Stories and Illustrations

“I remember one time when I was in high school—it was during the war, the Second World War—I got a job during the [READ MORE]

My good friend Bob Puckett was going on his usual evening walk, breathlessly trying to keep up with his dog Zany. Bob was enjoying the [READ MORE]

In a certain town, there were three churches – a Methodist Church, a Presbyterian Church, and a Baptist Church. These three churches decided [READ MORE]

My old friend and colleague Andrea Gouze was among the clergy asked to serve on the Red Cross’ spiritual care team on November 1st, 1999. [READ MORE]

“I would like to close with a story from my childhood, about my family, growing up in the heart of rural Alabama.

One day while growing [READ MORE]

There once was a little boy who decided he wanted to find God. He knew it would probably be a long trip, so he decided [READ MORE]

Where was Eden?”

That’s the question a student once asked Dr. Carlyle Marney. He put down his pen, turned to the college freshman, and replied, “I [READ MORE]

There is a story that comes from the great spiritual revival a few years ago in the former Soviet Union. In one small town, [READ MORE]

The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed [READ MORE]

George Gobel once said, “Sometimes I feel like the world’s a tuxedo, and I’m a pair of brown shoes.”

You ever feel that way??

“It is the second Sunday in Advent. For a year I have been attending Mass at this Catholic Church. Every Sunday for a year [READ MORE]

In the sixteenth century there was a monk by the name of Dorotheos of Gaza who used a simple diagram to illustrate the [READ MORE]

Many years ago, a man was climbing the face of El Capitan, a rather famous rock formation out west. The mountain is something like [READ MORE]

A preacher was driving down a country road when his car broke down, so he walked to a nearby bar to use the phone. After [READ MORE]

I wonder if you’ll take your right hand, and cross your middle and forefingers. Got it?  Long before this little gesture came to represent promising something [READ MORE]

The late Dr. Bill Jones – the great African-American preacher – asserted that Christians need to come to grips with the reality of evil. [READ MORE]

There is in Israel today an organization called Yad Vashem. Its mission is to preserve the memory of those killed in the holocaust. Among [READ MORE]

The little girl who lived in the house next door to the cemetery was fascinated by the long lines of cars and large groups of [READ MORE]

Anne Lamotte, in her wonderful book “Traveling Mercies”, tells the story of her pastor’s best friend who – as a little girl of [READ MORE]

Fred Craddock tells the story of a baby being born on one of the weeks when it was his turn to serve as [READ MORE]

A young priest preached a sermon on the parable of the talents. Remember that famous story Jesus told about the faithless servant who buried his [READ MORE]

A fellow from Massachusetts drove off on a vacation to Bangor, Maine. Not being too sure about the directions he was following, this [READ MORE]

My friend Don Voorhis died of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

Don was a church member who became a friend, a husband who tenderly cared for his [READ MORE]

A neighbor boy, little Christopher, was just three or four years old when he was severely injured. He was with his parents in [READ MORE]