Illustration: Heaven

The pastor was speaking to the children's Sunday School class, and asked them: Who wants to go to heaven? All the children raised their hands except one little boy.

Illustration: Prayer, Faith

A pastor had a little kitten stuck up in a tree, and the kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and drove until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten. As he moved just a little too far, the rope broke. The tree snapped upright and the kitten instantly sailed through the air and out of sight.

Illustration: Easter

Don Aycock tells the story of Menelik II, who was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 until 1913: "News of a successful new means of dispatching criminals reached him. The news was about a device known as an electric chair. The Emperor eagerly ordered one for his country. Unfortunately, no one bothered to warn him that it never would work because Ethiopia at that time had no electricity."

Illustration: Moms, Graduation

The high school valedictorian was required to give a speech. He began by reading from his prepared text. "I want to talk about my mother and the wonderful influence she has had on my life," he told the audience.

Illustration: Miracles, Truth

Uncle Bill was visiting for Sunday lunch, and he decided to give little Susan a hard time. At the table at dinner, he said to her, "So what did you study in Sunday School today?"

Illustration: Struggle, Suffering

In his Turning Point Daily Devotional for March 9, David Jeremiah says: "Clayton Christensen is a professor at Harvard Business School and is well-known for articulating his theory of disruptive technology--an unexpected product or service that disrupts an existing market and helps create a new category of customers.

Illustration: Preachers, Influence

Three boys are sitting around the lunch table at school. The first one says, "My dad's a lawyer. People pay him $200 just to write a letter."

Illustration: Divorce

Lots of folks are quoting statistics that Christians are more likely than non-Christians to divorce; but those numbers are deceptive, as Glenn Stanton points out in a Focus on the Family report. He writes: "Couples who regularly practice any combination of serious religious behaviors and attitudes -- attend church nearly every week, read their Bibles and spiritual materials regularly; pray privately and together; generally take their faith seriously, living not as perfect disciples, but serious disciples -- enjoy significantly lower divorce rates than mere church members, the general public and unbelievers."

Illustration: Leadership, Integrity

"The supreme quality for a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is a section gang, on a football field, in an army or in an office."