Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 376 to 400 of 538 results

376. Teenagers Understanding Parents

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Tips to help teenagers understand parents: Don’t be afraid to speak their language. Try using strange sounding phrases like, “I’ll help you with the dishes” and “Yes.” Try to understand their music. Play Glenn Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade” on the stereo until you are accustomed to the sound. Be patient with the underachiever. When you catch your dieting Mom sneaking salted peanuts, don’t show you...

377. Test of Character

Illustration

Michael P. Green

You can judge a man pretty well by whether—if given a choice—he would ask for a light burden or a strong back.

378. Tested Unknowingly

Illustration

Michael P. Green

One snowy morning at 5:00 a.m., a missionary candidate rang the bell at a missionary examiner’s home. Ushered into the office, he sat three hours past his appointment time waiting for his interview. At 8:00 a.m. a retired missionary appeared and began his questioning. “Can you spell?” Rather mystified, the candidate answered, “Yes, sir.” All right, spell‘baker.’ ” “B-A-K-E-R.” “Fine. Now, do y...

379. Thankfulness For Fleas

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Corrie ten Boom in The Hiding Place relates an incident that taught her always to be thankful. She and her sister, Betsy, had just been transferred to the worst German prison camp they had seen yet, Ravensbruck. On entering the barracks, they found them extremely overcrowded and flea-infested. That morning, their Scripture reading in 1 Thessalonians had reminded them to rejoice always, pray const...

380. Thankfulness, Kind of

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

A little boy was asked by his father to say grace at the table. While the rest of the family waited, the little guy eyed every dish of food his mother had prepared. After the examination, he bowed his head and honestly prayed, “Lord, I don’t like the looks of it, but I thank you for it, and I’ll eat it anyway. Amen.”

381. That is A

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Truth does not need updating. There is a story of a man who came to his old friend, a music teacher, and said to him, “What’s the good news today?” The old teacher was silent as he stood up and walked across the room, picked up a hammer, and struck a tuning fork. As the note sounded out through the room, he said, “That is A. It is today; it was five thousand years ago, and it will be ten thousand ...

382. The Adversity Leash

Illustration

Michael P. Green

In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis likened God’s use of adversity to walking a dog. If the dog gets its leash wrapped around a pole and tries to continue running forward, he will only tighten the leash more. Both the dog and the owner are after the same end, forward motion, but the owner must resist the dog by pulling him opposite the direction he wants to go. The master, sharing the same ...

383. The Affairs of Men

Illustration

Michael P. Green

God rules in the affairs of men. Napoleon, at the height of his career, is reported to have given this cynical answer to someone who asked if God was on the side of France: “God is on the side that has the heaviest artillery.” Then came the Battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon lost both the battle and his empire. Years later, in exile on the island of St. Helena, chastened and humbled, Napoleon is ...

384. The Assurance of Bread

John 6:35, 51

Illustration

Michael P. Green

During World War II, the Germans forced many twelve-and thirteen-year-old boys into the Junior Gestapo. These boys were treated very harshly and given inhumane jobs to perform. When the war ended, most had lost track of their families and wandered without food or shelter. As part of an aid program to post-war Germany, many of these youths were placed in tent cities. Here doctors and psychologists ...

385. The Atheist's Dilemma

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The atheist’s dilemma is that when he feels very grateful and wants to give thanks, he has no one to give it to.

386. The Bases of Worth

Illustration

Michael P. Green

If you'll permit me something of a silly illustration: Suppose that during the past week a young wife gave birth to her first baby. Now suppose that as she held her new baby in her arms and was enjoying the pleasure of motherhood, someone came up to her and said, “How much do you want for the child?” Of course she would show no interest in the offer and would be offended at even a suggestion that ...

387. The Best Translation

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The story is told of four ministers discussing the pros and cons of various Bible translations and paraphrases. Eventually each stated which version, in his opinion, is the best. The first minister said he used the King James because the Old English style is beautiful and produces the most reverent picture of the Holy Scriptures. The second said he preferred the New American Standard Bible because...

388. The Bible and Christ

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The authority of Scripture is so rooted in and closely linked to the authority of Jesus Christ that the two are indivisible. To attempt to distinguish them is like asking which blade of a pair of scissors is more important, or which leg of a pair of pants is more necessary. We know Christ through the Bible, and we understand the Bible through the knowledge of Christ and the Spirit he sent.

389. The Bigger Hand

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

A little girl accompanied her mother to the country store where, after the mother had made a purchase, the clerk invited the child to help herself to a handful of candy. The youngster held back. “What’s the matter? Don’t you like candy?” asked the clerk. The child nodded, and the clerk smilingly put his hand into the jar and dropped a generous portion into the little girl’s handbag. Afterward the...

390. The Burden in Our Memories

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Prospero, the protagonist in Shakespeare's The Tempest, when finally given a chance to punish those who had removed him of his rightful place as king, states, “Let us not burden our remembrance with a heaviness that’s gone.”

