Illustrations

During the American Revolution a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier. Their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them. When the rider asked the corporal why he did not help his men, he retorted with great dignity, “Sir, I am a corporal!” The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. When the job was finished he turned to the corporal and said, “Mr.

Franklin Roosevelt’s closest adviser during much of his presidency was a man named Harry Hopkins. During World War II, when his influence with Roosevelt was at its peak, Hopkins held no official Cabinet position. Moreover, Hopkins’s closeness to Roosevelt caused many to regard him as a shadowy, sinister figure. As a result he was a major political liability to the President.

In 1981, a Minnesota radio station reported a story about a stolen car in California. Police were staging an intense search for the vehicle and the driver, even to the point of placing announcements on local radio stations to contact the thief. On the front seat of the stolen car sat a box of crackers that, unknown to the thief, were laced with poison. The car owner had intended to use the crackers as rat bait.

Isn’t it strange how a twenty dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?

Isn’t it strange how two hours seem so long when you’re at church, and so short when you’re at a ball game?

Isn’t it strange that you can’t find a word to say when you’re praying but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?

Isn’t it strange how difficult and boring you think it is to read one chapter of the Bible but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel?

A frontier preacher was preaching against hatred, he asked all those who had overcome the sin of hatred to stand. He was shocked when one older man rose to his feet. The preacher asked him this could be and he said, “All the skunks who done me dirt, all them scoundrels I hated—they're all dead.”

Source: Bible in Pocket, Gun in Hand, Ross Pahres

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

A group of men gathered one Saturday morning to help paint a friend’s large, two-story home. Toward the end of the day when the job was almost complete, a small bit of trim, which could not be seen from the ground, remained unpainted. One of the men said, “Since nobody can see that piece of trim, I guess we don't need to paint it.” “Not true,” said another of the crew as he went for a ladder. “God sees it.”

Source: Turning Point Daily Devotional, 5/24/2004

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

In the year A.D. 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued a decree which he hoped would extinguish the spreading flames of Christianity. One of his primary objectives was the seizure and destruction of the Bible. Later that year, officials enforced the decree in North Africa. One of the targets was Felix, Bishop of Tibjuca, a village near Carthage. The mayor of the town ordered Felix to hand over his Scriptures.

An unknown writer said, “This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character.

In 1982, ABC Evening News reported about a new invention—a chair affixed to a shotgun. It was to be viewed by sitting in the chair and looking directly into the gun barrel. The gun was loaded and set on a timer to fire at an undetermined moment within the next hundred years. The amazing thing was that people waited in lines to sit and stare into the shell’s path! They all knew the gun could go off at point-blank range at any moment, but they were gambling that the fatal blast wouldn’t happen during their minute in the chair.

In 1997 Chinese firefighters succeeded in putting out a 400 year old fire. The fire in the Baiyanghe coalfield started in 1560. The fire consumed over 127 million tons of coal before it was extinguished.

Four hundred years is a long time, but it is nothing in view of eternity. The fires of Hell will never end or be put out.

Source: Reuters News Agency, 11/29/1997

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College