Illustrations Archives

• Adversity, Preparing for  (September 2, 2008)
  J. Floyd Jones in the 1958 Word Lectures at Guilford College told of a Maine farmer who built his stone fence four feet wide and three feet high. Why? That way if it blows over it will be better than it was before.
• Hatred  (September 2, 2008)
  Christopher Paul was born and raised in Ohio. Why does an American citizen from the heartland of America hate America?
• Adversity's Opportunity  (September 2, 2008)
  Philip Anschutz was in his mid-20s when his father took ill and turned over to him the oil-drilling business. For awhile, every hole was a dry hole.
• Imperfection  (September 2, 2008)
  Alan Greenspan acknowledged in his recent book, The Age of Turbulence, "There are errors in this book. I do not know where they are. If I did, they wouldn?t be there. But with close to two hundred thousand words, my probabilistic mind tells me some are wrong. My apologies in advance."
• Marriage, Timing  (August 4, 2008)
  Bob got home from work at his usual hour of 5 p.m., only to discover that it had not been one of his wife's better days.
• Letter From Summer Camp  (July 29, 2008)
  Dear Mom, Scoutmaster Webb told us to write our parents in case you heard about the flood and got worried.
• To Illustrate: Conviction  (July 1, 2008)
  Recently some of Anne Rice's fans were shocked that she had returned to the Catholic faith of her childhood.
• To Illustrate: Prayer  (July 1, 2008)
  News reports have introduced us to a church choir director named Rocky, who wants to bring down gas prices through prayer.
• To Illustrate: Kindness  (July 1, 2008)
  Ludlow Porch is a bit of a Southern legend.
• To Illustrate: Humility, Compassion  (July 1, 2008)
  Did you see the television reports of the extraordinary act of sportsmanship at the college women?s softball game between Central Washington and Western Oregon?
• To Illustrate: Greed  (July 1, 2008)
  The second-largest building in the world is the palace that President Ceacescieu of Romania built for himself. It is devoted to greed and vanity.
• To Illustrate: Gossip  (July 1, 2008)
  In a particular church they had a lady who was known to be the town gossip.
• To Illustrate: Empathy/Sympathy  (July 1, 2008)
  Harold and Don Reid, two of the legendary Statler Brothers, tell a wonderful story in their book Random Memories.
• To Illustrate: Communion  (July 1, 2008)
  People use a lot of big words when they speak of Communion.
• To Illustrate: Atonement  (July 1, 2008)
  Recently China announced the opening of what they call the "world?s longest sea bridge."
• To Illustrate: Atonement  (July 1, 2008)
  According to a Ripley?s column, there is a Shinto ceremony where people feed the alcohol drink sake to carps and then release the fish, believing they will swim away, carrying the troubles of the person who released them.
• Humility  (June 3, 2008)
  An elderly minister who survived the great Johnstown Flood of 1889 loved to regale audiences with tales of that harrowing event. When he died and went to heaven, he found himself in a meeting of saints who were sharing their life experiences. He took St. Peter aside and asked if he could tell about surviving the Johnstown Flood. Peter hesitated, then said, "Well, you can tell your story, but just keep in mind that Brother Noah will be in the audience...
• Church  (June 3, 2008)
  In the basement of America?s largest home, the Biltmore mansion in Asheville, North Carolina, you can see a model of the struc­ture. The model was completed first as a guide to build the home...
• Greed  (June 2, 2008)
  According an old fable, attributed to Aesop, a dog was carrying a bone as he crossed a bridge. He looked into the water and saw his own reflection...
• Preaching for Life Change  (May 5, 2008)
  Are there some particular insights you?ve gained during the years that help you preach for life change?