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iFindSermons.comhttp://www.ifindsermons.comiFindSermons.com is a sermon subscription service that has hundreds of sermons available online. Sermons are being added to this site on a daily basis. The subscription is $100 for any 52 sermons of your choice. That's a $160 SAVINGS! You can also download sermons without purchasing a subscription for $5 per sermon.RSSviaXmlTextWriter v1.0Persistent Lovehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIt took years before she finally said yes. A Welshman had fallen in love with one of his neighbors and wanted to marry her. But they had quarreled, and she refused to forgive. Shy and reluctant to face the offended woman, the persistent suitor slipped a love letter under her door every week.<br /> <br /> At last, after 42 years, he summoned up courage, knocked on her door, and asked her to beco....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Persistent Love'>Email this<a>Pay Your Debtshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAbraham Lincoln, was once hired by a man to sue someone else because they owed him $2.50. Not a large amount, but in the 1860’s it was. Lincoln didn’t want to take the case but his client insisted. So Abe asked for a $10.00 retainer fee up front. His client handed him the $10. Lincoln then gave the man who owed $2.50 half of the ten. The man promptly paid his debt and everyone went ho....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Pay Your Debts'>Email this<a>Holding Backhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe story is told of a very wealthy man who had never been known for his generosity to the church. The church was involved in a big financial program and they resolved to pay him a visit. When the committee met with the man one afternoon, they said that in view of his considerable resources they were sure that he would like to make a substantial contribution to this program.<br /> <br /> "....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Holding Back'>Email this<a>Acts Of Kindnesshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAlex Haley, the author of Roots tells the story of how his father had his life changed by a simple act of kindness: <br /> <br /> He was the youngest of eight children, living as a sharecropping family.  Everyone in the family was needed to help with the crops.  After several years of schooling the family pressed each child into service on the farm. Fortunately the boy's mother interv....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Acts Of Kindness'>Email this<a>The Love Of Workhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe story goes that when the company founded by Andrew Carnegie was taken over by the U.S. Steel Corporation in 1901 it acquired as one of its obligations a contract to pay the top Carnegie executive, Charles M. Schwab, the then unheard-of minimum sum of $1,000,000. J.P. Morgan of U.S. Steel was in a quandary about it. The highest salary on record was then $100,000. He met with Schwab, showed him....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Love Of Work'>Email this<a>Pencil In The Hand Of Godhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe interview was with Mother Teresa of Calcutta, India. Mother Teresa gave her life to feed starving people and later to minister to the dying. In this article, the writer asked Mother Teresa about her feelings of being used of God to minister to the poor, then the world. Her little work was known worldwide, even the President of the USA knew her and her love labor. She answered, "But it is....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Pencil In The Hand Of God'>Email this<a>Encouragement Is A Talenthttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThere once was a woman who really felt she had nothing to share with or give to God and his people. During the services she would sit, sing softly to herself, pray to herself, engage in little small talk afterward. On Sunday the preacher gave a message on Expressions of Gratitude.<br /> <br /> When she went home, she thought about the message, she decided to call the preacher and tell him how t....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Encouragement Is A Talent'>Email this<a>Taking Inventoryhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe renown teacher and author Dr. David McLennon tells a story of his very first job in a small town general store. At age thirteen he was hired as a handy boy. He would sweep the flour, bag items for customers, put up stock. On one particular Saturday, he recalled., he heard the owner say to one of the clerks "It's that time of the year again, it's time to take inventory." Dr. McLennon....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Taking Inventory'>Email this<a>Forgetting About Godhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA family had a new a addition and the little boy couldn't wait for his new baby sister to come home from the hospital.  He couldn't wait to be near her, to talk to her.  But his parents didn't want him to be left alone with her; he was only four, so they wanted to supervise his visits.  But he kept begging to be alone with her, so one night his parents finally relented.  The b....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Forgetting About God'>Email this<a>I'll Make Sure You Winhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxWhen Cecil B. DeMille began working on the movie Ben Hur, he talked to Charlton Heston--the star of the movie--about the all-important chariot race at the end. He decided Heston should actually learn to drive the chariot himself, rather than just using a stunt double. Heston agreed to take chariot-driving lessons to make the movie as authentic as possible.<br /> <br /> Learning to drive a chari....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Ill Make Sure You Win'>Email this<a>The Grinch Who Stole Christmashttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIn that wonderful Children's holiday classic "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" the Grinch enters all the homes by way of their chimneys disguised as Santa Clause. He takes all the presents and ornaments, the trees and stockings, and even their food down to the last morsel. He drags his loot up to his mountain and then looks down upon Whoville with a sinister grin. He is listening for the....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Grinch Who Stole Christmas'>Email this<a>How To Keep A Struggling Church From Disbandinghttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe famous American editor, Horace Greeley, told of receiving a letter from a woman who wrote: "Our church is in dire financial straits. We've tried everything to keep it going: a strawberry festival, an oyster supper, a donkey party, a turkey dinner, and, finally, a box social. Will you please tells us, Dr. Greeley, how to keep a struggling church from disbanding?" Dr. Greeley wrote ba....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=How To Keep A Struggling Church From Disbanding'>Email this<a>Eat Like A Horsehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA California scientist has computed that the average human being eats 16 times his or her own weight in an average year, while a horse eats only eight times its weight. - The morale here is if you want to lose weight, eat like a horse.....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Eat Like A Horse'>Email this<a>How To Move A Mountainhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAn ancient Chinese parable tells of Old Tan Chang who had a small farm overshadowed by a towering mountain. One day he got the notion to get rid of the mountain. With the help of his wife and sons, he began to hack at the rock around its base. A neighbor walked by and scoffed, "You will never finish the job, old man! There are not enough days in the year for you to do this."<br /> <br ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=How To Move A Mountain'>Email this<a>Give Uphttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxGeorge III of England, America's enemy in the Revolutionary War, felt terrible about the loss of the colonies. It was said, in fact, that for the rest of his life, he could not say the word "independence" without tripping over it. He was an odd duck in many ways, but he had good insights. When the fighting in America stopped, King George and all his royal cronies in Europe were sure tha....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Give Up'>Email this<a>Moral Values Of Candidateshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxNovember 6, 2008 -  Political commentators often refer to "values voters" as those who believe that moral values matter the most when it comes to choosing a presidential candidate. In the past, values voters were a crucial component of the Republican base that helped elect Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush to the White House.<br /> <br /> Conducted just before the election, The Ha....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Moral Values Of Candidates'>Email this<a>Being An Examplehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA mother taught her children that telling the truth is the right thing to do. However, one day, she couldn't get away from someone she'd run into, so she told a fib about having an appointment.<br /> <br /> Her six-year-old daughter standing nearby, tugged at her mother's slacks and said, "Remember, Mommy, we talked about lying."....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Being An Example'>Email this<a>Dr. Suess And Christmashttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAnd the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"<br /> "It came without ribbons! It came without tags!"<br /> "It came without packages, boxes or bags!"<br /> And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.<br /> Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!<br /> "Maybe Christmas,....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Dr. Suess And Christmas'>Email this<a>Humbled Enoughhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxTeddy Roosevelt entertaining guests at his Sagamore Hill estate on Long Island. After a late dinner he invited his guests outside to walk beneath the brilliant nighttime sky. After a silent, reverent stroll Roosevelt said, "I guess we've been humbled enough now. Let's go inside."....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Humbled Enough'>Email this<a>Enjoying Lifehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA wealthy businessman was horrified to see a fisherman sitting beside his boat, playing with a small child.<br /> <br /> "Why aren't you out fishing?" asked the businessman.