100 Sermon Illustrations on Examples Of

One way we build friendships is by those deeds which poet William Wordsworth called “Those little nameless unremembered acts of kindness and of love.” One such act was performed for a man in a small village who had suffered the loss of his young son. After the funeral he visited the local undertaker and said, “I’ve come to square my account.”

“You don’t owe me a penny. You’ve paid your bill on the nail,” the undertaker replied.

“But, I’ve had no bill for the funeral of my son.”

The old undertaker answered, “If you had to bear the sorrow, surely I can bear the expense.” -- Moody

Charles Spurgeon tells of visiting a woman whose faith, once

bright, had gone under a cloud and suffered total eclipse." She said

to Spurgeon one day as he visited her, "My faith is gone. I don't have

any true love for Christ." Spurgeon was wise. He did not argue, but

took a piece of paper and walked to the window, writing the words, "I

do not love the Lord Jesus Christ." Bringing it back, he handed her

the pencil and said, "Sign this." She read it and cried, "It's not

true. I'd tear it to pieces before I'd sign it!" Spurgeon said, "You

said you didn't love Him." "Yes, but I could not sign that." Well

then," countered Spurgeon, "I suspect you do love Him after all."

"Yes, yes," she cried, I see it now! I do love Him. Christ knows I

love Him!"

A few years ago I bought a red flowering crabapple tree and

carefully planted it in our yard. But it didn't exactly

thrive-- in fact, one by one the leaves started dropping off! My

husband Jim failed to see the urgency of the situation. "Give it a

little time," he murmured. The next Spring it did

a little better -- it had swelled buds and leaves, but no

flowers. "That does it! I'm getting rid of this flowering

crabapple!" I sputtered. Jim surveyed the scraggly branches. "Maybe

this isn't the flowering kind. Some of 'em never

blossom, you know." "But that tag says: Flowering Crabapple,

Red!" The third Spring came. Still no red flowers. But this

time Jim took me outside and showed me some tiny clusters of red

balls nestled in among the leaves. "Blossoms?" I asked,

incredulous. "Blossoms!" he said. Now, as I watch the

little red tree become brilliant with color, it reminds me of

how impatient I can be with other things in my life. --Vickie Schad

"He is impossible to get along with, because he thinks he's

impossible to get along without," was said of a Sunday school worker.

No wonder the result was a dismal failure for the would-be

indispensable. The worst idea a Christian can have is that he is

absolutely necessary to the work in which he is engaged, that his

absence would stop the whole undertaking. --Sunday At Home

Winstanley was so proud of the former Eddystone Lighthouse that as

he looked at its goodly proportions, he said: "I only wish that I was

inside in a great storm." That was a proud boast to make, for he is

inside and the night lowers dark and chill and there is a moan in the

sea that tells of an unprecedented disturbance of the elements.

Winstanley is inside. "Ah, he says, "I shall see how the good old work

stands and as the edifice rocks in the storm. Winstanley thinks it is

all right. He is sitting there by the fireside, the wind roaring about

him and the spray dashing up on the windows; but in the grey dawn of

the next morning they looked out from the mainland and the lighthouse

was gone. Winstanley was lost in the work of his own hands. His boast

availed not; the storm was too big for the edifice.

Oh man, were it but an ordinary storm I would say to you: "Settle

down in your good works." Were it merely the little bit of tossing we

have in this earthly life, I would say: "Build, build on your own

strength; it will do you good; but man, the storm is supernatural. The

great roll of that sea will bring down every self-built lighthouse.

