... suggestions. He says we should: GIVE UP grumbling! Instead, "In everything ... " are not Christian disciplines. GIVE UP 10 to 15 minutes ... WILL keep you focused. GIVE UP looking at other people' ... when we overlook theirs first. GIVE UP speaking unkindly. Instead, let ... a multitude of sins." GIVE UP your worries and anxieties! ... precious gift: your time! GIVE UP buying anything but essentials ... 's riches, not consumers. GIVE UP judging others by appearances ... world! Instead, learn to give up yourself to God. There ...
2. Never Give Up!
Luke 13:1-9
Illustration
Brett Blair
... . God has promised never to give up on us. Old Testament and ...
3. Never Ever Give Up!
Mark 5: 21-43
Illustration
James W. Moore
... this. I will never ever give up. I will never ever quit ... because they absolutely refused to give up! That was the theme of ... our championship season: "Never ever give up!" That's the lesson I ... I leave with you: "Never give up. Never ever give up!"
4. Giving Up Our Comfortable Customs
Luke 12:35-48
Illustration
Carveth Mitchell
One of the favorite stories of the great Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegard, concerns an emperor, touring his domain and receiving the accolades of his people. When the entourage reached the market square of one village, his carriage was surrounded by cheering villagers and peasants. To the amazement of his neighbors, one brash young farmer stepped out of the crowd and approached the emperor's carriage. "Give me a boon, Sire," he pleaded. "Grant me a special blessing." The villagers were even more amazed ...
5. Giving Up Our Monkeys
Hebrews 12:1-13
Illustration
... , if we are willing to give up our pet monkeys. He will ...
6. I Give Up!
2 Corinthians 12:9
Illustration
James Kegel
... I listen." "Well, then, I give up," replied the person. "That's ...
7. Love Never Gives Up
Illustration
Editor James S. Hewett
A New England girl had just become engaged when the Civil War broke out. Her fiancé was called into the army, so their wedding had to be postponed. The young soldier managed to get through most of the conflict without injury, but at the Battle of the Wilderness he was severely wounded. His bride-to-be, not knowing of his condition, read and reread his letters, counting the days until he would return. Suddenly the letters stopped coming. Finally she received one, but it was written in an unfamiliar ...
8. Christ Never Gives Up
Luke 24:13-35
Illustration
King Duncan
There is a story of a British soldier in the First World War who lost heart for the battle and deserted. Trying to reach the coast for a boat to England that night, he ended up wandering in the pitch black night, hopelessly lost. In the darkness, he came across what he thought was a signpost. It was so dark that he began to climb the post so that he could read it. As he reached the top of the pole, he struck a match to see and found himself looking squarely into the face of Jesus Christ. He realized that, ...
9. Many Ways To a Good Grade
Illustration
Tim Hansel
... asked if he wished to give up, but he said no. He ... my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and gave the ...
10. Negotiate the Corners
Illustration
Dr. M. Scott Peck
... speed to be ecstatic. To give up this ecstasy by applying brakes ... to suffer the pain of giving up my ecstatic speed in the ... ultimately more painful than the giving up required to maintain balance. It ... our lives, we must continually give up parts of ourselves.
11. Why Did the Cheering Stop?
Luke 22:54-62
Illustration
... to talk about sacrifice—even giving up your life. The story is ...
12. Kierkegaard’s Story of the Prince
John 3:16, 16:5-33; Mt 28:16-20
Illustration
Brett Blair
... with another solution. He would give up his kingly robe. He moved ...
13. Going the Second Mile
Matthew 5:38-42
Illustration
James Merritt
... John Wooden you had to give up some rights. Coach Wooden had ...
14. What Law is Operating Here?
Illustration
John Killinger
... tells a priest she cannot give up an adulterous affair because "it ...
15. Is there really a God?
Illustration
John R. Brokhoff
... . So that to which you give up and hand over your heart ...
16. Whatever It Takes
Mark 1:29-39
Illustration
Gary Nicolosi
... do" attitude that refuses to give up or give in. Think about ...
17. What Do You Think of The Resurrection?
John 20:1-18
Illustration
Brett Blair
... men are not going to give up their lives to simply perpetuate ...
18. Any Favorites?
John 10:22-30
Illustration
Donald B. Strobe
... Parent whose love will never give up. You may stop loving God ...
19. Unanimously in Disagreement!
Illustration
Charles Swindoll
... remarkable, creative visionary refused to give up. I especially appreciated the man ...