<br /> <br /> "Because I caught enough fish for one day, "replied the fisherman.<br /> <br /> "Why don't you catch some more?"<br /> <br /> "What would I do with them?"<br /> <b....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Enjoying Life'>Email this<a>Help The Poorhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe story is told of a Franciscan monk in Australia assigned to be the guide and "gofer" to Mother Teresa when she visited New South Wales. Thrilled and excited at the prospect of being so close to this great woman, he dreamed of how much he would learn from her and what they would talk about. But during her visit, he became frustrated. Although he was constantly near her, the friar nev....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Help The Poor'>Email this<a>Love Veinhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxMore than 2000 years ago Greek physicians believed that a special vein of love connected the third finger to the heart; it logically, therefore, became the finger which bears the wedding ring.....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Love Vein'>Email this<a>See What Happens Nexthttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThis notice appeared in the window of a coat store in Nottingham, England:<br /> <br /> "We have been established for over 100 years and have been pleasing and displeasing customers ever since. We have made money and lost money, suffered the effects of coal nationalization, coat rationing, government control and bad payers. We have been cussed and discussed, messed about, lied to, held up,....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=See What Happens Next'>Email this<a>No Timehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxBecause they had no reservations at a busy restaurant, my elderly neighbour and his wife were told there would be a 45-minute wait for a table.<br /> <br /> "Young man, we're both 90 years old," the husband said. "We may not have 45 minutes."<br /> <br /> They were seated immediately.....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=No Time'>Email this<a>The Cost Of Kindnesshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIn the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.<br /> <br /> "How much is an ice cream sundae?"<br /> <br /> "Fifty cents," replied the waitress.<br /> <br /> The little boy pulled his handout of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. "How....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Cost Of Kindness'>Email this<a>I Love My Jobhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxI love my job, I love the pay, I love it more and more each day.<br /> <br /> I love my boss and he's the best. I love HIS boss and all the rest.<br /> <br /> I love my office and it's location. I hate to have to take vacation.<br /> <br /> I love my desk, drab and gray, and love those paper piles each day.<br /> <br /> I love my chair in my padded cell; there's nothing else I love so wel....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=I Love My Job'>Email this<a>Getting Ready For The Second Cominghttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxJohn Wesley was asked what he would do if he knew his Lord would return at that time the next day. He said in effect, "I would go to bed and go to sleep; wake up in the morning, and go on with my work, for I would want Him to find me doing what he had appointed."....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Getting Ready For The Second Coming'>Email this<a>Found Doing My Dutyhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxDuring his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1789. One day, the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, "The ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Found Doing My Duty'>Email this<a>What's Important To You?http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThere's a true story that comes form the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She was granted three minutes or they would leave without her.<br /> <br /> She ran across the deck tha....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Whats Important To You?'>Email this<a>United States Maphttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl Shelby.  She wanted to know what the United States looked like.<br /> <br /> Finally, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country.  Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Shelby and said, "Go into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=United States Map'>Email this<a>Where Is Your Treasure?http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe Bible tells us that where your treasure is, there your heart is also.  That means we could accurately say that many folks are more committed to professional sports than they are to the church.  In 1993 the total attendance at worship services in America was 5.6 billion, while the total attendance at professional baseball, football, and basketball games combined was only 103 million ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Where Is Your Treasure?'>Email this<a>A Great Recipe...http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day.  And while you walk, smile.  It is the ultimate anti-depressant. <br /> <br /> 2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.  Talk to God about what is going on in your life.  Buy a lock if you have to. <br /> <br /> 3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today. &nb....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=A Great Recipe...'>Email this<a>A Higher Priorityhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAt the Olympic games in Paris in 1924 the sport of canoe racing was added to the list of international competitions. The favorite team in the four-man canoe race was the United States team. One member of that team was a young man by the name of Bill Havens.<br /> <br /> As the time for the Olympics neared, it became clear that Bill's wife would give birth to her first child about the time that ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=A Higher Priority'>Email this<a>Christ in Me and I in Himhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThere is an story about minister walking along the ocean with his small son. The boy questioned his father about Sunday's sermon. The boy said, "Dad, I cannot understand how Christ can live in us and we live in him at the same time." Further down the beach, the father noticed an empty bottle with a cork in it. Taking the bottle, he half filled it with water, recorked it and flung it out....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Christ in Me and I in Him'>Email this<a>Bread from Homehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxI'm reminded of a true story of a soldier who was severely wounded. When he was out of surgery, the doctors said that there was a good chance for recovery, except that the soldier wouldn't eat anything. The nurses and nuns tried everything, but he refused all food-drinking only water and juice.<br /> <br /> One of his buddies knew why the soldier wouldn't eat-he was homesick. So, his friend, si....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Bread from Home'>Email this<a>Mother's Lovehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIf I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love, I am a housekeeper--not a homemaker.  If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not love, my children learn cleanliness - not godliness.  Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh. Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.  Love wi....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Mothers Love'>Email this<a>Taming A Lionhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxWhen a lion trainer goes into a cage of lions he takes a whip, a pistol and a stool.  He holds the stool by the seat and thrusts the legs toward the face of the wild animal. The lion tries to focus on all four legs at once and as a result a kind of paralysis overwhelms the animal, and it becomes tame, weak, and disabled because its attention is fragmented.....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Taming A Lion'>Email this<a>Settling For Second Besthttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA little boy who lived far out in the country in the late 1800s had reached the age of twelve and had never in all his life seen a circus. You can imagine his excitement, when one day a poster went up at school announcing that on the next Saturday a traveling circus was coming to the nearby town. He ran home with the glad news and the question, "Daddy, can I go?" Although the family was....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Settling For Second Best'>Email this<a>God Comes Firsthttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxOne morning, a Sunday School teacher brought a pan of brownies to her class. As the goodies sat over by her chair, she gave each child a slip of paper marked with a household expense: house payment, utility bill, phone bill, entertainment, etc.<br /> <br /> Before long Mrs. Baughman picked up the tray of brownies and began naming the expenses written on the papers. As each child in the class ga....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=God Comes First'>Email this<a>How To Get Wisdomhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxOne of the better known treasure hunts in modern times is the search to find the rumored wealth known as the "Beale treasure." The hunt began when an eccentric man, who left Virginia for the gold and silver mines of the West, returned home, supposedly hid a vast amount of wealth and then disappeared forever. All he left behind were several messages written in a mysterious code. One of t....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=How To Get Wisdom'>Email this<a>The World Is Minehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxToday, upon a bus,<br /> I saw a girl with golden hair. <br /> I envied her, she seemed so gay,<br /> And I wished I was as fair. <br /> When suddenly she rose to leave,<br /> I saw her hobble down the aisle. <br /> She had one leg and used a crutch. <br /> But as she passed, she gave a smile. <br /> <br /> Oh, God, forgive me when I whine. <br /> I have 2 legs, the world is mine. <br /....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The World Is Mine'>Email this<a>The Morehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p align="left" class="itemparagraph">The more generous we are,<br /><br> the more joyous we become.</p><br> <p class="itemparagraph">The more cooperative we are,<br /><br> the more valuable we become.</p><br> <p class="itemparagraph">The more enthusiastic we are,<br /><br> the more productive we become.