Never did the earth see such a storm; never did such a torrent play on

the human soul as eternity; there was never such a cataclysm on our

afflicted earth; stars falling, earth reeling like a drunken man. Your

works will go by the board as sure as God is on the throne. You cannot

get to heaven by your good works. --John Robertson

The Seagull Imagine this scene: you are on the Florida coast. The sun is setting like a gigantic orange ball. It's the cool evening on a vacant, isolated stretch of beach. The water is lapping at the shore, the breeze is blowing slightly. There are one or two joggers and a couple of fisherman. Most people have gone home for the day. You look up and you see an old man with curved shoulders, bushy eyebrows, and bony features hobbling down the beach carrying a bucket. He carries the bucket up to the pier, a dock that goes out into the water. He stands on the dock and you notice he is looking up into the sky and all of a sudden you see a mass of dancing dots. You soon recognize that they are seagulls. They are coming out of nowhere. The man takes out of his bucket handfuls of shrimp and begins to throw them on the dock. The seagulls come and land all around him. Some land on his shoulders, some land on his hat, and they eat the shrimp. Long after the shrimp are gone his feathered friends linger. The old man and the birds. What is going on here? Why is this man feeding seagulls? What could compel him to do this -- as he does week after week? The man in that scene was Eddie Rickenbacher, a famous World War II pilot. His plane, "The Flying Fortress," went down in 1942 and no one thought he would be rescued. Perhaps you have read or heard how he and his eight passengers escaped death by climbing into two rafts for thirty days. They fought thirst, the sun, and sharks. Some of the sharks were nine feet long. The boats were only eight feet long. But what nearly killed them was starvation. Their rations were gone within eight days and they didn't have anything left. Rickenbacher wrote that even on those rafts, every day they would have a daily afternoon devotional and prayer time. One day after the devotional, Rickenbacher leaned back and put his hat over his eyes and tried to get some sleep. Within a few moments he felt something on his head. He knew in an instant it was a seagull which had perched on his raft. But he knew that they were hundreds of miles out to sea. Where did this seagull come from? He was also certain that if he didn't get that seagull he would die. Soon all the others on the two boats noticed the seagull. No one spoke, no one moved. Rickenbacher quickly grabbed the seagull and with thanksgiving, they ate the flesh of the bird. They used the intestines for fish bait and survived. Rickenbacher never forgot that visitor who came from a foreign place. That sacrificial guest. Every week, he went out on the pier with a bucket of shrimp and said thank you, thank you, thank you. The apostle Paul wrote, "For Christ's love compels us..." (2 Corinthians 5:14). The word "compels" means literally, "leaves me no choice." Paul is saying, "I have no choice but to respond to the love of Christ with my whole being -- to say thank you, thank you, thank you!" When we serve Christ, when we share God's love with others, when we come to church every week to worship him, we don't do it begrudgingly. We do it with thankful hearts because we really have no choice. It's how we say thank you! Edited from More Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice. Copyright 1995 by Youth Specialties, Inc. \reference{2 Corinthians 5:14}{2 Corinthians 5:14}

One of God's faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner, experienced

many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to the

Savior. Despite his troubles, he said, "While God gives me strength,

failure will not daunt me." In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of

disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern

tip of South America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby.

It bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The

last entry in his little book showed the struggle of his shaking hand

as he tried to write legibly. It read, "I am overwhelmed with a sense

of the goodness of God." Think of that! No word of complaint, no

childish whining, no grumbling at the circumstances -- just praise for

God's goodness.

A little boy was asked by his father to say grace at the table.

While the rest of the family waited, the little guy eyed every dish of

food his mother had prepared. After the examination, he bowed his

head and honestly prayed, "Lord, I don't like the looks of it, but I

thank you for it, and I'll eat it anyway. Amen.

Alice Cooper a Christian? Throughout the 1970s, Cooper (Vincent

Furnier) tended an image as the most decadent of decadent rock stars

and, though the son of a preacher, he claimed to be a reincarnated

17th-century witch.

But Cooper has shed his fiendish image and, if the lyrics on his

newest release are to be believed, his Old Man for a New Man:

What about truth What about life What about glory What about

Christ What about peace What about love What about faith in God

above. . . it's over, you have no power You're lost And I'm found

And I'm heaven-bound.

The reborn Cooper, who plays golf with R. C. Sproul and Glen

Campbell, was baptized.

submitted by: Miguel

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer, and he started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry so he offered her a Twinkie.

She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Once again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave but before he had gone more than a few steps; he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?"

He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." But before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we under estimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!

"How's everything?" I asked, as she was passing out the Chiclets.

