Sermon Illustrations

Alan Loy McGinnis, in Bringing Out the Best in People, writes: A proven motivator will make it to the top before a proven genius. When Andrew Carnegie hired Charles Schwab to administer his far-flung steel empire, Schwab became the first man in history to earn a million dollars a year while in some

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 c

The Harvest Never Fails A wealthy widower deeded all his property to an only son and his wife on the condition that he would be allowed to live in the country with them for the rest of his life. After a few years, when the inheritance had been spent, the daughter-in-law got tired of having the elde

Publius, the Greek sage, said, "I have often regretted my speech, never my silence."

Cowboy humorist Will Rogers once overpaid his income taxes by $40,000 but was unable to get the government to issue a refund. He sent many letters that went unanswered and finally decided on a different approach - the next year Rogers claimed the amount as a deduction. When he listed his deducti

As Pastor John Aker boarded a DC-10 at Newark Airport, the plane was nearly empty. The computer, however, had assigned him a seat next to a man named Richard. Once airborne, the two began talking; Richard had come from the Sloan-Lettering Institute for Cancer Research. His condition: skin cancer. Do

Here's an illustration from the new movie The Last Samurai, courtesy of MovieMinistry.com: The Big Idea: Faithfulness is what you do when all the odds are against you. Scene Setup: After rescuing Lord Katsumoto, the leader of the remaining Samurai, Captain Algren shares some battle strategy with h

A very wealthy man in the community was not known for his generosity to the church. The church was involved in a big financial program so the fund-raising committee decided they had to pay him a visit. As they met with him, they said that in view of his considerable resources they were sure that he

Christ's Finger A little girl had just finished witnessing to a small group of friends. Joyfully she told of God's saving grace and how His love had touched her heart. With assurance, she appropriately concluded her testimony by quoting these comforting words of Jesus recorded in John's gospel: "An

In a sermon on the Lordship of Christ, Roger Willmore says, "For Jesus to become Lord of a person's life involves absolute and total surrender. I can think of no better example of total surrender than F. B. Meyer. He was a Baptist preacher and pastor of Christ Church in the heart of London in the ni