</p><br> <p class="itemparagraph">The more serving we are,<br /><br> the more prosperous we....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The More'>Email this<a>Don't Go To Bed....http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxI've heard it said don't go to bed<br /><br> while hanging on to sorrow,<br /><br> you may not have the chance to laugh<br /><br> with those you love tomorrow.<br> <p class="itemparagraph">You may not mean the words you speak<br /><br> when anger takes its toll,<br /><br> you may regret your actions<br /><br> once you've lost your self control.</p><br> <p class="itemparagraph">When you've los....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Dont Go To Bed....'>Email this<a>Avoiding Temptationhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<font>Temptation is a little like puddles on the sidewalk. You can walk carefully to avoid them, or you can jump right in! Or sometimes, you're so busy paying attention to one puddle, you miss seeing another…and you get wet even if you're trying not to. </font>....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Avoiding Temptation'>Email this<a>Of Men And Cuckooshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<title></title><br> <style type="text/css"><br> <!--<br> .ct_text {<br> FONT: 10pt Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; COLOR: #000000<br> }<br> .ct_smtext {<br> FONT: 8pt Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; COLOR: #000000<br> }<br> .ct_bgline { background: #CAD2DC }<br> .ct_smtab { font: bold 10pt Arial, sans-serif; color: #FFFFFF }<br> .ct_bgblue { background: #467F9C }<br> .ct_bgback { background: #FFFFFF }<....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Of Men And Cuckoos'>Email this<a>The Reality Of The Resurrectionhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxOne day a teacher was asking the kids in her fourth grade class to name the person whom they considered the greatest human being alive in the world today -- and the responses were quick in forthcoming and also quite varied too.<br /><br> <br /><br> A little boy spoke up and said, "I think it is Tiger Woods.  He’s the greatest golfer in the world, ever" A little girl said, &qu....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Reality Of The Resurrection'>Email this<a>Invite Jesushttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxYears ago when Johnny Carson was the host of The Tonight Show he interviewed an eight year old boy. The young man was asked to appear because he had rescued two friends in a coalmine outside his hometown in West Virginia. As Johnny questioned the boy, it became apparent to him and the audience that the young man was a Christian. So Johnny asked him if he attended Sunday school. When the boy said ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Invite Jesus'>Email this<a>Giving To The Poorhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe story is told of a Franciscan monk in Australia assigned to be the guide and "gofer" to Mother Teresa when she visited New South Wales. Thrilled and excited at the prospect of being so close to this great woman, he dreamed of how much he would learn from her and what they would talk about. But during her visit, he became frustrated. Although he was constantly near her, the friar nev....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Giving To The Poor'>Email this<a>Don't Be Crushedhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><br> <p>On April 10, 1963, the nuclear attack submarine <em>Thresher</em> was performing test dives to determine the optimum depth at which it could operate. At 9:18 a.m. a malfunction occurred which caused the submarine to sink to a level of 8,400 feet. At this depth the hull could not withstand the pressure of the water around it. Within....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Dont Be Crushed'>Email this<a>Forgiveness And Marriagehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<span class="style23">Recently, a survey was made of 200 married adults in regards to forgiveness. The researchers were wondering how one’s ability to forgive others would affect their marital satisfaction and personal well-being. The research suggested that there is a huge relationship between marriage satisfaction and forgiveness. In fact, it appears that as much as one third of marri....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Forgiveness And Marriage'>Email this<a>What You Need Is Lovehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA study of married people by the University of Texas showed that having strong families was a much better predictor of happiness than money. Although money did have a minimal effect on happiness, it only helped up to a point. Strong family relationships were much more important. <font color="#666666" size="1">- <font color="#000000">(Source: WebMD, June 20, 2008) </font></font>....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=What You Need Is Love'>Email this<a>Choose One Chairhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx"When I was a boy, my father, a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song," tenor Luciano Pavarotti relates. "He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil. I also enrolled in a teachers college. On graduating, I asked my father, 'Shall I be a teacher or a singer?'<br /><br> "'Luciano,....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Choose One Chair'>Email this<a>Can You Hear Me Nowhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." The guests responded with phrases like, &q....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Can You Hear Me Now'>Email this<a>Rest in the Stormhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<span class="style23">A train was traveling through the night in a very violent rainstorm. The lightning flashes were almost blinding, the rain hitting the windows was deafening and the strong gust winds rocked the train from side to side. When the lightening flashed and lighted up the darkness, the passengers could see the rising water along the tracks. This created terror in the minds of th....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Rest in the Storm'>Email this<a>Addicts Are Aginghttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" style="font-size: 11px;"><font color="#000000">In 2005, 184,400 Americans who were admitted to drug treatment programs (roughly 10% of the total) were over 50 years old, up from 143,000, (8%) in '01. <br /><br> <br /><br> The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration foresees 4.4 million older substance....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Addicts Are Aging'>Email this<a>Historical Background to the Declarationhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxOn July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall), approved the Declaration of Independence. Its purpose was to set forth the principles upon which the Congress had acted two days earlier when it voted in favor of Richard Henry Lee's motion to declare the freedom and independence of the 13 American colonies from Engla....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Historical Background to the Declaration'>Email this<a>200 Years?http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAncient democracies wane under the selfishness of human hearts. "The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.  These nations have progressed through the following sequence:<br /><br> <br /><br> From bondage to spiritual faith;<br /><br> from spiritual faith to great courage;<br /><br> from courage to liberty;<br /><br> From liberty to abundance;<br /><br> fr....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=200 Years?'>Email this<a>The Paradox of Our Timehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe paradox of our time in history is that:<br /><br> <br /><br> We have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.<br /><br> We spend more, but have less. We buy more, but enjoy less.<br /><br> We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.<br /><br> We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more exp....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Paradox of Our Time'>Email this<a>What's Your Purpose In Lifehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAn executive hirer, a "head-hunter" who goes out and hires corporation executives for other firms, once told me, "When I get an executive that I'm trying to hire for someone else, I like to disarm him. I offer him a drink, take my coat off, then my vest, undo my tie, throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until he's all relaxed. Then, when I think I'v....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Whats Your Purpose In Life'>Email this<a>The Homeless Woman’s Poemhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA homeless woman once approached a preacher for help, but because he was busy and helpless, he turned her away and offered to pray for her instead.<br /><br> <br /><br> The homeless woman, it is said, wrote this poem as a response too that insensitive minister:<br /><br> <br /><br> "I was hungry, and you formed a humanities group to discuss my hunger. I was imprisoned, and you crept off quie....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Homeless Woman’s Poem'>Email this<a>What Are Fathers Made Of?http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<span class="style23">A father is a thing that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic. A father is a thing that growls when it feels good--and laughs very loud when it’s scared half to death. A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child’s eyes. He’s never quite the hero his daughter thinks, never quite the man his son believes him to be--and t....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=What Are Fathers Made Of?'>Email this<a>A Father's Impact for Christhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<span class="style23">Recent research is shining light on the importance of male spiritual leadership in the home. Among their findings is the reality that 68 million of our nation’s 94 million men don’t attend any church, in spite of the fact that 86% of them grew up with some sort of church background. Research has also revealed that if a child is the first person in a household....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=A Fathers Impact for Christ'>Email this<a>D-Day Prayerhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxD-Day for WWII was June 6, 1944 — the day on which the Battle of Normandy began — commencing the Western Allied effort to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi occupation during World War II. President Roosevelt composed a prayer and delivered it on the radio that evening.