The plane stewardess did not answer. Instead of receiving an answer, I

noticed a tear in her eye. Sensing that something was wrong, I told my

traveling companion to pray while I would talk with her at our next

landing at Wichita.

Half the passengers got out to stretch their legs for the brief

stop-over. I found the stewardess at her station in the rear of the

plane. There, after some introductory remarks between us, she told me

her story.

Her fiancee was to have been returned to the States from England.

At her request the airline officials had changed her from the West

Coast to Chicago, where he was to have been stationed, so that she

could be with him between flights. Instead of the anticipated reunion

in Chicago, however, she got word that he had been killed while

returning from his fiftieth and last bombing mission. Her plans were

"shot," her disappointment bitter, and life no longer seemed worth

living.

Secretly I prayed for the right words. "It is hard for one to put

one's self into your place," I said. "I wonder what I would do were I

to receive word right now that my wife had met with sudden death."

"What a blow it would be!" I reflected. "How lonely the days that

would stretch ahead!" "Yet," I ventured, "I have a very dear Friend

who I believe would help me face the sorrow and the empty days. I have

known this friend for many years, and He has never let me down. It is

the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know Him?"

"I can't say I do," she replied." Her attitude bespoke her

readiness to hear more about the Lord, and with open Bible I pointed

out to her how to accept this Friend as her personal Savior. And there

in the back of the plane we bowed our heads and the stewardess uttered

the penitential prayer, "Lord be merciful to me a sinner." God heard

that prayer and definitely witnessed to her heart that she had become

a child of God through faith in the One who died for her.

When the plane resumed its flight, it carried a lighter cargo, for

the burden of sin and sorrow had been lifted from the heart of its

stewardess. And when we finally left her plane at Tulsa, with tears in

her eyes she looked up into the blue sky and said, "If I were to die

right now, I know I would go straight to heaven."

A few hours later that stewardess did "go straight to heaven," for

when we picked up the newspaper next morning we read that our plane

had crashed and that the stewardess was instantly killed. --Torrey

Johnson

Through the remainder of the day and after returning to his home

for the night, the Holy Spirit kept dealing with our uncle. He

couldn't dismiss the matter from his mind, but kept thinking of

what the Christian laborer had said. The precious seed of God's

Word had been planted in the heart and gave the Spirit something

to work on. That same night, after supper, Uncle Ben told his

family what had taken place at work. Then he took his newly

acquired Testament from his pocket and for the first time in his

life proceeded to read the Bible. He gathered his wife and three

children around the table for this purpose. His wife wanted to

know where he had obtained the Testament and had other questions

to ask about the new experience, but Uncle Ben was persistent

and said, "Let's get down on our knees and call upon the name of

the Lord and ask Him to save us."

This was the beginning of new life in Uncle Ben's home. The

light of God broke through their sin-darkened minds and the love

of God filled their hearts. Our Uncle Ben and his family were

transformed by the power of Christ. The next Sunday Uncle Ben

and his family attended, for the first time in their lives, an

Italian Protestant church on the near west side of Chicago. He

was indeed a "new man" after his conversion. Those with whom he

worked never heard him swear any more. The "old things" had

passed away, and "all things had become new." A bond of

fellowship united the two Christians who continued to work

together--the young convert and the faithful Christian worker

who had planted the Word in the young Italian's heart. They

spent their noon hours singing praises to God and discussing

the things of the Spirit.

Having found Christ to be a wonderful Savior and Friend, Uncle

Ben and his family naturally wanted to share their new-found joy

with others, and they began a life of faithful witnessing for

the Lord Jesus, uncle on his job, and our aunt in the

neighborhood where they lived. Uncle Ben had a heavy burden on

his heart for his relatives. The message of the Gospel was real

to him. He believed that anyone outside of Christ was lost and

he was deeply concerned for the spiritual welfare of our family,

who knew nothing of the glorious message of redeeming grace.