20. Jesus Brings Life
Mark 5:21-43
Illustration
Will Willimon
With whom do you most identify in today's gospel? There are plenty of characters here who are being stung by death. There is a woman whose whole life has been caught, dominated by a terrible, life-demanding illness. There is a distraught father. A little girl whose young life is being cut short. There are the baffled disciples, the crowd who doesn't know what to think of all this. Where are you? And yet, intruding into the story is another face, the strong, live-giving face of Jesus. Mark says that Jesus ...
21. You Must Give Everything to Me
John 14:1-4
Illustration
On her travels to the Far East, Margaret Bottome learned 3 Vital Lessons in Faith & Following. There came a guide to her group and said to them, "Will you be good enough to give everything to me? I will take care of everything." So they gave him their luggage, but kept their small handbags. The guide spoke, "You must give everything to me." They protested that there were things that were vital to them for their trip, but the guide simply said, "They will be far safer with me, and you will be far safer ...
22. The Gratitude Attitude
Matt. 6:25-33; Psalm 100; Eph. 4:20; Luke 17:11-19; John 6:25-35
Illustration
Billy D. Strayhorn
Rev. John R. Ramsey tells how in one church a certain person provided him with a rose boutonniere for the lapel of his suit every Sunday. At first he really appreciated it but then it sort of became routine. Then one Sunday it became very special. As he was leaving the Sunday Service a young boy walked up to him and said, "Sir, what are you going to do with your flower?" At first the preacher didn't know what the boy was talking about. When it sank in, he pointed to the rose on his lapel and asked the boy ...
23. Born to Greatness
Luke 13:10-17
Illustration
Editor James S. Hewett
There was a certain man who went through the forest seeking any bird of interest he might find. He caught a young eagle, brought it home and put it among the fowls and ducks and turkeys, and gave it chicken food to eat even though it was the king of birds. Five years later, a naturalist came to see him and, after passing through the garden, said ‘That bird is an Eagle, not a chicken.' ‘Yes' said the owner, ‘but I have trained it to be a chicken. It is no longer an eagle.' ‘No,' said the naturalist, ‘it is ...
24. Words From a Father
Illustration
John Trent
Recently, I heard a touching story which illustrates the power that words have to change a life. A power that lies right in the hands of those [reading this article]. Mary had grown up knowing that she was different from the other kids, and she hated it. She was born with a cleft palate and had to bear the jokes and stares of cruel children who teased her non-stop about her misshaped lip, crooked nose, and garbled speech. With all the teasing, Mary grew up hating the fact that she was "different". She was ...
25. Christian Hope Had Changed His Life
Luke 3:7-18
Illustration
James W. Moore
Some years ago a military airplane crashed at Sonderstrom Air Force Base in Greenland. Twenty-two people were killed. The runway and the nearby fields were strewn with bodies. It was a tragic and horrible moment. There was only one chaplain on the base at the time… and the entire burden was laid on him to bring comfort and the Word of Christ to a shocked community staggered by the horrendous accident. But there was little time to mourn that day. The grisly task of gathering up and identifying the bodies ...
26. The Scarred Hands
John 20:24-31, John 20:19-23
Illustration
Robert Allen
I read a story by Leslie Flynn who told of a small boy being raised in a frontier city by his grandmother. One night the house catches on fire. The grandmother, trying to rescue the boy who was asleep in the bedroom upstairs, is overcome by the smoke and dies in the fire. This frontier city doesn't have much of a fire department. A crowd gathers around the house and they hear a small boy crying out for help. The lower floor is a wall of flames and no one seems to know what to do. Suddenly, a man pushes ...
27. Do Not Let Him Find You Sleeping
Luke 12:32-40; Mark 13:1-37
Illustration
Brett Blair
Augustine, a man in the 5th century who became, Bishop of the church and a saint in history, originally lead a life of sin giving himself over to whatever pleasures presented themselves. His mother had earnestly prayed for him his entire life that he would give his life to the service of Christ, but Augustine persisted in his sins until one day he sat with a friend on a bench weeping over the state of his life. It was at this moment that he heard a boy or girl--he says he does not know which it was-- ...
28. Are You a Philosopher?
John 12:20-33
Illustration
Maxie Dunnam
Two men went up in a hot-air balloon one May morning. Suddenly they were enveloped by clouds and lost track of where they were. They drifted for what seemed like hours. Finally the cloud parted, and they spotted a man below them on the ground. "Where are we?" one of the passengers hollered down. The man on the ground looked around, looked up at the balloon, looked around some more and then yelled back, "You're in a balloon." The two balloonists looked at one another and then one of them yelled down again ...