<br /><br> <br /><br> What follows is the full text of that address:<br /><br> <br /><br> My Fellow Americans,<br /><....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=D-Day Prayer'>Email this<a>When God Created Fathershttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxWhen 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."<br /><....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=When God Created Fathers'>Email this<a>Father's Day Originhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA hard-working single dad named William Jackson Smart was the inspiration for the creation of Father's Day. His wife died in 1898 while giving birth to their sixth child, and the Civil War veteran was left to raise the children alone in rural Washington.<br /><br> <br /><br> In May 1909, Smart's daughter, by then a married woman named Sonora Dodd, of Spokane, Washington, heard a sermon enumeratin....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Fathers Day Origin'>Email this<a>National Viewshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p class="text">In early May, 2008, the Gallup Poll research team surveyed 1,017 adults nationwide about issues concerning homosexuality:</p><br> <ul type="disc"><br> <li value="" class="text">When asked if homosexuality should be considered an acceptable alternative lifestyle, 57 percent indicated it was acceptable (up 9 percent from a 2007 Gallup poll), while 40 percent found it unacceptabl....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=National Views'>Email this<a>Not Tenacious Enoughhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAround 1870 New York City had one of the most hotly contested mayor's races in its history. The incumbent was Mayor John Tweed--Boss Tweed he was called. He was running for reelection. The Boss Tweed machine represented politics at its very worst. The entire administration was corrupt to the core. A number of dedicated people decided that they were fed up with this kind of politics and the good p....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Not Tenacious Enough'>Email this<a>Thanks Anywayhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIn the movie Shenandoah, James Stewart plays a Virginia farmer during the Civil War years. He begins every meal with the same prayer: “Lord, I planted the seeds, I plowed the ground, I gathered in the harvest. If I hadn’t of put the food on the table it wouldn’t be here. But we thank you anyway.”....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Thanks Anyway'>Email this<a>Money In The Wayhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxHenry Ford once asked an associate about his life goals. The man replied that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later Ford gave the man a pair of glasses made out of two silver dollars. He told the man to put them on and asked what he could see. "Nothing," the man said. "The dollars are in the way." Ford told him that he wanted to teach him a lesson: If his on....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Money In The Way'>Email this<a>The Church Is No Place for Joyhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIn church the other Sunday I was intent on a small child who was turning around smiling at everyone. He wasn't gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking, tearing the hymnals, or rummaging through his mother's handbag. He was just smiling. Finally, his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that could be heard in a little theater off Broadway said, "Stop grinning! You're in a church!&....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Church Is No Place for Joy'>Email this<a>Are You God's Wife?http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA little boy about 10 years old was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the boy and said, "My little fellow, why are you looking so earnestly in that window?" "I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes," was the boys reply. The lady took him by the hand and went into the store an....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Are You Gods Wife?'>Email this<a>Courage to Commit: Stand Up and Be Countedhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxSome years ago Premier Khrushchev was speaking before the Supreme Soviet and was severely critical of the late Premier Stalin. While he was speaking someone from the audience sent up a note: "What were you doing when Stalin committed all these atrocities?" Khrushchev shouted, "Who sent up that note?" Not a person stirred.<br /><br> <br /><br> "I'll give him one minut....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Courage to Commit: Stand Up and Be Counted'>Email this<a>Motivation For Prayerhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> <p>Bob Kuechenberg, former offensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins, explained what motivated him to attain a higher education. </p><br> <p>"My father and uncle worked in carnivals as human cannonballs. My father wanted me to either, 'Go to college or be a cannonball.' Then one day my uncle came out of the cannon, missed the net a....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Motivation For Prayer'>Email this<a>Roadblocks to Prayerhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxSo, your daughter wants her own cell phone, and she's very persuasive about how necessary it is for unexpected situations: when the bus runs late or practice ends early. It'll be so good for your peace of mind if she has the phone. But you know what she really wants is to text her friends and fit in with everyone else. Or perhaps you try to persuade your wife that getting a new plasma TV wil....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Roadblocks to Prayer'>Email this<a>No Peace in the Worldhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<span class="style23">The Society of International law in London states this incredible statistic: since the beginning of recorded history, the entire world has been at peace less than 8% of the time. Over the last 4000 years of history, only 268 years saw peace. Moreover, in excess of 8000 peace treatises have been made and broken. In the last three centuries there, has been 286 wars on the....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=No Peace in the World'>Email this<a>Letter From Chadhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p class="text">A father passed by his son's bedroom and was astonished to see the bed nicely made up and everything neat and tidy. Then he saw an envelope propped up on the pillow. It was addressed, "Dad." With the worst premonition, he opened the envelope and read the letter with trembling hands: </p><br> <blockquote class="text">Dear Dad, </blockquote> <blockquote class="text">It is ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Letter From Chad'>Email this<a>When God Created Womenhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxBy the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An angel appeared and said “Why are you spending so much time on this one?” And the Lord answered and said, “Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have 200 movable parts, all replaceable, run on black coffee and leftovers, have a lap that can hold ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=When God Created Women'>Email this<a>A Long Walkhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p align="left" class="itemparagraph">In a remote village in Central America the word got out among the peoples of the region that one of the American missionaries that had served this country for many years was about to return to the US to live our the remaining years of her life.</p><br> <p class="itemparagraph">The nationals desired to honor her for her years of service with a public time ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=A Long Walk'>Email this<a>Price Of Freedomhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxOn July 4, 1776, the final draft of the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the 13 colonies in the Pennsylvania State House.  The representatives who attached their signatures to the document knew that the cost would be high.<br /><br> <br /><br> In his thrilling book The Rest of the Story, Paul Harvey calls the roll of those brave men who said, "And for the support of this Decla....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Price Of Freedom'>Email this<a>USS New Yorkhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe Navy's amphibious assault ship, USS New York, was Christened on March 1, 2008 and has already made history. It was built with 7.5 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center. It is the fifth in a new class of warship — designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. The billion-dollar, 25,000-ton vessel is 684 feet long, 105 feet wide and can carry a crew o....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=USS New York'>Email this<a>The History Of Memorial Dayhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxWhile Veterans' Day in November is to honor all those who served their nation in war, Memorial Day is primarily to honor those who died in military service.<br /><br> <br /><br> This all-American holiday has its roots in the practice of women of decorating the graves of their loved ones who had died in the Civil War, and was originally also called Decoration Day.<br /><br> <br /><br> Memorial Day....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The History Of Memorial Day'>Email this<a>Memorialhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIt is gratitude that prompted an old man to visit an old broken pier on the eastern seacoast of Florida. Every Friday night, until his death in 1973, he would return, walking slowly and slightly stooped with a large bucket of shrimp. The sea gulls would flock to this old man, and he would feed them from his bucket. Many years before, in October, 1942, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission i....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Memorial'>Email this<a>Power of Onehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAs the soot and dirt and ash rained down,<br /><br> We became one color.<br /><br> <br /><br> As we carried each other down the stairs<br /><br> of the burning building,<br /><br> We became one class.<br /><br> <br /><br> As we lit candles of waiting and hope,<br /><br> We became one generation.<br /><br> <br /><br> As the firefighters and police officers<br /><br> fought their way into the infer....