We were glad that Uncle Ben kept right on coming, planting the

Word of God in our hearts. We were forbidden to have a Bible in

our home in these days, but we could not help getting the

message of the Bible through the faithful witnessing of Uncle

Ben. Being under conviction of sin--as we saw the transformed

life of our uncle--dad became more and more angry with Uncle Ben

and pushed him out of our house again and again. Such treatment

drove our uncle to God in prayer more earnestly. Seeing no

visible results from his witnessing, he took less time for

visiting and talking and more time for intercession in our

behalf. Five years of faithful witnessing had not brought the

hoped-for results, but he held on to God in prayer and took his

burden of prayer to the group of believers with whom he

worshipped. He had the whole church centering its prayers

especially for our family. He prayed that something would happen

in our family that would turn our hearts to God. We did not

realize that when he sometimes failed to visit us on a Sunday,

it was not because of any lack of interest in our spiritual

welfare, but because he was spending more time in prayer for our

salvation. We wondered why he did not come. We children missed

him and his family because we had learned to like the lovely

Gospel songs and hymns that they sang to us. But Uncle Ben did

not stay away long. He faced the antagonism that he knew would

meet him. Surely enough, when he did come, he got the same kind

of reception. Some of us children really felt sorry for Uncle

Ben as he was put out of our house.

Maybe the devil did his best to discourage him, suggesting that

it was no use to make that long, expensive trip week after week

way out to Melrose Park. But God had put a real burden on his

heart for our salvation and he kept praying and kept on coming.

One of the last times dad kicked him out, he told Uncle Ben, "If

you want to come here to visit us, it is all right, but if you

are going to try to make us change our religion, then don't let

me see you here any more!" He also tried to cover up the spirit

of conviction that was settling over him by suggesting to Uncle

Ben that he ought to be ashamed of himself for leaving "the only

true religion." But Unde Ben kept on praying for us with the

assurance that "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

She continued, "Lord, if you take this cancer away from me, I'll

go to that Protestant church that my brother-in-law has been

telling me about and get saved, even if it's the worst religion

in the world." Something happened when mother prayed like that.

She didn't have very much faith but what little faith she did

have, she put into action, and God healed her and saved her in

that instant. Praise the Lord! She felt such a joy and peace

come into her heart. She said it felt just as if a hand were

pulling a knife from her stomach and that the pain was gone.

That was at six o'clock in the evening. Shortly thereafter she

fell asleep. She hadn't slept for many nights but now she rested

peacefully until midnight, when a commotion in the room awakened

her. An elderly woman in the next bed in the same ward was

ringing for a nurse, but no nurse came to wait on the poor

woman, so mother got up from her bed and helped her. Mind you,

mother was supposed to be dying of cancer. Can you picture her

taking the place of the nurse? Why, that was a miracle in itself!

When mother got back to her bed she noticed that she wasn't

holding her fist in her side any more, where the pain had been.

"Why," she exclaimed, "praise the Lord, and thank You, Jesus!"

Mother was a new creature in Christ Jesus. God saved her and

healed her that night. She could hardly wait until morning to

express her joy. She was saying to herself, "Just wait until I

get back home to my family and friends and neighbors: I'm going

to tell them what God has done for me and how He came into my

heart and saved me from sin and healed my body." That very

night--in the middle of the night--mother gave her testimony to

the others in the ward, and they marveled at the miracle,

knowing how she had suffered.

Those of us who were at home didn't know what was going on at

the hospital. All we knew was what dad had told us--that the

doctor had told him he might as well go home and order a casket

for Mother because she was not able to live more than a few

days. Mother stayed at Uncle Ben's place for a day or so,

receiving both spiritual and physical strength. She made a vow

to the Lord at this time that she would preach the Gospel to

everybody she had an opportunity to contact. Thank God, she has

kept that vow and God has given her many souls through her

faithful witnessing.

Carl is a witty fellow and thought he would have a little fun at

our expense, so he called us up from Chicago and said, "Hello,

this is Carl. Seeing that mother isn't feeling so good and the

doctor has given her up to die, it seems that she might as well

die at home rather than in a hospital. I'll have her taken

home!" Then he quickly hung up so we wouldn't have a chance to

ask any questions about it. We didn't know what it was all

about. We never dreamed that suddenly a miracle had taken place

and patiently watched from our window for someone to bring

mother home, really expecting to see an ambulance or hearse.

