Though he served
during very difficult years, Franklin Roosevelt never seemed to worry. The ebullience
he displayed on stage was really a part of his personality all the time. Once
he was asked if he ever worried. He replied by referring to the polio that had
left him disabled: “If you had spent two years in bed trying to wiggle
your toe, after that anything would seem easy.”

_________________________

Michael Shannon,
Preaching January/February 2004


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About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

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Dianne Odell, of Jackson, Tennessee, has lived an extraordinary life. Her story received nationwide attention when reported by Bill Poovey of the Associated Press. The story reveals a woman of remarkable courage and patience. Dianne has spent 51 of her 54 years in an iron lung. Very few iron lung patients remain.

This device is used to help polio patients breathe. A patient has to lie down in the lung all the time for it to do its life-saving work. This has not stopped Dianne. She graduated from high school and college. She is involved with her church. Through a special voice activated device, she wrote an autobiography, telling children with disabilities not to give up. Dianne gives particular praise to her parents, thanking God for them along with her many friends. What puts the rest of us to shame is her confident assertion, “I have had a good life.”

__________________________

Michael Shannon, Preaching March/April 2002


View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

Related Posts

Dianne Odell, of Jackson, Tennessee, has lived an extraordinary life. Her story
received nationwide attention when reported by Bill Poovey of the Associated
Press. The story reveals a woman of remarkable courage and patience. Dianne has
spent 51 of her 54 years in an iron lung. Very few iron lung patients remain.

This device is used to help polio patients breathe. A patient has to lie down
in the lung all the time for it to do its life-saving work. This has not
stopped Dianne. She graduated from high school and college. She is involved
with her church. Through a special voice activated device, she wrote an
autobiography, telling children with disabilities not to give up. Dianne gives
particular praise to her parents, thanking God for them along with her many
friends. What puts the rest of us to shame is her confident assertion, “I
have had a good life.”

___________________________

Illustration by J. Michael Shannon, Professor of Preaching, Cincinnati Bible
College & Seminary, Cincinnati, OH.


View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

Related Posts

The town of Greeneville, TN, is characterized for the spelling of Greene after
the revolutionary war hero Nathaniel Greene. Local citizens are very careful to
include the “E” in his honor. Greene was one of Washington’s noblest
and most effective generals. What is not widely known, according to the Ripley
people, is that Greene had first been rejected as a private in the Rhode Island
militia because he walked with a limp.

___________________________
Illustration by J. Michael Shannon, Professor of Preaching, Cincinnati Bible
College & Seminary, Cincinnati, OH.


View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

About The Author

A third generation preacher, Mike Shannon is Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University. He has served as a preaching minister, church planter, and college professor. His most recent preaching ministry was at the historic First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee. In his nearly two decades at Cincinnati Christian University, Mike has served as both professor and Dean of the Seminary. He has also been an adjunct professor at Milligan College and Northern Kentucky University. Mike is the author or co-author of several books.

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