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Power of One'>Email this<a>"Old Glory"http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThis famous name was coined by Captain Stephen Driver, a shipmaster of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1831. As he was leaving on one of his many voyages aboard the brig CHARLES DOGGETT—and this one would climax with the rescue of the mutineers of the BOUNTY— some friends presented him with a beautiful flag of twenty four stars. As the banner opened to the ocean breeze for the first time, he....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title="Old Glory"'>Email this<a>Remember 9/11 Prayerhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance<br /><br> <br /><br> Compiled by a Navy Chaplain<br /><br> <br /><br>  <br /><br> <br /><br> Almighty God, the past year will be indelibly inscribed in our memories.<br /><br> <br /><br> We looked with horror on the terrorist attacks of last September 11th.<br /><br> But we looked with honor on acts of courage by ordinary peopl....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Remember 9/11 Prayer'>Email this<a>National Day Of Prayer And Fastinghttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxWHEREAS, The Senate of the United States; devoutly recognizing the Supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.<br /><br> <br /><br> And Whereas, it is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=National Day Of Prayer And Fasting'>Email this<a>Memorial Dayhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx    The finest tribute we can pay<br /><br>     Unto our hero dead today,<br /><br>     Is not a rose wreath, white and red,<br /><br>     In memory of the blood they shed;<br /><br>     It is to stand beside each mound,<br /><br>     Each couch of consecrated ground,<br /><br>     And pledge ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Memorial Day'>Email this<a>Dreams Deferredhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<font size="2" face="arial,verdana"><br> <p>DREAMS</p><br> <p> <em> What happens to a dream deferred?<br /><br> Does it dry up<br /><br> Like a raisin in the sun?<br /><br> Or fester like a sore--<br /><br> And then run?<br /><br> Does it stink like rotten meat?<br /><br> Or crust and sugar over--<br /><br> like a syrupy sweet?<br /><br> Maybe it just s....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Dreams Deferred'>Email this<a>Waitress's Kindness Rewardedhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p class="text">Every day, for close to seven years, Walter "Buck" Swords cursed and stomped his feet in his favorite restaurant, Luby's Cafeteria, demanding that he get his food exactly as he wanted it. Every day, for close to seven years, his preferred waitress, Melina Salazar, offered a patient smile and did whatever she could to help her most stubborn customer. After years of thankl....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Waitresss Kindness Rewarded'>Email this<a>5 Reasons Muslims Converthttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA survey of 750 Muslims who converted to Christianity shows five predominant reasons they chose to follow Christ.<br> <ol><br> <li class="arttext"><strong>The lifestyle of Christians.</strong> Former Muslims cited the love that Christians exhibited in their relationships with non-Christians and their treatment of women as equals.</li><br> <br /><br> <li class="arttext"><strong>The pow....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=5 Reasons Muslims Convert'>Email this<a>Dangers of Cohabitationhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p class="text">In a 2007 edition of the <em>New Oxford Review</em>, Dr. A. Patrick Schneider II, who holds boards in family and geriatric medicine and runs a private practice in Lexington, Kentucky, did a statistical analysis of cohabitation in America, based on the findings of a number of academic resources. Here are five conclusions Schneider draws from his studies: </p><br> <ol type="1"><br> ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Dangers of Cohabitation'>Email this<a>Making Decisionshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p align="left" class="itemparagraph">A group of junior-level executives were participating in a management training program. The seminar leader pounded home his point about the need to make decisions and take action on these decisions.</p><br> <p class="itemparagraph">"For instance," he said, "if you had five frogs on a log and three of them decided to jump, how many frogs wou....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Making Decisions'>Email this<a>Bring Them to Jesushttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<span class="style23">Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, the famous evangelist, said that the New Testament records tell of forty people, each suffering from the same disease, who were healed by Jesus.<br /><br> <br /><br> Of this number, thirty-four were either brought to Jesus by friends, or He was taken to them. In only six cases out of forty did the sufferers find the way to Jesus without assistance....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Bring Them to Jesus'>Email this<a>The Best Preacher in the Familyhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<span class="style23">G. Campbell Morgan, a profound British preacher whose four sons all became pastors, influenced millions with his preaching, teaching and writing.<br /><br> <br /><br> One day, when his young son Howard finished preaching, a reporter asked him, "Since you have five pastors in your family, who is the greatest preacher? Expecting the son to give the honor to his father....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Best Preacher in the Family'>Email this<a>The Other Sidehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p align="left" class="itemparagraph">A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."</p><br> <p class="itemparagraph">Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know."</p><br> <p class="itemparagraph">"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is o....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Other Side'>Email this<a>You Can Do Better Than Thathttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p align="left" class="itemparagraph">J. Paul Getty was one of the wealthy men who frequently came to watch Jack Dempsey train. Himself a keen amateur boxer, he asked to be allowed to spar for a round with the champion.</p><br> <p class="itemparagraph">Getty put up quite a creditable performance until he made the mistake of saying, "Hit me a little harder, Jack."</p><br> <p class="it....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=You Can Do Better Than That'>Email this<a>A Sweet Scenthttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<font size="2" face="verdana" color="#000000"><strong></strong></font><span class="style36">The story is told of a missionary to China who was in language school. The very first day of class the teacher entered the room and, without saying a word, walked down every row of students. Finally, still without saying a word, she walked around the room again. Then she came back and addressed the cla....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=A Sweet Scent'>Email this<a>Stop and Refocushttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<span class="style53 style36">Have you ever wondered why a pigeon walks so funny? According to an interesting article in the <em>Detroit Free Press</em>, a pigeon walks the way it does so it can see where it’s going. Because it can’t adjust its focus as it moves, the pigeon actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to refocus. This is the way it walk....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Stop and Refocus'>Email this<a>Structuring Your Churchhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<font>Church should operate like a plane.  In a plane you have a pilot and his crew in the cockpit, and they know how to fly that plane, they know every instrument—that's their job.  But if a plane was run like most churches, these pilots, or this crew, before they needed to make an important decision, would have to come out of the cockpit and go into first class and meet with....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Structuring Your Church'>Email this<a>Why We Liehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p class="text">In 2004 Bella DePaulo, a visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who specializes in studying forms of human deception, asked college students and members of the community-at-large to keep a notebook to tally up the number of lies they told in one week. By the end of the experiment, DePaulo found that the students had lied at least once to 38 percent ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Why We Lie'>Email this<a>Churches Bring People Togetherhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<span class="ct_text">Although the total number of Americans who attend weekly worship services has declined from about 40 percent in the 1960s to around 25 percent now, religious congregations remain the single strongest influence to bring isolated, solitary people to community events. <br /><br> <br /><br> More people come together on a regular basis for church assemblies than meet for any ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Churches Bring People Together'>Email this<a>10 Ways to Tell You're Slippinghttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p>10. You know you're slipping when the big thing you look forward to on a Sunday is a football game.</p><br> <p>9. You know you're slipping when reading the Bible no longer excites you, angers you, or challenges you.</p><br> <p>8. You know you're slipping when you finally get up off the couch and get involved in some ministry the Lord has been laying on your heart and the first thing you do....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=10 Ways to Tell Youre Slipping'>Email this<a>God's Callinghttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> <p>A professor sat at his desk one evening working on the next day's lectures. His housekeeper had laid that day's mail and papers on his desk, and he began to shuffle through them discarding most in the wastebasket. He then noticed a magazine, which was not even addressed to him but delivered to his office by mistake. It fell open to....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Gods Calling'>Email this<a>Explaining Deathhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side." Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know." "You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?" The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of sc....