In a little while we heard somebody's brakes squeak in front of

our house. We recognized Carl's cab, but we didn't dream that

mother would be coming home in a cab, because when we took her

out of the house, to the hospital; we had to carry her out. But

now she was coming home in a cab, if you please! We could hardly

believe our own eyes when mother got out of the cab and started

to walk on her own two feet. When mother came up on the porch,

she had a big smile on her face and the first thing she said

was, "Praise the Lord! Jesus has taken the cancer away from me

and has also saved me!"

We looked around and could see no statues or saints (We didn't know

at that time that the saints were sitting in the pews! ). And

there was a piano in the church! We had never seen a piano in a

church before. Then the song leader called out a number out of

the little Italian books. We were not used to singing in church.

In the church we had attended only the choir sang, in Latin. But

we now began to sing with the rest of the people.

After the song service, we all knelt to pray. In our former

church we had a little board in front of each pew to kneel on so

we wouldn't take the crease out of our trousers, but now we

knelt all the way down. Then two or three people led in

spontaneous prayer. After that we sat down again and sang

another song. Then the pastor said, "We will now have a

testimony meeting." The only thing I knew about a "testimony"

was what they have in a courthouse; but now I found out what a

''testimony meeting" was. Several got up, one at a time,

and told what Christ had done for them. And do you know, all

those people had a big smile on their faces. They had something

in their hearts that we did not have and it showed on their

faces. It is a good thing it was that kind of church or I might

not have been saved at that time. If I had seen a lot of long

faces instead of smiles-- as I see in many churches nowadays--I

am sure I would never have been saved in that church.

Soon after the testimonies, the pastor got up to preach. And the

pastor didn't stay right behind the pulpit, as our pastor always

did, but paced back and forth on the platform. He seemed to he

dead in earnest and preached with conviction and power. And

when the Word of God was expounded, conviction took hold of our

hearts. When he gave the invitation to come forward for prayer

for salvation or consecration, there was quite a number that

went forward, including part of our family. They thought it was

a part of the regular program, so up mother, father, sister, and

a few of my brothers followed the people up to the altar, and

were led to the Lord.

An old lady now in her hundred and fourth year lives in a

one-room cottage at Croydon. When she was a hundred years old

she was visited by a city missionary who explained \reference{John

3:16}{John 3:16} to

her. "How wonderful," she said, "and how good the Lord has been

in sparing me these hundred years that I might learn the way of

life!" This conversion is described in a London City Mission

Magazine and ends with these words: "Born 1825; born again

1925." Surely "the longsuffering of our Lord is

salvation." --Sunday School Times

An Ohio lawyer once came home and said: "Wife, I have been

converted; let us put up the family altar." "Husband," said she,

trying to keep him from talking so loud, "there are three lawyers in

the parlor, perhaps we had better go into the kitchen to have prayer."

"Wife," said he, "I never invited the Lord Jesus, into my house

before, and I shall not take him into the kitchen." He went into the

parlor, and astonished the three lawyers by confessing that he had

given his heart to Christ and had found salvation, and asked them to

join in prayer with him. God takes care of a man when he thus honors

him. For many years that new convert who took Christ into his parlor

was the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, John McLean.

--Louis Banks

In his book "I Was Born Again," published in 1946, Norman Wingert

introduced this story as follows:

"Charles C. Waterman lives in Pasadena, California. In his jail

work, his tract distribution, and his personal witnessing for Christ,

he has made such an impression on his fellow townsmen that from the

mayor down they unite in thanking him for the "unique service" which

he is rendering his community. He is official chaplain for the

Pasadena city prison and for several hospitals. Here is one man that

puts God first."

Since I have been saved, it seems strange that more people do not

come to themselves. I was born in Eugene, Indiana, in 1870, but when

only eighteen years of age I left home to work for steam railroads. It

was because I was not born again before leaving home although I was

regarded as a moral young man who did not think of even using

tobacco--I soon fell into the ways of wicked men; profanity, gambling,

drinking, tobacco. These habits began to fasten themselves upon me,

but I argued with myself that I could quit them if I wanted to.

