Contributed by Art Good on Nov 6, 2008
THE HAMSTER
Most of us are more like the story I heard about a hamster and its owner.
Each morning Sam hit the wheel, stopping only to snatch a bite to eat. He was driven by some ingrained belief that all his efforts were getting him somewhere.
Trudge, trudge, trudge, nibble, nibble,
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Wesleyan
Contributed by Charles Wallis on Jan 14, 2009
A baseball team was running relays for conditioning. Each player had to put the ball in the next players glove. The players ran as as fast as they could, but then some started dropping the ball. All their work and effort was for nothing without the ball.
In the same way, we can run the
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Pentecostal
Contributed by Richard Goble on Nov 1, 2007
Half-Hearted Happiness
To love God wholeheartedly, we must be convinced that our only happiness is in Him alone. We cannot believe this until we renounce all other efforts at happiness. If we look to God to supply half our happiness, we can only love him with half our hearts. (William Law in
...read more
Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 17, 2002
based on 41 ratings
| 8,741 views
MODEST GRATITUDE
In a sense, gratitude is an expression of modesty. In Hebrew, the word for gratitude - hoda’ah - is the same as the word for confession. To offer thanks is to confess dependence, to acknowledgment that others have the power to benefit you, to admit that your life is better because
...read more
Scripture:
Tags:
Contributed by Bruce Rzengota on Dec 28, 2011
Jim Elliot -- (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was an evangelical Christian missionary to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Waodani people through efforts known as Operation Auca.
"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Christian Missionary Alliance
Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 4, 2007
based on 2 ratings
| 2,232 views
Shackleton Found Them Ready
While on one of his expeditions to the Antarctic, Sir Ernest Shackleton was once compelled to leave some of his men on Elephant Island, with the intention of returning for them and carrying them back to England. But he was unavoidably delayed, and by the time he could go
...read more
Denomination:
Other
A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN
An elderly Italian man lay dying in his bed. While suffering the agonies of impending death, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite Italian sprinkle cookies wafting up the stairs.
Gathering his remaining strength, he lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007
based on 2 ratings
| 8,140 views
Serving Jesus
• A certain family in a Southern Baptist Church had been inactive for years.
• The family simply never went to church any more and every effort to get them to attend had failed.
• One day one of the sons, name John, was bitten by a rattlesnake.
The father immediately sent for the
...read more
Tags:
Contributed by Alan Perkins on Mar 28, 2001
based on 79 ratings
| 3,241 views
"Self-righteous service requires external rewards. It needs to know that people see and appreciate the effort. It seeks human applause -- with proper religious modesty of course. Self-righteous service is highly concerned about results. It eagerly waits to see if the person served will reciprocate
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2001
based on 8 ratings
| 2,446 views
A PRESIDENT PRAYS
Personal prayer, it seems to me, is one of the simplest necessities of life, as basic to the individual as sunshine, food and water--and at times, of course, more so. By prayer I mean an effort to get in touch with the Infinite. We know that our prayers are imperfect. Of course
...read more
Tags:
based on 18 ratings
| 2,489 views
WATCH A SPIDER?
Have you ever watched a spider?
The spider will spend many hours, days, in great
effort spinning a web.
As the spider spins the web, the key factor will
become patience.
Many hours after the web is completed, the spider
waits and waits.
The spider must
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Assembly Of God
Contributed by Evie Megginson on May 11, 2004
based on 1 rating
| 1,540 views
It’s been stated these days, “They just don’t make missionaries like William Carey.” Carey changed the history of missions and the face of India 200 years ago. Few know of Carey’s sister, paralyzed and bedridden for 50 years. Although unable to speak for much of that period, with great effort she
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by W F on Sep 21, 2004
based on 36 ratings
| 4,037 views
Have you ever seen a straight river? Canals are straight, but all rivers seem to be crooked. We call it “meandering.” Why are rivers crooked? Because the natural tendency of a river is to take the easiest way around any obstacle. So rivers are always crooked, and they always run downhill.
Some
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
*other
based on 2 ratings
| 3,390 views
John Ortberg shared this in The Life You Always Wanted (p.55-56):
"It's like a motorboat and a sailboat. A person can operate a motorboat without assistance, given the right equipment and effort. Operating a sailboat is different--it is dependent on the wind. The operator of a sailboat does
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Independent/Bible
Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007
based on 1 rating
| 6,208 views
Illustration: One day a small boy was trying to lift a heavy stone, but he couldn’t budge it. His father, passing by, stopped to watch his efforts. Finally he said to his son: “Are you using all your strength?’
“Yes, I am,” the boy cried, exasperated.
“No,” the father said calmly, “You’re not.
...read more
Scripture:
Tags:
Sermon Central