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Explaining Death'>Email this<a>Misplaced Hopehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p>During World War II six Navy pilots left their aircraft carrier on a scouting mission, searching the seas for enemy submarines believed operating in the area. When they tried to return, they couldn't find their ship. While they were gone, a blackout had been imposed and all lights on the ship had been turned out. Over and over the frantic pilots radioed, asking for just one light so they c....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Misplaced Hope'>Email this<a>Burning The Candlehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<span class="ct_text">One morning at work, the electricity went out, leaving the office to work in a shadowy twilight. The boss  asked the receptionist to dig out the candles from last year's Christmas decorations and put one on each desk.<br /><br> <br /><br> A little later, the receptionist appeared in the boss' doorway, sheltering a flickering light in her hands. "Now I know why life....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Burning The Candle'>Email this<a>Americans Express Their Views of the Virgin Birth of Christhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThree out of four adults (75%) said that they believe Jesus Christ was born to a virgin, Mary, as described in the gospel narratives. Of the six Bible stories examined in the survey, this story was the most widely accepted.<br /> <br /> Source: Barna Report....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Americans Express Their Views of the Virgin Birth of Christ'>Email this<a>Bad Marriages Bad For Heartshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxStress In Relationships May Be Source Of Problem<br /><br> <br /><br> A lousy marriage might literally make you sick.<br /><br> <br /><br> Marital strife and other bad personal relationships can raise your risk for heart disease, researchers reported Monday.<br /><br> <br /><br> What it likely boils down to is stress, a well-known contributor to health problems, as well as a potential byproduct o....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Bad Marriages Bad For Hearts'>Email this<a>Christmas Things Happen For A reasonhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October excited about their opportunities When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. <br /><br> <br /><br> They worked hard, repairing pews, pl....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Christmas Things Happen For A reason'>Email this<a>Faith and Dyinghttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIs the name Jean-Francois Gravelet familiar to you? Better known as The Great Blondin, he was the first man to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope, an event he repeated many times. The story is told that once he pushed a wheelbarrow across the Falls and then returned with the wheelbarrow loaded with a 100-lb sack of flour. He subsequently asked the crowd if they thought he could push a man ac....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Faith and Dying'>Email this<a>The Parable of the Silver Coveringhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<font size="2" face="verdana" color="#000000"><strong></strong></font><span class="style43">There’s an old fable about a miserable rich man who went to visit a rabbi. The rabbi took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window. "Look out there," he said. The rich man looked into the street. "What do you see?" asked the rabbi. "I see men, women, and children,....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Parable of the Silver Covering'>Email this<a>Poll: More Americans Believe in Devil than Darwinhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p>More Americans believe in a literal hell and the devil than in Darwin’s theory of evolution, a new poll found.</p><br> <p>Over half of Americans, 62 percent, believe in hell and the devil compared to only 42 percent of those surveyed who said they believe in Darwin’s theory, according to the findings of the recently released Harris poll.</p><br> <p>The poll of 2,455 U.S. adults, ta....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Poll: More Americans Believe in Devil than Darwin'>Email this<a>God Gives Peacehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxSeveral years ago a submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. When it returned to the harbor, the captain was asked, "How did the terrible storm last night affect you?"<br> <p><font size="size=" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> <p>The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, "Storm? We didn't even know there was one!" The sub had....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=God Gives Peace'>Email this<a>Only One Of His Kindhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<p><font size="size=" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> <p>Michel Lotito of Grenoble, France, is one of the most unusual individuals in the world, at least when it comes to his culinary tastes. Since 1959, at the age of nine, Mr. Lotito has daily dined on metal and glass. According to The Guinness Book of Records, he consumes 2 pounds of metal per day. So far he has eaten, among other ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Only One Of His Kind'>Email this<a>What is the Bible For?http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<font size="3" face="times new roman" color="#000000"><strong></strong><font size="2" face="verdana">Dr. W.A. Criswell tells of a small New Testament that was taken from the breast-pocket of a fallen American soldier in Vietnam, a young boy from Georgia. When Mr. Pat Zondervan held up that New Testament before the congregation of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Dr. Criswell could see the l....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=What is the Bible For?'>Email this<a>I’m Not Jesus!http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx<font size="3" face="times new roman" color="#000000"><strong></strong></font><span class="style36">A preacher was requested by family members to visit a man in a mental institution who thought he was Jesus. When the preacher introduced himself, the man replied, "Bless you, my son." The preacher asked if he were Jesus and he replied that he was. So, the preacher excused himself and ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=I’m Not Jesus!'>Email this<a>God Said NO!!http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxI asked God to take away my habit.<br /><br> God said, No.<br /><br> It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.<br /><br> <br /><br> I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.<br /><br> God said, No.<br /><br> His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.<br /><br> <br /><br> I asked God to grant me patience.<br /><br> God said, No.<br /><br> Patience is a byproduct of trib....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=God Said NO!!'>Email this<a>Does Your Church Have Water Fountains?http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAn amazing thing happened a couple weeks ago. It was the opening day of the University of Central Florida’s new football stadium. This new $55 million dollar facility is a beauty. It has seats for over 43,000 screaming football fans, and on this day, every seat was filled. But something wasn’t right at the first game ever played in the stadium just outside Orlando. People were fa....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Does Your Church Have Water Fountains?'>Email this<a>Humor And Conflicthttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxHumor does make romantic relationships more stable. According to a 2007 survey, those couples where both partners said the other had a good sense of humor reported 67 percent less conflict than couples who thought neither had a good sense of humor. <font size="1" color="#666666">- Source: David Niven, <em>100 Simple Secrets of Great Relationships </em></font>....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Humor And Conflict'>Email this<a>Pigs Can't Singhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx”Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time, and it annoys the pig.” - Paul Dickson....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Pigs Cant Sing'>Email this<a>Letting Gohttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxSuppose you have an important package to send to someone who needs it. You take it to an overnight delivery service. What would you think if, instead of delivering the package, the driver took it home? Then, when you confront him, he says, "If you didn't want me to keep it, why'd you give it to me in the first place?" <br> <br> You'd say, "The package doesn't belong to you. Your job is to deliver....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Letting Go'>Email this<a>Even Criminals Need Hugshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA Gate-Crasher's Change of Heart<br> The Guests Were Enjoying French Wine and Cheese on a Capitol Hill Patio. When a Gunman Burst In, the Would-Be Robbery Took an Unusual Turn.<br> <br> By Allison Klein<br> Washington Post Staff Writer<br> Friday, July 13, 2007; Page B01<br> <br> A grand feast of marinated steaks and jumbo shrimp was winding down, and a group of friends was sitting on the back pa....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Even Criminals Need Hugs'>Email this<a>The Devil's Beattitudeshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIf the devil were to write his beatitudes, they would probably go something like this:<br> <br> 1. Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians - they save me the effort of trying to keep them from God's blessings.<br> <br> 2. Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked - its pretty easy to k....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Devils Beattitudes'>Email this<a>Learning From A Childhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxOne rainy afternoon a woman was driving down the street. Suddenly, his son, Matthew spoke up from his relaxed position in the front seat.<br> <br> "Mom, I'm thinking of something."<br> <br> This announcement usually meant he had been pondering some fact for a while and was now ready to expound all that his seven-year-old mind had discovered. The mopm was eager to hear.<br> <br> "What are you thi....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Learning From A Child'>Email this<a>Resolutionshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxSix out of 10 Americans surveyed said lack of motivation and power have prevented them from keeping their past New Year's resolutions. - Source: eDiets.com....