At the age of twenty-five I married, and lived pretty decently when

my wife was around. But then whenever she would go for a little visit

with her relatives or her mother, I was in for a time. I kept getting

worse and worse, Both my mother and my sister never wrote me without

speaking about my soul, but I went on with my crowd and with my

habits.

After the Lord had given us two boys in our home, I began to talk

about quitting tobacco and would say to my wife, "I am going to quit

now, and the boys will never even know or remember that I used

tobacco." I would stop for a few days and then use it on the sly. As

soon as my wife would catch me at it, I would start in worse than

ever, Satan had a chain around my neck and I could not get away. For

twenty-five years he was my master. Every man who knew me knew I would

go the limit in sin. At times I would get ashamed, especially when I

thought of my fine family, and then would say, "Surely I will do

better now!"

We moved to the state of Washington in 1902, and there my wife got

a case of old-time religion. She laid aside her jewelry, worldly

attire, secular music and every weight that would hinder her from

running a victorious Christian race. I snorted, fumed, and acted worse

than ever.

When he was eight years of age, my oldest boy took double pneumonia

and was given up by both nurse and physician. I told my wife if she

wanted to do anything she could have her way, for the boy was dying;

his nails had already turned blue. And Mrs. Waterman said, "He can't

die until the Lord lets him," So she went out and got two others who

believed in prayer. I promised them that if God would heal the boy I

would serve Him. God worked a miracle and raised up that child. But I

went on in my sins.

I was determined to build a tower that would reach to heaven and I

knew I must start the foundation right. So I sat down by the stove and

counted the cost. I looked back over my life as you would look through

a long telescope. God brought before me a lodge that I had belonged to

for twenty-one years, I could not remember anything that I had seen or

heard in it that would lead a soul to Christ or keep one out of hell,

So I put all my papers in the stove.

I had a $3000.00 life insurance with another lodge which I belonged

to for eighteen years. The devil said, "Go slow now, your family will

starve, for you will die some of these times," but I would not give

him a further hearing and put all those papers in the stove too. A

third lodge went in just for extra good measure, I stripped for this

race just as carefully as any one could who was running for his life.

Every weight was laid aside, every bridge was fully burned behind me,

I have never gone back to look in the ashes of the old stove for one

of the old things. They are gone forever.

I started down to the car barns to see about my job, whether I had

one or not, I said, "Mommie, I guess I'll have to live it and say

nothing about it to the car men. They know me so very well." I had

worked for the Pacific Electric for seven years and had been the

"limit" with the boys. My wife only smiled, and said nothing; she gave

me no advice. She says she knew God had hold of me and did not want to

spoil a good job.

So, I started in weakness down the street. Remembering my prayer of

the previous night, I looked up toward heaven and said, "Father, tell

me what to say, and I'll say it." I met a neighbor of mine who was a

church member and told her how God saved me. I went on down to the

office and testified to all the boys, "God has saved me from sin." I

did not say I had turned over a new leaf or made a new resolution,

but, "I was converted last night." They looked at me, some with tears

in their eyes, and said, "We believe it." I told the boss that I

deserved to lose my job, but that I had salvation. He said, "Waterman,

come to work in the morning; I have nothing against you."

I testified to every person I met the rest of that day, and I have

kept it up ever since. I haven't had a conversation of any length with

any person but that I told them I was a Christian. Some of the boys

made fun of me. One even cursed me, but he apologized the next day and

said he thought I was joking. Those I had gambled with gave me three

weeks to last. They put a teddy bear in my chair till I would come

back. The teddy bear still has the chair, as far as I know, and may

keep it forever.

My conversion happened under very strange circumstances. God didn't

speak to me in a church or in a mission hall, though I went to church

every Sabbath. God spoke to me at a dance. I happened to be a player

and a step-dancer. I was very fond of bagpipe playing and just as fond

of step-dancing. I was asked to play and dance at a concert and also

to give several demonstrations of step-dancing. The concert had begun.