29. Retitle It
Illustration
Editor James S. Hewett
A seminarian turned in his typed-up sermon to his homiletics prof for grading. When he met with him for a conference the professor started out very positively. He said to the young man, "I like your exegesis. You have presented the meaning of the text in a helpful and clear fashion. Your three points make sense, they show balance and progression. Your introduction and your conclusion both show a great deal of thought. The illustrations you used seemed most appropriate. However, I am going to give you a D ...
30. Playpen Pleading
Illustration
King Duncan
Ray Steadman gives the following illustration: The grandfather entered the child’s bedroom. A wide grin brightened his kind, warm face. “Davy!” he said, spreading his arms for a hug. “Grampa!” shrieked the delighted two-year-old from his playpen. “Grampa, hug!” “Sure, I’ll give you a hug, Davy,” said the grandfather. And with that, the old man reached out to his grandson and scooped him up out of the playpen, snuggling the boy in his strong arms. After a big hug, the grandfather set the boy down outside ...
31. I Have More Remedies
Matthew 11:25-30
Illustration
James W. Moore
Have you heard about the farmer who went to a government bureaucrat specializing in animal health? The farmer sought help from the "expert" because ten of his chickens had suddenly died. The government expert instructed the farmer to give aspirin to all the surviving chickens. Two days later, however, the farmer returned. Twenty more chickens had died. What should he do now? The expert said quickly: Give all the rest castor oil. Two days later, the farmer returned a third time and reported 30 more dead ...
32. Getting Back to Work
Luke 17:1-10
Illustration
Brett Blair
Rabbi Harold Kushner tells a wonderful story about a bright young man, who was a sophomore Stanford pre-med student To reward him for having done so well in school, his parents gave him a trip to the Far East for the summer vacation before the start of his junior year. While there he met a guru who said to him, "Don't you see how you are poisoning your soul with this success oriented way of life? Your idea of happiness is to stay up all night studying for an exam so you can get a better grade than your ...
33. The Penniless Teacher of Nazareth
Matthew 16:13-20
Illustration
Brett Blair
At Amazon, if you do a search for "reference books of..." and type in a famous name, for William Shakespeare there are a little over 1,000 reference books. 972 books on George Washington. 938 on Abe Lincoln. But if you type in Jesus Christ, amazon won't give you an exact numbers. It simply says there are, "over 10,000 results for reference books of Jesus Christ." Let me bring up another famous name: H.G. Wells. He best summed up the difference: "Christ," he wrote, "is the most unique person of history. No ...
34. All This You Did for Me
Luke 23:33-43
Illustration
Burton F. Blair
The Archbishop of Paris assumed the pulpit of Notre Dame Cathedral. He was there visiting to preach a sermon, and his sermon was built around a single story. Thirty years earlier, he told, there were three young tourists who had come into this very cathedral. All of the young men were rough, rude, and cynical persons, who thought that all religion was a racket. Two of these men dared a third to go into the confessional box and make a made-up confession to the priest. The two bet that the third young man ...
35. The Road of Life
Illustration
Author Unknown
The following is a poem from Tim Hansel's book "Holy Sweat" which describes how we should ride through life with Jesus in control: At first, I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like the president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn't really know Him. But later on, when I recognized this Higher Power, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride, but it was a ...
36. Our Value in God's Eyes
Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30
Illustration
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of two hundred, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 bill to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the $20 bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now ...
37. There Is Always More Need
Matthew 14:13-21
Illustration
Roger G. Talbott
You know how the disciples felt when the crowds showed up... The two of you haven't had a night out without the kids in weeks. You finally get away. The waiter has just brought your appetizer when the baby-sitter calls and tells you the youngest has a high fever and has started throwing up. You've been planning this vacation for six months. Your reservations are all made and three days before you are scheduled to go your mother calls and says your Dad is going to have a quadruple bypass as soon as the ...
38. Who's the Boss?
Illustration
Editor James S. Hewett
A farmer's boy decided to get married. His father said to him, "John, when you get married, your liberty is gone." The boy said he did not believe it. The father said, "I'll prove it to you. Catch a dozen chickens, tie their legs together and put them in the wagon. Hitch up the two horses to the wagon and drive into town. Stop at every house you come to, and wherever you find the man is boss, give him a horse. Wherever you find the woman is boss, give her a chicken. You'll give away all your chickens and ...
39. Taste and See
Luke 24:36-49
Illustration
Brett Blair
An elderly woman made her living selling artificial fruit. One day a customer complained the fruit she sold was not realistic enough. She pointed to an apple, saying it was too red, too round and too big to be a real apple. At that point the artificial fruit lady picked up the apple and proceeded to eat it. The resurrection of Jesus, throughout the years has been critically examined, judged by authorities, and editorialized by writers, and the conclusion of most is that it is simply an event which can not ...
40. They Were Only Children
Mark 1:1-8
Illustration
Brett Blair and Billy D. Strayhorn
Many years ago a Philadelphia congregation watched as three 9-year-old boys were baptized and joined the church. Not long after, because of dwindling membership, the church sold the building and disbanded. One of those three boys was Tony Campolo, who became an author and Christian sociologist professor at Eastern College in Pennsylvania. Listen to this short story as he tells it: "Years later when I was doing research in the archives of our denominations, I decided to look up the church report for the ...
41. The Mystery and the Glory of the Kingdom of God
Mark 4:26-34
Illustration
Scott Hoezee
We live in a universe and in a world with huge threats to existence and with sickeningly large social and geopolitical problems. There are meteors hurtling through space, many of which would wipe out life on earth if they struck us. There are dictators harboring or seeking weapons of mass destruction, many of which threaten our survival as a species. In the Middle East but in so many other places, too, there are seemingly intractable hatreds and prejudices between and among various ethnic groups. There are ...
42. He Who Exalts Himself Will Be Humbled
Luke 14:1-24
Illustration
Mark Trotter
Robert Coles, the psychiatrist, writes a lot of books, teaches at Harvard. He wrote a book about Dorothy Day. In the book there is this anecdote. Dorothy Day, as you know, is that famous Catholic social worker, the founder of the Catholic Worker. When Coles was a medical student at Harvard, he volunteered to work at the Catholic Worker. He was a Harvard graduate. He was in medical school. He was going to be a psychiatrist. In this society, that is about as high a status as you can get. He knew that. He was ...
43. When God Created Fathers
Ephesians 6:1-4
Illustration
Erma Bombeck
When the good Lord was creating Fathers he started with a tall frame. And a female angel nearby said, "What kind of Father is that? If you're going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put Fathers up so high? He won't be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping." And God smiled and said, "Yes, but if I make him child-size, who would children have to look up to?" And when God made a Father's hands, they were ...
44. Wakeup Call
Illustration
Staff
In the heyday of the New York Yankees, manager Joe McCarthy once interviewed a coach being brought up to the majors from a Yankee farm team. "How much do you know about psychology?" McCarthy asked. The coach said he had studied it in college. "So you think you're good," said McCarthy. The coach replied: "I don't know how good I am, but it's a subject I've studied." "All right," McCarthy said, "I'll give you a test." McCarthy said that a few years before he'd had a problem and had gone to Frankie Crosetti, ...
45. The Forbidden Box
Gen 2-3; Rom 5:12-21
Illustration
Staff
This a story about a forester named Sam. Old Sam would be out chopping down the tree. You could hear him say one phrase: "Oh, Adam. Oh, Adam." Every time he hit that tree, he'd say, "Oh, Adam." One day the foreman came by and asked him, "How come every time you hit the tree, you say, 'Oh, Adam?'" Sam said, "Because Adam, my forefather, sinned against God. God cursed him and said that he would have to work from that time on. So every time I hit this ax against the tree, it reminds me that if Adam hadn't ...
46. The Resurrection Changes Everything
Luke 24:13-35
Illustration
Brett Blair
There's a story about a young boy named Walter Elias. Born in the city, his parents one day moved out to the country to become farmers. Walter had a vivid imagination and the farm was the perfect place for a young boy and a wondering mind. One day in the apple orchard he was amazed when he saw sitting on a branch of one of the apple trees an owl. He just stood there and stared at the owl. He thought about what his father had told him about owls: owls always rested during the day because they hunted ...
47. 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 ...
48. The Puzzle Began to Fit
Matthew 3:13-17
Illustration
Johnny Dean
About 2000 years ago (give or take a few) a small group of Jewish people, living under the tyranny of Roman rule, began to listen to the words of an itinerant preacher. They saw him reach out in love to the hurting people, the broken people, to comfort them and heal them. They heard him give radically new interpretations of the ancient Scripture. Then they watched in horror as he was arrested, tried on trumped-up charges, beaten, mocked, spat upon, and finally nailed to a cross to die between two thieves. ...
49. Everyone Is Invited
Matthew 22:1-14
Illustration
Bill Bouknight
The writer Drew Duke recalled from her childhood her second grade Valentine's Day party. Several days earlier a big decorated box had been placed at the front of the room by the teacher. It had a slit in the top. Each student had been invited to bring valentines addressed to friends and to drop them into the box. Then on Valentine's Day, one student was designated by the teacher as the postman to distribute the cards. Earlier that week Drew's mother had bought a package of 35 valentine cards. Drew asked ...
50. 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 ...