Illustrations Archives

• Stewardship  (January 1, 2008)
  In 1945 General Douglas MacArthur asked for ten thousand missionaries to carry the Gospel to the Orient. What an opportunity. Yet we refused to accept the challenge. Why? Simply because money was our idol and we refused to tithe our income.
• Promises  (January 1, 2008)
  Carol Burnett tells a story about a time when she was a college actor and a man came up after a performance and asked what she wanted to do with her life. She said that she wanted to go to New York and be in musical theater.
• Prayer  (January 1, 2008)
  County music star Josh Turner tells a story of how he came to meet Johnny Cash. He told USA Weekend that he had been reading about Cash?s illness and wanted to meet him and encourage him. He found out where Cash lived and went to drop in and hoped he would not be seen as a stalker.
• Salvation  (January 1, 2008)
  The Ripley?s Believe It Or Not column tells of a woman in England who received a heart transplant in June of 2007. She decided to go and visit her old heart when it was placed on display in London.
• Pardon  (January 1, 2008)
  There is a story from the history of Kentucky about a man named Sam Holmes who was in jail for the charge of murder. He was visited by a childhood friend named Lucien Young. Young was a man of bravery who had been honored for rescuing people from a wrecked ship. It was because of Young?s pleading that the governor decided to reconsider the case and gave him a signed pardon for his friend.
• Legacy  (January 1, 2008)
  Elias Boudinot was the first president of the American Bible Society and was also the president of the United States Continental Congress in 1783. His gravestone in Burlington, New Jersey, refurbished by modern admirers, says of him, ?His death was the triumph of the Christian faith, the consummation of hope, the dawn and pledge of endless felicity.?
• Legacy  (January 1, 2008)
  Elias Boudinot was the first president of the American Bible Society and was also the president of the United States Continental Congress in 1783. His gravestone in Burlington, New Jersey, refurbished by modern admirers, says of him, ?His death was the triumph of the Christian faith, the consummation of hope, the dawn and pledge of endless felicity.?
• God  (January 1, 2008)
  A missionary came up with a great strategy to share the gospel. He would go to a village, sit with the people around the fire and ask, ?What has your god done for you??
• God  (January 1, 2008)
  A missionary came up with a great strategy to share the gospel. He would go to a village, sit with the people around the fire and ask, ?What has your god done for you??
• Giving  (January 1, 2008)
  Recently the Charlotte Observer carried the story of one church?s unusual beginning for a capital campaign. Instead of taking an offering, Elevation Church gave $40,000 to the congregation to spend on doing good deeds.
• Courage  (January 1, 2008)
  Many perhaps remember several poignant quotes from Dickens? A Tale of Two Cities. We remember the opening words, ?It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
• Corrie ten Boom's Immanuel  (December 19, 2007)
  When Corrie ten Boom was a little girl, her father used to tuck her into bed at night. He talked and prayed with her, then laid his big hand on her little face. Later, when Corrie was imprisoned in a brutal concentration camp, she would ask God to tuck her in and lay His hand on her face. "That would bring me peace, and I would be able to sleep," Corrie wrote in her book, Each New Day.
• Worship During Advent  (December 12, 2007)
  Although most of us are familiar with the story of Christ's birth, realizing the wise men (probably many more than three) are a staple of nativity scenes and stories, many of us don't realize they didn't show up in time to see Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the stable. Rather, they visited the family in a house. It is unclear exactly how long after the birth they arrived, but they had quite a distance to travel, and Herod had all of the male children under age 2 killed shortly after the family fled
• Sojourning or Resident Among Thistles?  (December 5, 2007)
  Since time is of a premium to me right now, I thought I?d pose a question for you.
• "A Little Fellow Follows Me"  (December 3, 2007)
  A Little Fellow Follows Me - By Lee Fisher
• How to Make Humor Funny  (November 29, 2007)
  Humor, especially in the pulpit, can be tricky, but often worth the risk in order to connect with your congregation. You can buy books that have all the variations of humor, but there are three broad categories that make something funny.
• Things to do with Thanksgiving Leftovers  (November 27, 2007)
  What to do if you're tired of leftover turkey and the trimmings, turkey sandwiches, turkey salad sandwiches, turkey gumbo ...
• Out of the Mouths of Babes ...  (November 27, 2007)
  A newspaper ran a contest asking kids for their profound thoughts (akin to the old ?Deep Thoughts? segment on Saturday Night Live). Here are some submissions:
• Confession  (November 26, 2007)
  Jake was dying, and his wife, Becky, was maintaining a candlelight vigil by his side. She held his fragile hand, tears running down her face. Her praying roused him from his slumber. He looked up and his pale lips began to move slightly...
• Problems, Unintended Consequences  (November 24, 2007)
  A little guy is sitting at the bar just staring at his drink for half an hour when this big trouble-making biker steps next to him, grabs his drink and gulps it down in one swig. The poor little guy starts crying...