Illustrations

A lady once came to Governor Nash and said, “Governor Nash, I have come to speak to you on behalf of my poor boy who is soon to die in the electric chair. Governor, I have not come to ask for justice but for mercy, not for his sake but mine. He is my only son and support. Governor, if you can do anything, do it for my sake.”

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!

An old Scotsman operated a little rowboat for transporting passengers. One day a passenger noticed that the old man had carved on one oar the word faith, and on the other oar the word works. Curiosity led him to ask the meaning of this. The old man said, “I will show you.”

He dropped one oar and plied the other called works, and the boat went around in circles. Then he dropped that oar and began to ply the oar called faith, and the little boat just went around in circles again.

A farmer found a little girl that was lost in his meadow. The farmer said to her, “Do not cry; I’ll take you home.” The little child snuggled up to him, and with a smile, said, “I knew you would; I was waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me?” said the man. “What made you think I was coming?”

“I was praying you would.” she said.

Nepalese fighters in Borneo known as Gurkhas were asked if they would be willing to jump from airplanes into combat against the Indonesians. The Gurkhas didn’t clearly understand what was involved, but they bravely said they would do it, asking only that the plane fly slowly over a swampy area and no higher than 100 feet. When they were told that the parachutes would not have time to open at that height, the Gurkhas replied, “Oh, you didn’t mention parachutes before!”

Ravensbruck was known as one of the worst German concentration camps during World War II. When Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie found themselves imprisoned there, they were disgusted to discover that their barracks were infested with fleas.

When Corrie began to complain, Betsie insisted that they instead give thanks, quoting 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” With some persuasion, Corrie finally joined her sister in thanking God for the fleas.

Dale Carnegie visited Yellowstone Park where he saw a grizzly bear. The huge animal was in the center of a clearing, feeding on some discarded camp food. For several minutes he feasted alone—no other creature dared draw near. After a few moments a skunk walked through the meadow toward the food and took his place next to the grizzly. The bear didn’t object and Carnegie knew why—It would cost the bear too much to get even.

You may be able to get even with your enemies, but it does not pay. Why don't you forgive instead?

A lady was standing in front of a casino when she was approached by a desperate looking man, “Please!” the man begged frantically, “Could you possibly spare $500. My wife is very sick, and I really need the money to take her to the doctor and to buy her the medicine she needs.”

The lady looked at him suspiciously and said, “If I give you $500, how do I know you won’t just go into a casino and gamble it all away?”

The man quickly responded, “Oh no, I wouldn’t do that! I’ve got gambling money!”

Although George Whitefield disagreed with John Wesley on some matters, he was careful not to create problems in public that could be used to hinder the preaching of the Gospel. When someone asked Whitefield if he thought he would see Wesley in heaven, Whitefield replied, “I fear not, for he will be so near the eternal throne and we at such a distance, we shall hardly get sight of him.” 

Source: Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers, Warren Wiersbe

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

The oyster takes a grain of sand and turns it into a beautiful pearl. Many people are just the opposite—they take pearls and turn them into grains of sand.

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College