To Illustrate: Grace

In one of Bishop Fulton Sheen's books, he made an interesting observation about Christianity. He said, "In other religions, one must be purified before he can knock at the door. In Christianity, one knocks at the door as a sinner, and He who answers us, heals." If that is not good news, I don't know what is.

To Illustrate: Evangelism

There is an old story about how the University of Chicago received a million-dollar grant from the heiress of a major department store. She had been a student at Northwest. So, administrators of Northwest went to visit her and asked why she had not made such a gift to her alma mater. Her answer was simple, "The people at the University of Chicago asked. You did not."

To Illustrate: Discipleship

Herb Miller used to tell a story about a man whose daughter was applying to an Ivy League school. In a questionnaire sent by the school, he was asked if his daughter was a leader. He answered honestly, "I'm not sure about that, but she is an excellent follower." The man received a letter back from the president of the college that said, "Our freshman class next fall is expected to contain several hundred leaders. We congratulate ourselves on the acceptance of your daughter as a member of the class. We shall thus be assured of having one good follower in the group."

To Illustrate: Conflict

Two writers who were bitter rivals were both attending the same party. One had recently had a book published, and the other commented to him, "I read your new book, and liked it. Who wrote it for you?" The other replied, "I'm glad you liked the book-who read it to you?"