Sermon Illustrations

When we have a hard time understanding people, perhaps we would do well to consider what the French writer Michel Montaigne said in 1533. He wrote, "I never met a man who thought his thinking was faulty."

Jimmy Webb is the composer of some of the most well-known pop songs of all time, including, "Up, Up, and Away," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Galveston," "MacArthur Park" and "Wichita Lineman." Jimmy is the son of a Baptist minister. His family lived in southern California. After his mother's death, Jimmy's father decided to move, but Jimmy wanted to stay and write songs for a living.

It has been reported that in 18th century New England there were strict rules about dating and courting. Couples had no privacy and would sit in a room approximately six feet apart with other family members in the room.

What do you do with your money? Are you generous? Do you help family members who have no recourse? What's your response to the church's stewardship committee?

There's no I in team, not even a team of horses.

In a Garfield comic, we see Garfield looking at a December calendar. He says, "It's the holiday season. I just love this time of year. It makes me feel greedy all over."

Carolina County magazine once asked readers to send in stories of memorable Christmases. Revonda Starnes told one of the most memorable stories. Revonda was raised by her great-grandmother in severe poverty. She grew up being confused as to why Santa visited everyone else, but not her.

Teachers of small children here it all...and sometimes their encouragement backfires, unless they have a sense of humor and can laugh off what can pop into children's minds.

What can encouragement and affirmation do? If you want to see someone's work or attitude improve, read more here.

At the state funeral of Ronald Reagan, the story was told of the time Reagan was in the hospital, recovering from the attempt on his life. An aide entering the room was alarmed to find him on hands and knees, wiping up some water he had spilled from the sink. "Mr. President!" exclaimed the aide, "We have people for this." Reagan simply replied that he didn't want the nurses getting into trouble because of water on the bathroom floor.