Sermon Illustration

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide. The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to die. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the ocean. As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

We forget Lincoln's road to the White House: Failed in business in 1831, defeated for legislature in 1832, second failure in business in 1833, suffered nervous breakdown in 1836, defeated for Speaker in 1838, defeated for Elector in 1840, defeated for Congress in 1843, defeated for Congress in 1848, defeated for Congress in 1848, defeated for Senate in 1855, defeated for Vice-President in 1856, defeated for Senate in 1858, elected President in 1860.

Next fall, when you see geese heading north for the winter, flying along in V formation, you might be interested in knowing what science has discovered about why they fly that way. It has been learned that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a V- formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. (Christians who share a common direction and a sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier, because they are travelling on the thrust of one another). Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front. (If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are going). When the lead goose gets tired, he rotated back in the wing and anoth...

A blonde finds herself in serious trouble. Her business has gone bust and she's in dire financial straits. She's so desperate that she decides to ask God for help. She begins to pray ... 'God, please help me. I've lost my business and if I don't get some money, I'm going to lose my house as well. Please let me win the lottery .' Lottery night comes, and somebody else wins. She again prays ... 'God, please let me win the lottery! I've lost my business, my house and I'm going to lose my car as well.' Lottery night comes and she still has no luck. Once again, she prays ... 'My God, why have you forsaken me? I've lost my business, my house and my car. My children are starving. I don't often ask You for help, and I've always been a good servant to you. PLEASE let me win the lottery just this one time so I can get my life back in order.' Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light as the heavens open. Th...

Think about the last time you sat down to a cooked breakfast. Bacon and Eggs. Consider the contributions made by a chicken and a pig. Some would say that out of those two, the pig was the only one that showed commitment! But it's also a good illustration of the importance of sustainability and the dangers of over-committing!