Sermon Illustration

After a pastor had counseled with an eleven-year-old boy one Sunday during the invitation, he happily told the congregation that the lad had accepted Christ and wanted to follow Him. The Pastor then made and unusual request. In addition to the parents and teachers of this boy, every person who had been his superintendent, leader or teacher was asked to come to the front of the auditorium. Among those who responded to this call were the following: A nursery worker who recalled singing, “I like to go to church” when the boy was just a toddler. A Beginners superintendent remembered the smiling face of a five-year-old as the child saw seeds sprouting in their Nature Center. A Primary superintendent of the Junior Department rejoiced that he had made those extra visits last year to the home of the lad confined with the measles. For several minutes people moved to the front of the building: thirty-seven adults gathered around the young lad! Each obviously had had a share in the child’s de...

There was once a horse that ran away in the morning and did not return till the evening. When the master upbraided him the horse replied, “But here am I returned safe and sound. You have your horse.” “True,” answered the master, “but my field is unplowed.” If a man turns to God in old age, God has the man, but He has been defrauded of the man’s work. And the man himself has been defrauded worst of all.

For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died (Rom. 7:9). Let us illustrate how it is that sin revises. You have seen a carpenter take a straight-edge, as it is called, to see whether boards are straight. He takes a board, and looks at it, and says, “I guess that is straight”; but when he applies the straight-edge to it, he finds that it is full of bends. He could not see the inequalities till he laid the straight-edge along the board; but then he saw them plainly. Now, God’s word is a straightedge; and if a man lays it on his course of conduct, it shows him that what he thought was right is wrong.

Travelers, who have ascended very high mountains, tell us that they were able to determine their altitude by the productions of nature around them. Fruits and flowers at the base; higher up, those of the temperate variety; and still higher, those of the frigid zones. The fruit you bear will reveal your relation to Christ.

Alexander I of Russia told Mr. Venning that when he began to read the Bible, he understood but little; what little he understood he marked; next time he had to mark more—beauties having escaped his observation at first reading; and by laying aside his own prejudices and reasonings, he had come to love the Bible.

A friend once showed an artist a costly handkerchief on which a blot of ink had been made. “Nothing can be done with it now, it is absolutely worthless.” The artist made no reply, but carried it away with him. After a time he sent it back, to the great surprise of his friend, who could scarcely recognize it. In a most skillful and artistic way he had made a fine design in India ink, using the blot as a basis, making the handkerchief more valuable than ever. A blotted life is not necessarily a useless life. Jesus can make a life beautiful though it has been marred by sin.

The medical staff at the hospital were puzzled why a patient was not improving. The nurses were giving the proper medication. Yet, there was no improvement. The following day the nurse gave the medication and hid. Thinking the nurse had left, the patient spit it out. Too many Christians act similar when hearing the word of God. They retain it for a short time, then spit it out. As the result, there is no improvement in their Christian life.