Sermon Illustrations

On Sunday, July 11th there was a strange historical re-enactment in Weehawken, New Jersey. This marked the 200th anniversary of the famous duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Hamilton and Burr had been friends, but later became ...

In the book, The Twentieth Century, the authors record several great quotations about ageing. Ogden Nash once said, "Middle age is when you've met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else." Harvey Allen said, "The only...

"Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light."

I read of a minister who felt so depressed and defeated that he was ready to give in to discouragement. One morning as he sat dejectedly by the window, he looked outside and noticed a starling perched on the sill. The bird seemed to look steadily at him and chirp what sounded like "Give it up! Give it up!" in starling language. ...

Coach Lou Holtz of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame is quickly becoming legendary in his adherence to discipline. "When it comes to discipline here," Holtz says, "We ask three questions: Will it make him a better man? A better student? A better athlete? If the answer is yes, we make him do it. The next step is up to him. An...

A London editor submitted a list of people to Winston Churchill who had been Churchill's teachers. Churchill returned the list with this comment. "You have omitted to mention the greatest of my teachers - my mother."

I love the story Gordon MacDonald tells. Among the legends is the tale of a medieval sidewalk superintendent who asked three stone masons on a construction project what they were doing. The first replied that he was laying bricks. The second described his work as that of building a wall. But it was the third laborer who...

Donald Cargill was a bright star in the history of Scottish persecutions. He was condemned by the government and sentenced to the gallows. When he came to the scaffold, Cargill said these moving words, although it was said that the drums were beaten in an attempt to drown out his voice: Now I am near to getting to my ...

The reasons why I'm giving up sports: football in the fall, baseball in the summer, basketball in the winter. I've had it all. I quit attending sports once and for all, and here are my 11 excuses: 1. Every time I went, they asked for money. 2. The people I sat next to didn't seem friendly. 3. The seats were too hard and not ...

Take a Moment to Listen. Take a moment to listen today - To what your children are trying to say; - Listen today, whatever you do - Or they won't be there to listen to you. - Or they won't be there to listen to you. - Listen to their problems, listen for their needs, - Praise their smallest triumphs, praise their smallest deeds;...