Illustrations

The story is told of a boy named Patrick who asked repeatedly for a watch. His parents forbade him to talk about it anymore. At dinner he was asked to pray and he said, “Before I pray, I would like to quote Mark 13:37, ‘And what I say unto you, I say unto all, WATCH!’”

Source: Unknown

From July 26 to August 7, 1971, the eyes of millions of Americans were on the Apollo 15 moon mission. You may remember the astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin, who landed on the moon and spent eighteen of their sixty-six hours there outside the spacecraft. They covered over seventeen miles of the surface in a specialized vehicle people dubbed the “moon buggy.”

H. L. Hunt made millions as a Texas oilman. He was an aggressive businessman with little regard for time. His chief confidant, John, might be called in the middle of the night as quickly as in the middle of the day.

One night at 2:00 AM, Hunt phoned John. He excitedly declared, “John, I just made the greatest trade of my life. I traded the here for the hereafter… I just got saved.”

If you have never trusted Christ as your Saviour, you need to trade the here for the hereafter. You need to be saved. It is the wisest decision you will ever make.

Evangelist Gypsy Smith, was asked what the secret of revival is. He said, “Go home. Take a piece of chalk. Draw a circle around yourself. Then pray, ‘O Lord, revive everything inside this circle.’”

Source: Personal Revival, S. J. Hill

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

Massena, one of Napoleon’s generals, suddenly appeared with eighteen thousand men before an Austrian town which had no means of defense. The town council had nearly decided to surrender when the old dean of the church reminded them that it was Easter and begged them to hold services as usual and to leave the trouble in God's hands. This they did; and the French hearing the church bells ringing joyfully concluded that an Austrian army had come to relieve the place and quickly broke camp. Before the bells ceased ringing, all the Frenchmen had vanished.

The story is told of a Jewish woman in New York City who was approached by a Christian worker. He began to tell her of Christ and her need of salvation. He explained that she was a sinner and was going to Hell. She cried out, “I don’t believe in hell!”

“Why not?” asked the Christian.

“Because 6 million of my Jewish brothers and sisters were murdered at the hands of Adolf Hitler and his Nazis. I cannot believe they will all go to Hell!”

A gentleman visiting a certain school gave out that he would give a prize to the pupil whose desk he found in the best order when he returned. “But when will you return?” some of them asked.

“That I cannot tell,” was the answer. A little girl, who had been noted for her disorderly habits, announced that she meant to win the prize. “You!” her schoolmates jeered; “why, your desk is always out of order.”

“Oh! but I mean to clean it the first of every week.”

“But suppose he should come at the end of the week?” someone asked.

The boss drives his men; the leader coaches them.
The boss depends upon authority; the leader on good will.
The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.
The boss says “I;” the leader, “We.”
The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.
The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.
The boss says “Go;” the leader says “Let’s go!”—H. Gordon Selfridge

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

‘Twas battered and scarred and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But he held it up with a smile.

“What am I bid, good folk?” he cried.
“Who’ll start the bidding for me?
A dollar, a dollar ... now two ... only two ...
Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?

“Three dollars once, three dollars twice,
Going for three” ... but no!
From the room far back a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow.

At age nineteen, these resolutions were adopted by Dr. James Clement Furman who became the first president of Furman University:

Resolved, never to speak ill of an individual but to call to mind my own sins and imperfections and be silent.

Resolved, when my heart feels cold and languid, to strive earnestly in prayer to God for deliverance from such a state and for the abiding influence of His Holy Spirit; and to inquire into the causes which have produced this effect upon me and to guard against them in the future.