Sermon Illustrations

Because of her father's drinking problem, 11-year-old Mary Slessor was putting in twelve-hour shifts in the mills, helping her family pay its bills. She found she could prop books on her loom while working.

Erma Bombeck once said that raising children is similar to flying kites. You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground. You run with them until you're both breathless. . .they crash. . .you add a longer tail.

The Sunday School teacher was reading this story of the Prodigal Son to his class, clearly emphasizing the resentment the older brother expressed at the return of his brother.

"The mind of man is the battleground on which every moral and spiritual battle is fought." (J. Oswald Sanders)

Charles Lindbergh became an instant hero in 1927 when he became the first flyer to make a Trans-Atlantic solo flight. A reporter asked him just before take-off why he was taking only five sandwiches and a container of water with him. Lindbergh replied,

A guy walks into a shoe store and asks for a pair of shoes, size 8. The obviously well trained salesman says, "But sir, you take an 11 or eleven-and-a-half." "Just bring me a size eight."

The December 16, 1997 issue of the tabloid The Sun carried this headline on the front page: New Messiah to Be Born in Holy Land. Inside the story says that on the eve of Christmas and Hanukkah a strange meteor would appear over Bethlehem. (The two festivals coincided in 1997, an event that occurs about once every ten years!)

Overcoming Challenges

A new kind of plane was on its first flight. It was full of reporters and journalists. A little while after takeoff, the captain's voice was heard over the speakers: "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted to be your pilot for this plane's historic first flight. I can tell you the flight is going well.

Two elderly ladies had been friends for many decades. Over the years, they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures. Lately, their activities had been limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards.