... . Care for your mother and carry on this ministry. Do whatever it ... , love, and the ability to carry on no matter what the cost ...
2. Neighborly Prayer
Luke 10:25-37
Illustration
King Duncan
... . When he returned, Mr. Rogers carried on their conversation as if nothing ...
3. When I Say I Am a Christian
Luke 15:1-32
Illustration
James W. Moore
... and pray for strength to carry on. When I say ‘I am ...
4. Carrying Your Sins
John 1:29-34
Illustration
Bill Bouknight
One day a saintly African Christian told his congregation about a vision he had the night before. In the vision he was climbing up the hill to the church. Suddenly he heard steps behind him. He turned and saw a man carrying a very heavy load on his back, climbing that hill. He was full of sympathy for this man and spoke kindly to him. Then he noticed that the man's hands were scarred. Suddenly he realized that this was Jesus. He said to him, "Lord, are you carrying the world's sins up the hill?" "No," said ...
5. Dealing with Heavy Questions
Parenting:
Illustration
Corrie Ten Boom
"Father, what is sex sin?" My father turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case from the rack over our heads, and set it on the floor. "Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?" he said. I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning. "It's too heavy," I said. "Yes," he said. "And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl ...
6. A Piece of Him
John 6:35, 41-51
Illustration
At the time of the Napoleonic Wars, the famous British Admiral Horatio Nelson was due to be buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. His sailors lifted his casket over their shoulders and majestically carried his body into the cathedral. Draping his coffin was a magnificent Union Jack. After the service, the sailors once more carried his body high in the air, this time to the graveside. With reverence and with efficiency they lowered the body of the world's greatest admiral into its tomb. Then, as though answering ...
7. Holding to Tradition
Mark 7:1-23
Illustration
Brett Blair
The pharisees obsession over ritual uncleanness reminds of the story about two monks, Tanzan and a younger monk, walking down a muddy street. They arrived at the river crossing and there was a lovely young girl dressed in fine silks, who was afraid to cross because of all the mud. "Come on, girl," said Tanzan. And he picked her up in his arms, and carried her across. The two monks did not speak again till nightfall. Then, when they had returned to the monastery, the young monk couldn't keep quiet any ...
8. Divided They Fall
Hebrews 11:1-40
Illustration
John R. Steward
In Plato's Symposium there is an allegory that imagines the beginning of human beings. The gods created humans in a very unique way. Each human was a mixture of both male and female. In other words, each human had four hands, two noses, four feet, and two mouths. They also had both male and female genitals. Having been created in this way they were extremely powerful. They were so powerful that they became aggressive against the gods. Fearing that they would try to take over, the gods decided that they ...
9. Is there really a God?
Illustration
John R. Brokhoff
In the Apostles' Creed a Christian confesses, "I believe in God the Father Almighty." Many consider the idea of God to be a problem. This prompts them to ask various questions about God which may be considered simple by some. One day a mother sat with her four-year-old girl. The child was watching a cartoon on television. She asked, "Mommy, who made the cartoons?" Her mother happened to see the credit line, "Hanna-Barbera." "Who is Hanna-Barbera?" "Just some people," the mother explained. "Who made the ...
10. If I Should Die Before I Wake
Lk 11:1-13; 12:22-34; Mt 6:5-15
Illustration
Brett Blair
You're are familiar with the childhood prayer "Now I lay me down to sleep, " but I was little surprised to learn that it is a shortened version of an Old English prayer, which goes like this: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, bless the bed that I lie on. Before I lay me down to sleep, I give my soul to Christ to keep. Four corners to my bed, four angels there aspread, two to foot, and two to head, and two to carry me when I'm dead. I go by sea, I go by land, the Lord made me by his right hand. If any danger ...
11. Keep Looking Up
Illustration
A house painter was at work atop a tall ladder that leaned against the second-story gable of a house. A small boy playing about the yard, discovered the ladder, and as is natural for small boys, he began to climb. Coming out to check on her son, his mother was shocked to find that he was more than half way to the top of that ladder. As the woman stifled a scream of panic, the man at the top looked down, saw the child, and instantly perceived the danger. Signaling the mother to be silent, he calmly said to ...
12. We Interrupt This Service
John 1:1-18
Illustration
Brett Blair
It was question and answer time at the worship workshop. Pastor and Author Thomas Long had been speaking on the theme of worship all morning to a group of people gathered in a church fellowship hall in a suburban neighborhood in Indiana. Dressed in sweatshirts and jeans, they had given up a Saturday of golf and gardening to sip coffee and listen politely as he rambled through discussions of Vatican II, Calvin's view of the Lord's Supper, the pros and cons of children's sermons, the development of the ...
13. Hope in the Citadel of Atheism
John 20:1-18
Illustration
Gary Thomas
Then Vice President George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross ...
14. A Place for Caution
Matthew 14:22-33
Illustration
King Duncan
Cowboy writer Curt Brummett likes to tell how proud he felt the day his father gave him his first real rope. All young cowboys dream of owning their own rope, which they can use to rope steer. As his father tied the rope into a lasso, he gave Curt one important piece of advice, "Never . . . put it on anything you can't get it off of." That evening, company came by for coffee. Curt and his little sister were playing in another room. He was trying to rope her feet as she ran by. She retaliated by tying a ...
15. Our Logo the Cross
Matt 16:21-28, 27:32-44; Mar 15:21-32; Lu 23:26-43; Jo 19:17-27
Illustration
Brett Blair
Marketing experts are always quick to tell start-up businesses how important it is to develop a corporate logo. "Brand identity" they call it. Think about it. One symbol can readily identity a billion dollar organization. The ultimate goal of any designer when creating a logo is to develop a mark that identifies the company but also persuade viewers to respond in a specified manner. Logos. So what makes a good logo? Here are the five things that most marketing agencies agree makes a good logo: Simplicity. ...
16. Making Your Mark
Mt 23:1-12
Illustration
King Duncan
A legend during the classic time of Greece tells of a terrible thing happened in one of the temples. One night the statue of Zeus was mysteriously smashed and desecrated. A tremendous uproar arose among the inhabitants. They feared the vengeance of the gods. The town crier walked the city streets commanding the criminal to appear without delay before the Elders to receive his just punishment. The perpetrator naturally had no desire to give himself up. In fact, a week later another statue of a god was ...
17. A Priceless Gift
Matthew 25:14-30
Illustration
King Duncan
Lois Cheney in her book, God is No Fool, tells a revealing parable about a man who was touched by God. God gave this man a priceless gift the capacity for love. The man was grateful and humble, and he knew what an extraordinary thing had happened to him. He carried this capacity for love like a jewel and he walked tall and with purpose. From time to time he would show this gift to others, and they would smile and stroke his jewel. But it seemed that they'd also dirty it up a little. Now, this was no way to ...
18. Mr. Macho & Forty Days of Love
Mk 9:2-9
Illustration
King Duncan
Have you ever been confronted with a message that changed your perspective? One church chose as its Lenten theme, "Forty Days of Love." Each week members of the congregation were encouraged to show their love and appreciation in different ways. The first week they were encouraged to send notes to people who had made positive contributions to their lives. After the first service a man in the congregation wanted to speak to his pastor. The pastor describes the man as "kind of macho, a former football player ...
19. A Time to Remember
John 6:16-24
Illustration
Brett Blair
In his book The Swann's Way, the French novelist Marcel Proust wrote of returning home late one evening on a dull winter day when he faced the prospect of a depressing tomorrow. The maid greeted him and, seeing that he was tired, brought him a cup of hot tea and some cake. Being both tired and depressed he at first refused them. Only at her insistence did he finally begin to drink the tea and eat the cake. Proust wrote that an unexplainable delight suddenly came over him. His anxieties and troubles seemed ...
20. Don’t Hope…Decide
Mk 10:1-12
Illustration
King Duncan
Michael Hargrove tells about a scene at an airport that literally changed his life. He was picking up a friend. He noticed a man coming toward him carrying two light bags. The man stopped right next to Hargrove to greet his family. The man motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They hugged and Hargrove heard the father say, "It's so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!" "Me, too, Dad!" said the son. The oldest son (maybe nine or ten) was next. "You're already ...
21. A Luxury that Destroys
Mk 10:17-31
Illustration
Michael P. Green
The story of a butterfly named "Maculinea Arion" is most instructive. The creature lays its eggs on a plant, and after feeding on the plant for several weeks the young caterpillar makes its way to the ground. In order to complete its development, it must meet a certain kind of ant. When such an ant meets the caterpillar, the ant strokes it with its antennae, and the caterpillar exudes a sweet fluid from a special gland on its tenth segment. Apparently the ant likes this substance, because it then carries ...
22. Service Keeps Us Alive
Mark 10:35-45
Illustration
Unamuno, the Spanish philosopher, tells about the Roman aqueduct at Segovia, in his native Spain. It was built in 109 A.D. For eighteen hundred years, it carried cool water from the mountains to the hot and thirsty city. Nearly sixty generations of men drank from its flow. Then came another generation, a recent one, who said, "This aqueduct is so great a marvel that it ought to be preserved for our children, as a museum piece. We shall relieve it of its centuries-long labor." They did; they laid modern ...
23. The Weight of the Cross
Mark 10:35-45
Illustration
Maxie Dunnam
An American businessman traveled to Europe to see the famous Oberammergau Passion Play? Following the performance the businessman had the opportunity to meet and talk with Anton Lang who portrayed Christ in the play. Seeing the cross that was used in the play, the businessman wanted his wife to take his picture holding it. He attempted to lift the cross to his shoulder. To his surprise he could hardly budge it from the floor. He said to Mr. Lang, "I don't understand. I figured the cross would be hollow. ...
24. Love Is Patient
Luke 4:14-21; 1 Cor 13
Illustration
Dale Johnson
A good illustration of Christ like patience is seen in the life of Abraham Lincoln. From his earliest days in politics, Lincoln had a critic, an enemy, who continually treated him with contempt, a man by the name of Edwin Stanton. Stanton would say to newspaper reporters that Lincoln was a "low cunning clown" and "the original gorilla". He said it was ridiculous for explorers to go to Africa to capture a gorilla "when they could find one easily in Springfield, Illinois." Lincoln never responded to such ...
25. How Can God Know All About Us?
Luke 13:1-9
Illustration
Unknown
A man named Gerhard Dirks, the "father of the modern computer," was one who had to face up to life's most important question. During the years of the Second World War he made many inventions that led to the development of the first computers. He and his family escaped from Hitler's Germany and later Russian occupation to the west. He was a brilliant man, reported to have an IQ of 208. He had over 140 patents with IBM and even attempted theoretically to reconstruct the human brain. But he became completely ...
26. Don’t Forget the Best
Luke 10:38-42
Illustration
Adrian Dieleman
There is an ancient Scottish legend that tells the story of a shepherd boy tending a few straggling sheep on the side of a mountain. One day as he cared for his sheep he saw at his feet a beautiful flower. One that was more beautiful than any he had ever seen in his life. He knelt down upon his knees and scooped the flower in his hands and held it close to his eyes, drinking in its beauty. As he held the flower close, suddenly he heard a noise and looked up. Before him was a great stone mountain opening up ...
27. Absolute Devotion
Luke 14:25-35
Illustration
James Merritt
I was reading one time about Alexander the Great, who was carrying his triumphant military campaign into a certain city. It was a strongly fortified walled city. Alexander approached the city and demanded to see the king and set out his terms of surrender. The king laughed at him and said, "Why should I surrender to you? You can't do us any harm! We can endure any siege." Alexander said to the king, "I want you to watch this." Nearby within sight of the city walls was a sheer cliff. He ordered his men to ...
28. Redeemed, Redeemed, Redeemed!
Matthew 24:36-51
Illustration
Brett Blair
A.J. Gordon was the great Baptist pastor of the Clarendon Church in Boston, Massachusetts. One day he met a young boy in front of the sanctuary carrying a rusty cage in which several birds fluttered nervously. Gordon inquired, "Son, where did you get those birds?" The boy replied, "I trapped them out in the field." "What are you going to do with them?" "I'm going to play with them, and then I guess I'll just feed them to an old cat we have at home." When Gordon offered to buy them, the lad exclaimed, " ...
29. God’s Days
Matthew 6:19-24
Illustration
Robert Burdette
Robert Burdette wrote this piece called God's Days: There are two days in the week upon which and about which I never worry; two carefree days kept sacredly free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday. Yesterday, with its cares and frets and pains and aches, all its faults, its mistakes and blunders, has passed forever beyond my recall. It was mine; it is God's. The other day that I do not worry about is Tomorrow. Tomorrow, with all its possible adversities, its burdens, its perils, its ...
30. How a King Enters a City
Mt 21:1-11
Illustration
King Duncan
The Greek author Plutarch describes how kings are supposed to enter a city. He tells about one Roman general, Aemilius Paulus, who won a decisive victory over the Macedonians. When Aemilius returned to Rome, his triumphant procession lasted three days. The first day was dedicated to displaying all the artwork that Aemilius and his army had plundered. The second day was devoted to all the weapons of the Macedonians they had captured. The third day began with the rest of the plunder borne by 250 oxen, whose ...
31. Suddenly, Their Eyes Were Opened
Luke 24:13-35
Illustration
Scott Hoezee
In the ancient Greek myth The Odyssey we read the epic tale of Odysseus. Odysseus was the valiant warrior who fought so bravely in the Trojan War. But, according to legend, his homeward journey after that war was interrupted for many years as the gods had decided to test Odysseus' true mettle through a series of trials. His journeys carried him far and wide as he encountered mythic beasts and lands, many of which have passed into common parlance: the Cyclops, the Procrustean bed, Scylla and Charybdis, the ...
32. I’ll Need Another Book…
Matthew 18:21-35
Illustration
Johnny Dean
And Jesus said to Peter, "Here's what I want you to do, Rocky. Go down to Wal-Mart and buy one of those big spiral notebooks they have on their back-to-school specials rack. Pick out a bright-colored one - red or yellow or orange - so you'll be able to keep up with it and know where it is at all times. Better buy some pencils, too - lots of pencils. Then, I want you to write down the name of everyone you know in that big spiral notebook. Leave lots of space between the names, now. You'll need it! And be ...
33. Making Beautiful Music
Illustration
Brett Blair
Legend has it that Antonio was an Italian boy who loved music, but whenever he tried to sing the music that was in his heart, it came out so badly that all his friends laughed at him. Next to singing, the boy loved to hear the violin. He had a pocketknife he always carried with him and he would whittle all sorts of things with it. One day Antonio learned that the greatest violin maker in all Italy, the great Nicolo Amati, lived in his village. Antonio began to whittle a violin and worked for many hours on ...
34. Wash Your Hands
John 13:8
Illustration
Boyce Mouton
In 1818 people lived in a world of dying women, the vast majority of which were completely healthy. The finest hospitals lost one out of six young mothers to the scourge of "childbed fever." That diagnosis was actually bacterial infections of the female reproductive tract following childbirth or miscarriage. A doctor's daily routine in the early 1800s began in the dissecting room where he performed autopsies. From there he made his way to the hospital to examine expectant mothers without ever pausing to ...
35. Lovejoy's Martyrdom
Illustration
Brett Blair & Paul Simon
That great American hero, editor, school teacher, and Presbyterian clergyman Elijah Lovejoy left the pulpit and returned to the press in order to be sure his words reached more people. The Civil War might have been averted and a peaceful emancipation of slaves achieved had there been more like him. After observing one lynching, Lovejoy was committed forever to fighting uncompromisingly the awful sin of slavery. Mob action was brought against him time after time; neither this nor many threats and attempts ...
36. Bury the Problem
Illustration
Staff
When St. Petersburg, one of the most splendid and harmonious cities in Europe, was being laid out early in the eighteenth century, many large boulders brought by a glaciers ages ago had to be removed. One particularly large rock was in the path of one of the principal avenues that had been planned, and bids were solicited for its removal. The bids submitted were very high. This was understandable, because at that time modern equipment did not exist and there were no high-powered explosives. As officials ...
37. Athanasian Creed
Illustration
Brett Blair
Athanasian Creed: Athanasius, known as Athanasius of Alexandria, was the 20th bishop of Alexandria. His intermittent episcopacy spanned 45 years, of which over 17 encompassed five exiles. He is traditionally thought to be the author of the this Creed named after him. It was created to guard Nicene Christianity from the heresy of Arianism. It is widely accepted as orthodox and some abbreviated versions of it are still in use today. And yes, the intro and outro are actually part of the original text. Whoever ...
38. You're Twice Mine
Illustration
Tom carried his new toy boat to the edge of the river. He carefully placed it in the water and slowly let out the string. How smoothly the boat sailed! Tom sat in the warm sunshine, admiring the little boat that he had built. Suddenly a strong current caught the boat. Tom tried to pull it back to shore, but the string broke. The little boat raced downstream. Tom ran along the sandy shore as fast as he could. But his little boat soon slipped out of sight. All afternoon he searched for the boat. Finally, ...
39. Relay for Life
Mt 16:24; 2 Tim 4:7
Illustration
Brett Blair
In January 1926, six-year-old Richard Stanley showed symptoms of diphtheria, signaling the possibility of an outbreak in the small town of Nome. When the boy passed away a day later, Dr. Curtis Welch began immunizing children and adults with an experimental but effective anti-diphtheria serum. But it wasn't long before Dr. Welch's supply ran out, and the nearest serum was in Nenana, Alaska 1000 miles of frozen wilderness away. Amazingly, a group of trappers and prospectors volunteered to cover the distance ...
40. The Only Place We Have No Fear
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Illustration
King Duncan
Pretend something like this happened for a moment: The angel Gabriel got back to heaven and rushed up to God and said, "I've got good news, and I've got bad news." And God said, "Well, give me the good news first." "The good news is," said the angel, "mission accomplished. I've visited those people you told me to visit. I told them what you told me to tell them. And it's all accomplished." God said, "So what's the bad news?" "The bad news," the angel said, "is that those people down there on earth are ...
41. The Train Stops Just in Time
Illustration
Editor James S. Hewett
The British express train raced through the night, its powerful headlamp spearing the black darkness ahead. The train was carrying Queen Victoria. Suddenly the engineer saw a startling sight. Revealed in the beam of the engine's headlights was a weird figure in a black cloak, standing in the middle of the tracks and waving its arms. The engineer grabbed for the brakes and brought the train to a grinding halt. He and his fellow trainsmen climbed out to see what had stopped them. They could find no trace of ...
42. Feed My Sheep
Illustration
Editor James S. Hewett
Pastor James Hewett shares this true story about a flight he was on: A flight from Denver to Wichita was boarding. On an ambulance litter an attendant carried a 225-pound man as the last traveler to board. As they cradled him into a seat in front of us, it was evident he was totally paralyzed from his shoulders down. He was strapped in tightly, but as the pilot taxied to the runway the centrifugal force lunged him to the right causing him to fall toward the next seat. The stewardess again propped him up in ...
43. Details Make the Difference
Illustration
Horace Bushnell
There must be detail in every great work. It is an element of effectiveness which no reach of plan, no enthusiasm of purpose, can dispense with. Thus, if a man conceives the idea of becoming eminent in learning but cannot toil through the millions of little drudgeries necessary to carry him on, his learning will be soon told. Or if a man undertakes to become rich, but despises the small and gradual advances by which wealth is ordinarily accumulated, his expectations will, of course, be the sum of his ...
44. Specifications for a Husband
Illustration
Ruth Bell Graham
When Ruth Bell was a teenage girl going off to Korea for schooling from her childhood home in China she fully intended to be a confirmed old maid missionary to Tibet. But she did give the thought of a husband some serious consideration. She wrote the following list of particulars: "If I marry: He must be so tall that when he is on his knees, as one has said, he reaches all the way to heaven. His shoulders must be broad enough to bear the burden of a family. His lips must be strong enough to smile, firm ...
45. Sending It on Ahead
Matthew 6:19-20
Illustration
Editor James S. Hewett
Sigmund Freud's favorite story was about the sailor shipwrecked on one of the South Sea islands. He was seized by the natives, hoisted to their shoulders, carried to the village, and set on a rude throne. Little by little, he learned that it was their custom once each year to make some man a king, king for a year. He liked it until he began to wonder what happened to all the former kings. Soon he discovered that every year when his kingship was ended, the king was banished to an island, where he starved to ...
46. The Santals - Whatever a Man Sows, He Will Reap
Galatians 6:1-10
Illustration
John R. Steward
... born everyone asks, "Does he carry on the head or on the ...
47. Carry Someone with You
Mark 9:30-37
Illustration
King Duncan
... were ill or wounded were carried on the backs of those who ...
48. The Reason Why
Illustration
Staff
... face of his grief, Joseph carried on. He did what he knew ...
49. Christianity and Patriotism
Illustration
Editor James S. Hewett
... words, "In God We Trust," carried on all of our coins, are ...
50. An Angel On Wheels
Illustration
... say, "Thanks so much," and carry on a brief conversation. Noticing her ...