Sermon Illustrations

They have lost the cornerstone of the U. S. Capitol building in Washington, D. C. The building has been enlarged and remodeled and renovated so many times that somewhere the cornerstone has been lost. It seems to some that the very cornerstone of our government has been lost -- individual responsibility and self...

The advertising slogan for the Louisiana tourist industry is, "Come as you are. Leave Different!" That could well be the slogan of the church. For years we have sung the great decision hymn, Just as I Am. We have tried to say to people that you do come to Jesus just as you are, but that you certainly will be different after...

Near the beginning of the twentieth century much of Florida was still undeveloped. Pioneers who settled there often lived in remote areas served by country stores. The average country store carried only the essentials of life. One man said that he asked the country storekeeper to order a box of cigars, assuring him that if he...

Two Senior Citizens were out for their usual morning walk. They passed a funeral home. One said, "Let's just go in and give ourselves up." There's nothing like a bit of humor to counter the pessimism that sometimes comes with age. And it doesn't take much observation to see that the people who don't give up and don't give...

People in other nations who print signs in English often make interesting, and sometimes humorous mistakes. A sign in a Paris hotel read, "Please leave your values at the front desk." Many a traveler far from home and its restraints has done exactly that. Real values cannot be laid aside that...

It sounds like a made-up story, but it is true. Some years ago a church in Carter County, Tennessee had an attorney draw up a deed for their property. He wrote the deed naming The Lord God Almighty as the owner. That was fine until some years later the church wanted to sell the property and relocate. They went back to the...

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...

James Oglethorpe founded the city of Savannah, Georgia. He had already decided how to lay out the city before he even knew exactly where he would build it. He took a Roman encampment as his plan -- a grid. All the streets were to meet at right angles with squares at regular intervals. There are 21 of them in the historic...

The city of Los Angeles stands at the top of the list of America's largest cities, but at the bottom in giving to charitable causes. In fact, among the 50 largest cities, Los Angeles is number 48 in giving to charities. There may be many reasons for this, but lack of resources is not one of them. Surely the materialistic attitude and...