Illustrations Archives

• 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...
• Second Coming, Preparation  (November 23, 2007)
  A young lady busied herself getting ready for a blind date. This was not just dinner and a movie; her date had planned dinner at an exclusive downtown restaurant with live music and dancing. Wanting to make a good first impression she had taken the day off work. She cleaned her apartment; she went out that afternoon to have her hair done and get a manicure. When she got home she did her makeup, put on her best dress and was ready for her date?s arrival. His expected arrival came and went, but she continued to wait patiently...
• Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Sermon Illustrations?  (November 16, 2007)
  "I love to preach and teach, but the hardest part for me is finding just the right story or quote to reinforce what I'm teaching..." If that sounds familiar, click here.
• Evangelism, Purpose  (November 15, 2007)
  Josh McDowell explains that, ?An executive recruiter, a ?head-hunter? who goes out and hires corporation executives for other firms, once told me, ?When I get an executive that I'm trying to hire for someone else, I like to disarm him. I offer him a drink, take my coat off, then my vest, undo my tie, throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until he's all relaxed...
• Good News, Bad News  (November 12, 2007)
  "This house," said the real estate salesman, "has both its good points and its bad points. To show you I'm honest, I'm going to tell you about both. The disadvantages are that there is a chemical plant one block south and a slaughterhouse a block north...
• Aging  (November 9, 2007)
  "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?" (Satchel Paige)
• Happiness, Consumerism  (November 7, 2007)
  Economist Richard Layard believes that although people are getting wealthier and living more comfortably, they?re not getting happier. He argues in Happiness: Lessons from a New Science that a ?zero-sum game of competition for money and status has gripped rich societies, and that this rate race is a big source of unhappiness...
• Genuine Success  (November 1, 2007)
  In his book Quiet Strength, Tony Dungy, head coach of the Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts, wrote of what was in his mind with 45 seconds to go before his team won the Super Bowl...
• Stewardship  (November 1, 2007)
  There is an ancient story about a man who hid his gold by burying it at the foot of a tree. Every week he used to dig it up and admire it. A thief noticed this routine and dug up the gold and ran off with it...
• Stewardship  (November 1, 2007)
  There is an ancient story about a man who hid his gold by burying it at the foot of a tree. Every week he used to dig it up and admire it. A thief noticed this routine and dug up the gold and ran off with it...
• Sobriety  (November 1, 2007)
  The ?Ripley?s Believe It or Not? column told recently of some men from Queensland, Australia, who, in June of 2007, sailed fifty miles down the Brisbane River on a boat made of beer cans...
• Sin  (November 1, 2007)
  In a recent ?Wizard of Id? comic strip, the watchman calls out, ?Who goes there?? A voice in the darkness answers back, ?I?m a man of the cloth looking for sinners.? The watchman countered, ?Well, you?ve come to the right place.?
• Selflessness  (November 1, 2007)
  In the year 1833, a cholera plague killed 500 citizens of Lexington, Ky., in a two-month period. Half the city fled in fear. A man named William ?King? Solomon stayed behind to bury the dead...
• Prayer  (November 1, 2007)
  According to an old story attributed to Aesop, a man married off his two daughters. One married a gardener, and the other married a brick maker...