Illustrations

A friend of mine awoke one morning to find a puddle of water in the middle of his king-size water bed. In order to fix the puncture, he rolled the heavy mattress outdoors and filled it with more water so he could locate the leak more easily. The enormous bag of water was impossible to control and began rolling on the hilly terrain. He tried to hold it back, but it headed downhill and landed in a clump of bushes which poked it full of holes.

Doctor to patient: “I have bad news and worse news.”

Patient: “So let’s have it.”

Doctor: “The bad news is that you only have 24 hours to live.”

Patient: “I can’t imagine what could be worse than that!”

Doctor: “I forgot to tell you yesterday.”

Source: Unknown

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

Vance Havner told a story about an elderly lady who was greatly disturbed by her many troubles—both real and imaginary. Finally, someone in her family tactfully told her, “Grandma, we’ve done all we can for you. You’ll just have to trust God for the rest.” A look of absolute despair spread over her face as she replied, “Oh dear, has it come to that?” Havner commented, “It always comes to that, so we might as well begin with that!”

Source: Unknown

Submited by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

After William Carey was well established in his pioneer missionary work in India, his supporters in England sent a printer to assist him. Soon the two men were turning out portions of the Bible for distribution. Carey had spent many years learning the language so that he could produce the scriptures in the local dialect. He had also prepared dictionaries and grammars for the use of his successors.

A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot. It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.

Source: Bits and Pieces, Mildred Witte Struven, September 19, 1991

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

Diamonds are formed under great pressure and heat. If these conditions do not exist, they are simply not formed. It is not that they will be low quality, or smaller in size, but they will not form. God brings His refining fire into our lives to create in us what He sees fit. When He sees our lack of character, He will bring into our lives what we need. So next time a fiery trial comes, thank God. He is producing exactly what He knows you need in your life. The only difference between a diamond and a piece of coal is pressure.

One little boy gave an interesting answer when his Sunday school teacher was talking about the difference between sins of commission and sins of omission. Derek explained to his teacher that the sins of omission are, “Those sins that we want to do but we just haven’t gotten around to yet.”

Source: Living Obediently, Brian Harbour

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

Gary Richmond gained an interesting perspective on snakes while working with a snake handler in a zoo. Richmond and four others milked the venom of a King Cobra. This was an extremely dangerous task as the King Cobra has enough venom to kill one thousand adults.

Roger Staubach, who led the Dallas Cowboys to the Super Bowl victory in 1971, admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn’t call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run, and only in emergency situations could he change the play. Even though Roger considered Coach Landry to have a “genius mind” when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team. Roger had a decision to make. Would he allow pride to rule his life and ignore his coach, making himself the star?

A little boy was in a heated argument with his sister about who was going to get the last brownie. His mother overheard the loud discussion in their kitchen and came in to resolve the conflict. Her two children were obviously very distraught about getting that final treat. Sensing the need to teach a deeper truth, the mom asked her children that ever-relevant question: “What would Jesus do?” The older sibling immediately answered, “That’s easy, Jesus would just break the brownie and make five thousand more!”