Sermon Illustration

Once upon a time a little candle stood in a room filled with other candles, most of them much larger and much more beautiful than she was. Some were ornate and some were rather simple, like herself. Some were white, some were blue, some were pink, some were green. She had no idea why she was there, and the other candles made her feel rather small and insignificant. When the sun went down and the room began to get dark, she noticed a large man walking toward her with a ball of fire on a stick. She suddenly realized that the man was going to set her on fire. "No, no!" she cried, "Aaaaagghhh! Don’t burn me, please!" But she knew that she could not be heard and prepared for the pain that would surely follow. To her surprise, the room filled with light. She wondered where it came from since the man had extinguished his fire stick. To her delight, she realized that the light came from herself. Then the man struck another fire stick and, one by one, lit the other can...

In kindergarten your idea of a good friend was the person who let you have the red crayon when all that was left was the ugly black one. In first grade your idea of a good friend was the person who went to the bathroom with you and held your hand as you walked through the scary halls. In second grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you stand up to the class bully. In third grade your idea of a good friend was the person who shared their lunch with you when you forgot yours on the bus. In fourth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who was willing to switch square dancing partners in gym so you wouldn't have to be stuck do-si-do-ing with Nasty Nicky or Smelly Susan. In fifth grade your idea of a friend was the person who saved a seat on the back of the bus for you. In sixth grade your idea of a friend was the person who went up to Nick or Susan, your new crush, and asked them to dance with you, so that if they said no you wouldn't have...

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant? Who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just some of us: it's everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Source: Marianne Williamson

I heard the story about a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he had grown up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!" One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" to which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail. About a year later, the king was hunting in an area wherein he should have known not to hunt. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village.They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came close to set fire to the wood, they noticed ...

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!"

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well." Martin Luther King Jr. American Civil Rights Leader

* I gave you life, but cannot live it for you. * I can teach you things, but I cannot make you learn. * I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you. * I can allow you freedom, but I cannot account for it. * I can take you to church, but I cannot make you believe. * I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot always decide for you. * I can buy you beautiful clothes, but I cannot make you beautiful inside. * I can offer you advice, but I cannot accept it for you. * I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you. * I can teach you to share, but I cannot make you unselfish. * I can teach you respect, but I cannot force you to show honor. * I can advise you about friends, but cannot choose them for you. * I can advise you about sex, but I cannot keep you pure. * I can tell you the facts of life, but I can't build your reputation. * I can tell you about drugs and alcohol, but I can't say ...

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...

Children today average 17 hours a week with Mom and Dad, 40 percent less time than children spent with their parents in 1965. And they spend more than 25 hours a week watching television. Los Angeles Times, quoted in Signs of the Times, May, 1992

A man caught in a terrible flood climbed on top of his house to avoid the rushing water and prayed to God that he’d be saved. A few minutes later a boat came by and offered him a ride. “No, thank you,” he said, “I trust God to rescue me.” A few minutes later a helicopter flew overhead and dropped down a rope ladder. His response was the same. Finally, another boat came by and offered to help him, but no, he was waiting on God. He was eventually lost in the flood, and in heaven asked God why he didn’t save him. God’s response was simple: “I tried three times, but you wouldn’t accept my help!”

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...

It sometimes helps to see things from another perspective. Lord, thank thee for this sink of dirty dishes...We have plenty of food to eat. Thank thee for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry... We have plenty of nice clothes to wear. And I would like to thank thee, Lord, for those unmade beds in there... They were so warm and so comfortable last night... I know that many have no bed. My thanks to thee, Lord, for this bathroom complete with all the splattered mirrors, soggy, grimy towels and dirty lavatory... They are so convenient. Thank thee for this finger smudged refrigerator that needs defrosting so badly... It has served us faithfully for many years... It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals. Thank thee Lord, for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today... It has baked so many things over the years. The whole family is grateful for that tall grass that needs mowing....The lawn that needs raking... We all enjoy the yard. Thank thee...

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...

I was reading a few days ago of a young man who, in applying for a position, handed to his prospective employer a recommendation from a minister. The business man handed back the recommendation with the question, "Haven't you something from some one who knows you on week days?" Too many look upon religion as something to put on once a week or as occasion demands, but to be taken off and laid on the shelf the rest of the time. The minister would not recognize some of us if he saw our acts or heard our words during the week. The real genuine brand of Christianity is the kind that we use seven days in the week, and which works just as actively at home as at church or when in society. If we are not Christians at home, we are not Christians at all.

A man was once asked, "Are you a believer in the Christian religion?" "Oh, certainly!" "You are a member of some church, then, I suppose?" "Member of a church? No, indeed. Why should I be a member of a church? It is quite unnecessary; the dying thief wasn't a member of a church, and he went to heaven." "But of course you have been baptized; you know the command—" "Been baptized? Oh, no; that is another needless ceremony! I am as safe as the dying thief was, and he never was baptized." "But surely, since you will not join a church or be baptized, you will do something in acknowledgment of your faith. You will give of your means—you will help the cause in some way?" "No, sir; I do nothing of the kind. The dying thief—" "Let me remark, my friend, before you go any further, that you seem to be on pretty intimate terms with the dying thief. You seem to derive a great deal of consolation ...

Carl was a quiet man. He didn't talk much. He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake. Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well. Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us. He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in World War II. Watching him, we worried that although he had survived the war, he may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity. When he saw the flier at our local church asking for volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in his characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up. He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared finally happened. He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approache...

This is to inform you that today will be your last day. Please make every effort to get your affairs in order and take care of all last minute contacts." He knew it was coming, but still he was shocked. "Time seemed to fly by," he thought to himself. "I had so many great things going. I don't understand why this should happen now." But often this happens with no particular explanation, rhyme or reason. He was angry, confused and saddened by it all. But after some reflection and a few tears he began gathering his belongings. Then pulling out his address book he started with the "A's" and made his final phone calls. "I've always enjoyed my conversations with you, Jim. I just wanted to tell you that I think you have some great talent. Don't waste a moment of time. Keep working as hard as you do and you'll make it," he told one person. "You've been my strength, my inspiration through all of these years....