the operating room of a large, well-known hospital, it was the nurse’s first
day on the medical team. She was responsible that all instruments and materials
were accounted for before completing the final steps of the operation. She said
to the surgeon, “You’ve only removed 11 sponges. We used 12 sponges, and
we need to find the last one.”
“I removed them all,” the doctor declared emphatically. “We’ll
close the incision now.”
“No,” the rookie nurse objected, “we used 12 sponges.”
“I’ll take the responsibility,” the surgeon said grimly. “Suture.”
“You can’t do that, sir,” blazed the nurse. “Think of the patient.”
The surgeon smiled and lifted his foot, showing the nurse the twelfth sponge.
“You’ll do just fine in this or any other hospital.”
When you know you’re right, you can’t back down.

 – Dennis Waitley, “Your Absolute
Bottom Line,” Priorities magazine


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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Keeping Promises

Ted Engstrom gives a succinct definition of integrity:

Simply put, Integrity is doing what you said you would do. It means you keep your promises. When you promised to be faithful to your mate, integrity says you’ll stay with that person no matter what – for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. If you promised the Lord that you would give Him the glory, integrity means you keep on doing that whether you’re reduced to nothing or exalted to the highest pinnacle on earth. If you promised a friend that you would return a call, integrity means you return it. If you promised your child that you would spend Saturday together, integrity means you keep that appointment. A promise is a holy thing, whether made to a chairman of the board or to a child.


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 Challenger

Not only can the lack of integrity kill the individual involved, it can also cut down whole groups of innocent people as well.

It was a chilly Tuesday morning, 28 January 1986, when Christa McAuliffe climbed aboard the Challenger space shuttle for her historic mission as the first citizen in space. She was a teacher. I only pray that we learned something about the consequences of getting an “F” in integrity. The weather was cold, but unbeknown to the rest of the nation a group of engineers were fighting back the hot sweat of worried anticipation. Would the booster seals hold in this kind of weather? Was it safe to launch? Knowledgeable engineers and designers said “No.” Influential executives and planners said, “Yes.”

– From the book Integrity, p.6

 


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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John Cassis tells
the story related to him by a customs officer at the U.S.-Canada border: “A
man came through one day with his four- or five-year-old son. The customs officer
asked the man if he had anything to declare. The man said no, but he looked
suspicious, so the officer pressed on.

“‘Are you
carrying cigarettes?’ The man answered no. ‘Are you carrying any kind of booze?’
Again, the man answered no. ‘Do you have any type of cameras, or film?’ The
man answered no. At that point, the little boy looked up at his father and said,
‘But he’s getting warmer, huh, Daddy?'”

________________________
PreachingNow 04/27/04 (Successful Meetings, April 2004)


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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One of the most ardent patriots in the American Revolution was John Adams, our
second president. One of the events that helped spark the revolution was an
event called The Boston Massacre. It involved a riot between American patriots
and British soldiers. The defense attorney for the soldiers was one John Adams.

His defense was so well conceived, in spite of public sentiment, the soldiers
were found not guilty. Rather than celebrate the victory, Adams thought his
public career was over. Instead Adams grew in the esteem of the colonists. Why?
Because he had based his defense on facts and a keen insight into human
behavior. People respected the integrity of John Adams. Even though considered
cold and aloof by some, everyone who knew Adams considered him a man of strong
principle and high integrity.

___________________________
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.

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