Sermon Illustrations

Stan Toler observes, "It is never enough to be efficient, capable, or talented. A leader must have character, first and foremost. We must maintain our integrity if we are to lead successfully."

C.S. Lewis likened God's use of adversity to walking a dog. If the dog gets its leash wrapped around a pole and tries to continue running forward, he will only tighten the leash more. Both the dog and the owner are after the same end, forward motion, but the owner must resist the dog by pulling him

There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child. (Erma Bombeck) Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten and his presents remembered. (Phyllis Diller)

One of the real problems of our time is the near celebrity status of many preachers. Many men are almost worshiped by their followers. I am reminded of an incident Lyman Beecher Stowe wrote about in his book Saints, Sinners, and Beechers. Stowe told that on one occasion Thomas K. Beecher substit

The passenger tapped the cab driver on the shoulder to ask him something. The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went up on the sidewalk, and stopped inches from a department store window. For a second everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said, "Look mister, do

One of the most inspirational figures of the early church is Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Scholars believe that this faithful believer was born around A.D. 69, and may have been converted by the apostle John. At this time, Christians in western Asia (modern Turkey) experienced increased persecuti

Adrian Rogers wrote: "When Jesus came the first time, He came in a manger. When He comes again, He is coming in majesty. The first time, He shed His royal blood for our redemption. When He comes again, He is going to be dressed in royal robes to reign in righteousness. The first time, He came to a c

Are we true to our mates? Or do we just SAY we are? About a third (39% of men, 27% of women) of USA TODAY readers responding to a living in the USA survey say they've had an extramarital affair. "My guess is more of them had an affair and didn't admit it," says Fred Humphrey, past president of the

Two elderly ladies meet at the launderette after not seeing one another for some time. After inquiring about each other's health, one asked how the other's husband was doing... "Oh! Ted died last week. He went out to the garden to dig up a cabbage for dinner, had a heart attack and dropped down dea

A woman was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable; and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids. She