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Resolutions'>Email this<a>Our Greatest Needhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIf our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Our Greatest Need'>Email this<a>Christmas Gift Revelationhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIn his book Dare to Believe, Dan Baumann illustrates the unique experience of knowing that something is ours, yet longing to enjoy it more fully. He explained that at Christmas time he would always do a lot of snooping, trying to find the gift --wrapped presents and figure out what was in them.<br> <br> One year he discovered a package with his name on it that was easy to identify. There was no w....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Christmas Gift Revelation'>Email this<a>I Heard The Bellshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxHenry Wadsworth Longfellow was filled with sorrow at the tragic death of his wife in a fire in 1861. The Civil War broke out that same year, and it seemed this was an additional punishment. Two years later, Longfellow was again saddened to hear the his own son had been seriously wounded as a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac.<br> <br> Sitting down to his desk, one Christmas Day, he heard the ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=I Heard The Bells'>Email this<a>Ah, Dearest Jesushttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAh, dearest Jesus, holy Child,<br> Make thee a bed, soft, undefiled,<br> Within my heart, that it may be<br> A quiet chamber kept for Thee.<br> My heart for very joy doth leap,<br> My lips no more can silence keep,<br> I too must sing, with joyful tongue,<br> That sweetest ancient cradle song,<br> Glory to God in highest heaven,<br> Who unto man His Son hath given<br> While angels sing with pious....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Ah, Dearest Jesus'>Email this<a>Some Assembly Requiredhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house<br> I searched for the tools to hand to my spouse.<br> Instructions were studied and we were inspired,<br> In hopes we could manage "Some Assembly Required."<br> <br> The children were quiet, not asleep yet in bed,<br> While Dad and I faced the evening with dread:<br> A kitchen, two bikes, Barbie's Townhouse to boot!<br> And, thanks to G....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Some Assembly Required'>Email this<a>The Miracle Bridgehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxPerhaps you have heard the story of the Miracle Bridge. (Chicken Soup for the Soul, No. 3) In l883 a creative engineer, John Roebling was inspired to build the Brooklyn Bridge. Experts told him to forget it. He convinced his son Washington, an up and coming engineer to build the bridge. They hired a crew and began to build their dream bridge. The project was only a few months old when there was a....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Miracle Bridge'>Email this<a>Giving Credithttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxBob Hope once received an award and graciously gave full credit to his four writers for making it possible.<br> <br> The next to receive the award was Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. He stepped to the mike and with a grin, he announced, "I also want to thank my four writers - Mathew, Mark, Luke and John."....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Giving Credit'>Email this<a>Honored for Servicehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxYou've probably never heard of Wilbert Williams. He's not famous or rich. Still, Williams received an honor normally reserved for the connected, powerful, and wealthy. On December 2, 2004, the city of Chicago designated a street as Wilbert Williams Way. The honor is in celebration of his upcoming retirement.<br> <br> What did someone as unknown as Williams do to deserve such a tribute? The questi....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Honored for Service'>Email this<a>The Stonecutterhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxOnce upon a time there was a stonecutter who lived in a bamboo hut. He was very skillful, but he had no money or power. His only possessions was a chisel and hammer. One day he was chiseling a huge stone and the king came to town. As he rode through town on his white horse, dressed in silk the people bowed in honor to him. The stonecutter thought, “I wish I had the power and glory of the kin....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Stonecutter'>Email this<a>Love May Bring Heartachehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx"We become vulnerable when we love people and go out of our way to help them." That’s what the wealthy industrialist Charles Schwab <br> declared after going to court and winning a nuisance suit at age 70.<br> <br> Given permission by the judge to speak to the audience, he made the following statement: "I’d like to say here in a court of law, and <br> speaking as an old man, that nine-tenths of m....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Love May Bring Heartache'>Email this<a>Daily Encouragementhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxLisa Marino has a personal fitness coach who gives her advice and encouragement. But she’s never seen him. As a participant in a program called, “Life Practice,” Lisa begins each day by sending a report of her diet, exercise, sleep, and stress to an Internet web site. Later she receives an e-mail response from her coach. She says that the daily reporting helps keep her honest and focused on her f....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Daily Encouragement'>Email this<a>Godly Advicehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA few years ago, a truck driver sitting in the cab of his truck about 180 miles east of Charlotte, North Carolina, threatened suicide. He was upset over the breakup of his marriage. For three hours, a crisis team communicated with him over CB radio, trying to talk him out of taking his life. But other motorists, overhearing the dialogue, also contacted him on their radios. While some were support....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Godly Advice'>Email this<a>Reading The Biblehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIn Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, Kathleen Norris recounts the story of a South Dakota rancher and his bride who received an expensive Bible as a wedding gift from his grandfather. They wrote a thank-you note and stowed the Bible away on a closet shelf.<br> <br> As time passed, the grandfather repeatedly asked the couple how they liked the Bible. The rancher was confused as to how to respo....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Reading The Bible'>Email this<a>Choosing Sideshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAt a White House dinner, a churchman offered a benediction and closed with the pious affirmation: "The Lord is on our side."<br> <br> When President Lincoln did not respond to this sentiment, someone asked him, "Don't you believe, Mr. President, that the Lord is always on the side of the right?"<br> <br> "I am not concerned about that," was Lincoln's answer, "for we know that the Lord is always o....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Choosing Sides'>Email this<a>Isolated Americanshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAccording to a recent study by the American Sociological Review, Americans are lonelier, more isolated than similar studies reported two decades ago. In 1985 the average American had three people in whom they could confide matters important to them. By 2004, that number had dropped to two, and 25 percent of those surveyed had no close confidants at all. The percentage of people who confide only i....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Isolated Americans'>Email this<a>Finding Purposehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAlmost one in three people wonder daily, "How can I find more meaning and purpose in my life?" Another 13 percent ask themselves this weekly and 10 percent do so yearly. Only 26 percent of those interviewed for a recent survey by Zogby International never wonder about this. - Source: Ed Stetzer, North American Mission Board, S.B.C.....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Finding Purpose'>Email this<a>Staying Involvedhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxWhen parents are actively involved in positive activities with their children throughout a year, those children are 46 percent less likely to use drugs, 27 percent less likely to use alcohol, and 52 percent less likely to skip school. - Source: Girlpower.gov....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Staying Involved'>Email this<a>Making More, Giving Lesshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAccording to a George Barna survey in 2000, the more money a family makes, the less likely they are to tithe. Eight percent of people making under $20,000 actually tithe. That number goes down to 5 percent for those families making $20,000 to $39,999. The number drops again to 4 percent for those making $40,000 to $59,999. Then the number drops to 2 percent for those making $60,000 to $74,999, an....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Making More, Giving Less'>Email this<a>Don't Leave It On The Deskhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThere was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States. Dr.Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his freshman year, regardless of his or her major. <br> <br> Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate t....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Dont Leave It On The Desk'>Email this<a>Pastor's Wifehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAccording to an informal survey of pastors and their wives, 63 percent of women and 44 percent of men believe the pastorate is a two-person job. In addition, 78 percent of men and 75 percent of women who participated in the survey said they believed the wife's participation in church work was crucial to the pastor being viewed as successful. - Source: A Handbook for Ministers' Wives by Dorothy Ke....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Pastors Wife'>Email this<a>God, Our Fatherhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA young boy burst into the great throne chambers of a medieval king. The boy was skipping and singing as children do. He was completely oblivious to the regal sobriety of his surroundings. Suddenly, he was intercepted by an armored solider. <br> <br> "Have you no respect, lad?" hissed the soldier. "Don't you know that the man on the throne is your king?" <br> <br> The boy wriggled out of the sold....