Sermon Illustration

Judge Rooney, of Chicago, fined a man $100 plus court fees and sentenced him to jail for ninety days for impersonating a doctor and practicing medicine without a license. I wonder how many professing Christians, ministers, and laymen would be “hit” by a law fining those who pretended to be Christians and were not. Are we leading or misleading people by our pretensions?

Sir Charles Follett, the chief of Her Majesty’s Customs, speaking on the clever tricks of smugglers, says: “We have had many extraordinary dodges come under our notice. For instance, innocent-looking loaves of bread, when accidentally examined, were discovered to have every particle of crumb removed from them, and the inside crammed with compressed tobacco. This is only one example of manifold specimens of cunning to bring in prohibited goods.” How cunning is our great enemy to bring into our souls his contraband! Evil thoughts, desires, and deeds, covered with the most innocent and harmless-looking excuses; so that we need the wisdom from above if we are not to be unmindful of his devices.

A Christian once visited a farmer to talk to him about Christ. "I wouldn't come to church up there," the farmer said. "I know old so and so (insert a name) church goer who claims to be a Christian and So and So (insert another name) church goer who claims to be a Christian and they don't live any differently from me. I'm as good as they are." Everywhere the farmer went he told about the hypocrites in that church. Months passed and the Christian went to see the farmer again. "I want to buy a hog," said the Christian. The farmer showed all his best hogs to him. Then they came to the runt. "I believe I will take that one," the Christian said. The farmer replied, "But you don't want that one. He's the worst runt to the litter." "I sure do," said the Christian. So they loaded the runt in the truck. "Now," said the Christian, "what if I take this pig here from your farm and ride all ove...

The next time you feel like God can't use you, just remember: Noah got drunk, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a daydreamer, Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly, Joseph was abused, Moses had a stuttering problem, Gideon was afraid, Samson had long hair and was a womanizer, Rahab was a prostitute, Jeremiah and Timothy were too young, David had an affair and was a murderer, Elijah was suicidal, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God, Naomi was a widow, Job went bankrupt, John the Baptist ate bugs, Peter denied Christ, The Disciples fell asleep while praying, Martha worried about everything, The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once, Zaccheus was too small, Paul was too religious, Timothy had an ulcer, AND Lazarus was dead! Now, no more excuses. God even used a jackass to talk! So, God can use YOU! Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger. "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God f...

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table that held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding. All but one. He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his buddies to go on without him, waved goodbye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did. The 16-year-old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in fr...

Two workmen were busy repairing the roof of a factory near the opening of a large chimney. All of a sudden their scaffolding shifted and they plunged fifteen feet through the black, sooty chimney to the level below. Both men scrambled to their feet unhurt. But, in the process of falling, one man’s face had become smeared with soot. The other man had thrown one arm over his face to protect it as he fell, so his face was clean. Now, before they returned to work, the man with the clean face went and washed, but the man with the black, sooty face went back to work directly without washing. You have probably already realized why these men made the mistake they did. They looked at each other. The man with the clean face looked at the soiled face of his friend and assumed that his was sooty, too. The man with the blackened face saw the clean face of his fellow worker and assumed that his face was also clean. Both men were wrong because they were looking at each other. They were judging them...

Let's suppose that you want to be able to get where you're going faster. So, you decide to sleep in the garage. You haul a sleeping bag out there and plop it right beside the car. Your family members begin to question your strange behavior. "Why don't you sleep inside where it's more comfortable?" they ask. "I'm trying to speed up my life," you reply. When those words are received with rolled eyes, you add, "I'm trying to become a car." Your family members are incredulous. "You can't become a car by sleeping in the garage!" they exclaim as they head for the yellow pages and turn to the section labeled psychiatrists. That's absurd, you say. And you're right. But many people attend church every week, thinking that that makes them Christians. It doesn't.

One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans. This was when the problems began. You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought u...