Sermons & Devotionals by Sermon Illustrations II

A lady wrote to {Catholic Digest }recently to tell about her six-year-old grandson. Their pastor had died. A retired priest was temporarily serving as a replacement. One day he announced that the bishop would soon be sending the church a new young priest directly from the seminary. When her grandson... Read More

Jessie Donadio, a 36-year-old Boston woman, became the victim of amnesia. For three months she wandered, but during a severe thunderstorm she suddenly remembered who she was and where she was from. A Cleveland, Ohio, police officer said that the storm jolted her memory back. How often the storms of ... Read More

Years ago a small group of Japanese believers were heckled and abused whenever they assembled to worship the Savior. But the persecutors could not shake the faith of the new converts. Each time the Christians gathered, the mob would throw stones at them, but they still faithfully continued to have t... Read More

A minister tells of witnessing the purification of a mass of silver, and reflecting on the parallel of the purification of many of God's children: The silver is put into a crucible and watched. The moment the smelter can see his face reflected in it, he withdraws it from the fire. If not withdrawn i... Read More

In the pictures of the ancient Roman method of threshing grain, one man is always seen stirring up the sheaves while another rides over them in a crude cart equipped with rollers instead of wheels. Sharp stones and rough bits of iron were attached to these cylinders to help separate the husks from t... Read More

George Washington was 43 when he drew his sword under the historic elm at Cambridge as "captain general and commander-in-chief" of the Colonial forces. He was just the age of Julius Caesar when he took command of the army in Gaul, of Napoleon when he made the mistake of his life and started in to co... Read More

Whether in the church, the home, the job, or the local community it is difficult for two people to agree with one another on a controversial issue unless they study together. Many years ago there lived an elderly couple named Tom and Ella. It happened neither one of them had ever seen a mirror. One ... Read More

Why don't we all see things the same? Bert Mercer tells about the old farmer who drank his first bottle of soda pop while he was headed for the big city on a speeding train. After he took one swig, the train roared into a dark tunnel. The old man cried out to his wife, "Don't drink that sody pop, Ma... Read More

Did you ever see a company of soldiers going through their exercises? Well, if you have, you will remember that, after their muskets are loaded, the officer who is exercising them calls out, "Make ready -- take aim -- fire." The aim of each soldier is the thing which he tries to hit when he fires hi... Read More

A poor old Negro was once a hopeless drunkard, and he tried again and again to get free. Others tried to help him, but he could not get rid of his drunkenness until he was converted. When he was converted there was a wonderful change, and someone said, "So you have got the mastery of the devil at la... Read More

One of our young men gave me the following experience. He said, "An old gentleman and a young man, who was the driver, stopped at Ringgold, Georgia, to get a lunch. They asked for a certain type of beer. They were informed the proprietor did not have this brand; so they left the restaurant and went ... Read More

Is alcoholism a disease? If it is. . . . It is the only disease that is contracted by an act of the will. It is the only disease that requires a license to propagate it. It is the only disease that is bottled and sold. It is the only disease that requires outlets to spread it. It is the only disease... Read More

In the life of John G. Paton we are told that the custom of morning and evening prayer was ever maintained in his father's household. Until the day of his death, at seventy-seven, he failed not, and when the last day of his life came, he was heard repeating the Psalms and breaking forth into prayer.... Read More

A young couple came to the pastor just before the service and desired to be married. The pastor requested them to be seated in the congregation and stated that he would marry them immediately after the service. No one in the congregation knew of it. When the service was over, the pastor quietly said... Read More

A student of Amherst College, soon after entering, put over the door of his dormitory room the letter V. Because of it he endured all sorts of ridicule and withstood questioning. But he paid no attention to either, nor would he disclose the secret of the letter. When his four years were over, and gr... Read More

A man dreamed that when he died he was taken by the angels to a beautiful temple. After admiring it for a time, he discovered that one stone was missing. All was finished but just one little stone that was left out. He said to the angel, "What is this stone left out for?" The angel replied, "That wa... Read More

In one of the German art galleries a painting called "Cloud Lane" hangs at the end of a long dark hall. At first glance it appears to be a huge, ugly mass of confused color that is unattractive and foreboding. But when you look closer, you see portrayed on the canvas an innumerable company of angels... Read More

The only child of a poor woman one day fell into the fire by accident and was so badly burned that he died after a few hours' suffering. The clergyman, as soon as he knew, went to see the mother, who was known to be dotingly fond of the child. To his great surprise, he found her calm, patient, and r... Read More

John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see thei... Read More

Alexander the Great was on of the few men of history who deserved the adjective "great." His biographer describes him as by nature fervently passionate and impulsive. He was strong in his loves and his loyalties; and although hatred was foreign to his magnanimous nature, he was often swept by storms... Read More