391. The Bus Fair Test

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A pastor preached a sermon on honesty one Sunday. On Monday morning he took the bus to get to his office. He paid the fare, and the bus driver gave him back too much change. During the rest of the journey, the pastor was rationalizing how God had provided him with some extra money he needed for the week. But he just could not live with himself, and before he got off the bus he said to the driver, ...

392. The Christian Walk

Illustration

Michael P. Green

There is a story quoted in baseball circles about Earl Weaver (when he was manager of the Baltimore Orioles) and his experience with a born-again outfielder named Pat Kelly. As the story goes, Kelly is said to have told Weaver he had learned to walk with God, to which Weaver is reported to have glibly replied, “I’d rather have you walk with the bases loaded.” The Christian walk is incomprehensibl...

393. The Clean Windshield

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

A man and his wife who were on a long trip stopped at a full-service gas station. After the station attendant had washed their car’s windshield, the man in the car said to the station attendant, “It’s still dirty. Wash it again.” So the station attendant complied. After washing it again, the man in the car angrily said, “It’s still dirty. Don’t you know how to wash a windshield?” Just then the m...

394. The Creeping Vine

1 Cor 1:23

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The story is told of a small English village that had a tiny chapel whose stone walls were covered by traditional ivy. Over an arch was originally inscribed the words: we preach christ crucified. There had been a generation of godly men who did precisely that: they preached Christ crucified. But times changed. The ivy grew and pretty soon covered the last word. The inscription now read: we preach...

395. The Critical Laughter of Jealous Observers

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Adventuresome and courageous pioneers have often faced the critical laughter of jealous observers: The first American steamboat took thirty-two hours to go from New York to Albany. People laughed. The horse and buggy passed the early motor car as if it were standing still (it usually was). People laughed. The first electric light bulb was so dim that people had to use a gas lamp to see it. They l...

396. The Devil Don't Care

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A materialist is one who does not believe in demons and has no interest in what they do. A magician is one who believes too much in demons and has an unhealthy interest in them. As for the demons, they care not which you are, for both are equally in error and thus leave you open to their efforts.

397. The Devil's Most Useful Tool

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The devil decided to have a garage sale. On the day of sale, his tools were placed for public inspection, each being marked with its sale price. There were a treacherous lot of implements: hatred, envy, jealousy, deceit, lust, lying, pride, and so on. Set apart from the rest was a harmless-looking tool. It was quite worn and yet priced very high. “What is the name of this tool?” asked one of the...

398. The Discipline of Pain

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The following quotation is from a Christian man who has been an invalid all his life, one of those lonely and obscure people who live in constant pain, who do not know what it means to be able to use their physical body in any way without pain and suffering: “Loneliness is not a thing of itself, not an evil sent to rob us of the joys of life. Loneliness, loss, pain, sorrow, these are disciplines,...

399. The Dismissed Novalist

Illustration

Michael P. Green

In 1849, when Nathaniel Hawthorne was dismissed from his government job in the customs house, he went home in despair. His wife listened to his tale of woe, set pen and ink on the table, lit the fire, put her arms around his shoulders and said, “Now you will be able to write your novel.” Hawthorne did—and literature was enriched with The Scarlet Letter.

400. The Dying Thief Excuse

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A minister was talking to a professing Christian and asked him if he was active in a local church. The man responded, “No, but the dying thief wasn’t active in a church and yet he was still accepted.” The minister then asked if he had been baptized. The man responded, “The dying thief was not baptized and he still made it to heaven.” The minister then asked if he had partaken of the Lord’s Table. ...

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Showing 376 to 400 of 538 results

376. Teenagers Understanding Parents

Illustration

Michael P. Green

377. Test of Character

Illustration

Michael P. Green

You can judge a man pretty well by whether—if given a choice—he would ask for a light burden or a strong back.

378. Tested Unknowingly

Illustration

Michael P. Green

379. Thankfulness For Fleas

Illustration

Michael P. Green

380. Thankfulness, Kind of

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

381. That is A

Illustration

Michael P. Green

382. The Adversity Leash

Illustration

Michael P. Green

383. The Affairs of Men

Illustration

Michael P. Green

384. The Assurance of Bread

John 6:35, 51

Illustration

Michael P. Green

385. The Atheist's Dilemma

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The atheist’s dilemma is that when he feels very grateful and wants to give thanks, he has no one to give it to.

386. The Bases of Worth

Illustration

Michael P. Green

387. The Best Translation

Illustration

Michael P. Green

388. The Bible and Christ

Illustration

Michael P. Green

389. The Bigger Hand

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

390. The Burden in Our Memories

Illustration

Michael P. Green

391. The Bus Fair Test

Illustration

Michael P. Green

392. The Christian Walk

Illustration

Michael P. Green

393. The Clean Windshield

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

394. The Creeping Vine

1 Cor 1:23

Illustration

Michael P. Green

395. The Critical Laughter of Jealous Observers

Illustration

Michael P. Green

396. The Devil Don't Care

Illustration

Michael P. Green

397. The Devil's Most Useful Tool

Illustration

Michael P. Green

398. The Discipline of Pain

Illustration

Michael P. Green

399. The Dismissed Novalist

Illustration

Michael P. Green

400. The Dying Thief Excuse

Illustration

Michael P. Green

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