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=God, Our Father'>Email this<a>Saved Friendhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxAfter a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening.<br> <br> In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few mom....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Saved Friend'>Email this<a>Wesley's Rule of Conducthttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxJohn Wesley wrote to his people called Methodist the following Rule of<br> Conduct:<br> <br> Do all the good you can,<br> By all the means you can,<br> In all the ways you can,<br> In all the places you can,<br> At all the times you can,<br> To all the people you can,<br> As long as ever you can.....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Wesleys Rule of Conduct'>Email this<a>Elluding Godhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIn 1981, a Minnesota radio station reported a story about a stolen car in California. Police were staging an intense search for the vehicle and the driver, even to the point of placing announcements on local radio stations to contact the thief. On the front seat of the stolen car sat a box of crackers that, unknown to the thief, were laced with poison. The car owner had intended to use the cracke....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Elluding God'>Email this<a>Happy Traditional Marriageshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx"Fifty-two percent of wives who don't work outside the home reported they were 'very happy' with their marriages, compared with 41 percent of wives in the workforce. The more traditional a marriage is, the sociologists found, the higher the percentage of happy wives." - Charlotte Allen, in a column for The Los Angeles Times....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Happy Traditional Marriages'>Email this<a>God is Lovehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxC.H. Spurgeon told the story of the preacher who was walking in the country side and stopped by a farm house for a drink of water. The old farmer who lived there went out to talk to the preacher. As they were talking the preacher noticed that the barn had a weather vane on it that was spinning around in the wind. On the weather vane the words "GOD IS LOVE" was engraved.<br> <br> The preacher sai....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=God is Love'>Email this<a>Who Needs Our Service?http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx”What is it to serve God and to do His will? Nothing else than to show mercy to our neighbor. For it is our neighbor who needs our service; God in heaven needs it not.”<br> <br> Martin Luther....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Who Needs Our Service?'>Email this<a>Love’s Challengeshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx(Based on John 13:35)<br> <br> What joy to love the saints above<br> When I get home to glory.<br> To love below, the saints I know,<br> Well, that’s another story!....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Love’s Challenges'>Email this<a>The Negative Verses The Positivehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA little boy who was trying to raise some money by collecting old bottles, going door-to-door in his neighborhood. When he came to the home of a woman who was the "town grouch," the little boy asked, "Do you have any coke bottles?" "No," she replied with a scowl. Then he said, "Do you have any old whiskey bottles?" "Young man," the woman replied, "Do I look like the type of person who would have ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=The Negative Verses The Positive'>Email this<a>It Don't Add Uphttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxPerhaps you have heard the story of the football coach who had two quarterbacks. The first team quarterback was gifted, aggressive, and a born leader. The second string quarterback was, let us say, limited. Oh, he was athletic enough but unfortunately, he lacked a mind for strategy. The championship game was in progress, the score was tied, the home team had the ball, and the clock was ticking do....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=It Dont Add Up'>Email this<a>Israel And The Red Seahttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxCharles Swindol tells a funny story about a nine-year-old named Danny who came bursting out of Sunday school like a wild stallion. His eyes were darting in every direction as he tried to locate either mom or dad. Finally, after a quick search, he grabbed his Daddy by the leg and yelled, "Man, that story of Moses and all those people crossing the Red Sea was great!" His father looked down, smiled,....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Israel And The Red Sea'>Email this<a>Living on the Edgehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThere was an man down in Florida who used to wrestle alligators for tourists. One time after one of his performances a lady noticed he wore a string of alligator teeth around his neck. She said, "Oh, that is sort of like wearing a string of pearls." He replied, "Not quite. Anyone can open an oyster."....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Living on the Edge'>Email this<a>Acres of Diamondshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThere is a story called, "Acres of Diamonds." It is about an African farmer who hears that some have made millions by discovering diamond mines. In his excitement, he sells his farm and uses the money to travel all across the continent of Africa in search of diamonds. But the former farmer never finds his fortune, and he dies as a poverty-stricken, heart-broken man. But it just so happens that th....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Acres of Diamonds'>Email this<a>Gas Station Attendant VS Chief Executive Officerhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThomas Wheeler, one time CEO of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, tells on himself: He and his wife were driving along an interstate highway when he noticed that their car was low on gas. Wheeler got off the highway at the next exit and soon found a rundown gas station with just one gas pump. He asked the lone attendant to fill the tank and check the oil; then went for a little wal....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Gas Station Attendant VS Chief Executive Officer'>Email this<a>No Fear of Hellhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, William Rehnquist was born in Shorewood, Wisconsin. After law school, his first practice was in Phoenix, Arizona, and while he was there he heard this story about Arizona that pretty well sums up life there.<br> <br> In the very earliest days of the settlement of Arizona, the Archbishop of Los Angeles sent a missionary out to Phoenix to try to....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=No Fear of Hell'>Email this<a>Setting the Church Back 50 Yearshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxDuring the Brezhnev era at the height of the Cold War, Billy Graham visited Russia and met with government and church leaders. Conservatives back home reproached him for treating the Russians with such courtesy and respect. He should have taken a more prophetic role, they said, by condemning the abuses of human rights and religious liberty. One of his critics accused him of setting the church bac....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Setting the Church Back 50 Years'>Email this<a>Buzzing Beeshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxIn Saint Louis an unemployed cleaning woman noticed a few bees buzzing around the attic of her home. Since there were only a few, she made no effort to deal with them. Over the summer the bees continued to fly in and out the attic vent while the woman remained unconcerned, unaware of the growing city of bees that was taking up residence just above her ceiling.<br> <br> The whole attic became a hi....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Buzzing Bees'>Email this<a>A Wise Old Birdhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThere is a story about an old man who always had witty and wise answers for people who asked him anything. Once, a smart-aleck came to him with his hands covering something he was holding. He told the sage that he had a small, newly hatched bird in his hands. He challenged the old man to tell him whether the bird was alive or dead. He, of course, planned to prove the old man wrong, because if he ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=A Wise Old Bird'>Email this<a>They Did Not Heed the Warninghttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxDuring World War II the city of Palermo, Sicily, a military objective of the Allied Powers, was to be bombed by the American Air Force. To warn the Sicilians, telling them to flee, thousands of pamphlets were dropped on the city beforehand, but the citizens simply did not believe the warning. They listened, but they did not hear! When the American planes came and dropped their bombs, hundreds of ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=They Did Not Heed the Warning'>Email this<a>Our Value in God's Eyeshttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxA 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 t....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Our Value in Gods Eyes'>Email this<a>Abundant Lifehttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxThe story is told of an artist who sculpted a beautiful angel and wanted the master artist, Michelangelo, to inspect it and offer his opinion. So Michelangelo was called in. The master artist carefully looked at the sculpture from every angle. <br> <br> Finally, he said, "Well, it lacks only one thing." Then he turned around and walked out. <br> <br> The artist didn't know what it lacked, and he ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=Abundant Life'>Email this<a>A.S.A.P.http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspxEver wonder about the abbreviation A.S.A.P.? Generally we think of it in terms of even more hurry and stress in our lives. Maybe if we think of this abbreviation in a different manner, we will begin to find a new way to deal with those rough days along the way.<br> <br> There's work to do, deadlines to meet;<br> You've got no time to spare,<br> But as you hurry and scurry-<br> ASAP - ALWAYS SAY ....<br /><a style='font-family:Arial;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;' href='http://www.ifindsermons.com/emailrss.aspx?link=http://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx&title=A.S.A.P.'>Email this<a>Five Finger Prayerhttp://www.ifindsermons.com/illustration.aspx1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the