I had already played several pieces when a minister came over to me

and said, "There's a special request that you play "The Green Hills of

Tyrone;" one of our favorite Scottish tunes.

As I came to the second part of that great tune, I found my mind

altogether wandering from the tune. My thoughts centered on another

green hill. At family worship on the farm, we frequently sang: "There

Is A Green Hill Far Away." That was the green hill before my mind as I

continued to play "The Green Hills of Tyrone." When finished, I was so

gripped by the Spirit of God and so distressed in my mind that I

turned to the other players and said, "Boys, you carry on. I'm leaving

the concert. One piper turned to me and said, "Are you not well? I

said, "I'm very well in body, but I'm terribly disturbed in my mind."

As I walked along the country road toward the farm, I saw a light

in a church. I had been away in business and had just come home to

play this dance. No one had told me that two workers of the Faith

Mission were conducting a mission in the parish. And on that

particular night they were having an all-night affair in the church

along with the minister of that parish. I was curious to know what was

happening. So I went up to the door and listened through the keyhole.

Someone was praying. I listened and who did I discover praying but my

own father. I am sure he was praying for his wayward son at the

concert and dance. Horses could not have dragged me past that church.

I was in my piper's regalia with its buckles and plates and whatnots,

two swords in one hand with which I had been demonstrating sword

dancing. and a set of bagpipes in the other. I laid them down in the

back seat and walked up the aisle and sat beside my father.

The minister looked at me and then he looked at the two girls on

the platform with him. I'm sure they thought I was either drunk or

mad. Whoever heard of a piper in full regalia walking into a prayer

meeting? I sat down beside my father, who turned to me and said, "I'm

glad to see you here." That was all. After that, a young woman from

the island of Skye, Mary Graham, a worker in the mission, stood up and

spoke for about ten minutes in Gaelic. She spoke from the text: "God

speaketh once, yea twice, but man perceiveth it not." The arrow of

conviction struck home, and now I became fearfully distressed in my

spirit, so much so that I was afraid I would create a scene in the

church.

Some time ago, two of the world's most prominent skeptics were West

and Littleton, and they were two of the most brilliant intellects of

their own or any age. They made fun of Christianity whenever they met.

By and by they said: "There are two things we must explode and then we

will have the Christian religion all tumbled into the ditch and

nothing will be left." These were the two things: They said they would

have to explain away the doctrine that Jesus Christ rose from the dead

on the third day as the Scriptures teach, and they would have to

explain that wonderful man, the Apostle Paul whose influence was so

powerful in the world eighteen centuries even after he died. West

said: I will explode the resurrection of Christ and blow it up," and

Littleton said, "I will explain Paul."

They went their ways, and after weeks and weeks, by appointment

they came together again, and Littleton said: "West, what have you to

say?" West replied: "Oh, Littleton, I have something wonderful to tell

you. When I came to explode the doctrine that Jesus of Nazareth rose

from the dead on the third day, I had to be candid; I had to be

sincere; I had to be honest; I had to search for my evidence. You may

laugh at me Littleton, if you will, but when I looked into it honestly

my mind and my deepest soul were convinced that Jesus did rise from

the dead, and I prayed to Him and He saved me, and I am His friend."

Then Littleton answered: "Thank God, West! I have some thing just

as wonderful to tell you. When I came to explain that man Paul and get

rid of him, I too had to be thorough and candid; I had to search; I

had to be true. You will rejoice with me, West, when I tell you that

after I had searched and studied about Paul, by and by I found myself

down on my knees just as Paul got down on his knees on that Damascus

road, and my cry was his: 'Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?' And I

am a Christian also West."

These two outstanding skeptics became two of the world's most noted

Christians, and have written two of the noblest apologies of the

Christian religion that have ever been penned. --George W. Truett

In about an hour I came back expecting to find the boy dead, but he

was still struggling. He looked up out of his eyes of death and said,

"There is no use, Wardmaster. I have got to die, and I haven't been

born again. Whether you believe in it or not, won't you find the

chaplain and let him tell me how to be born again?" I looked at him

for a moment and thought about how helpless he was in the grip of

death. So I said, "All right, my son, I will get you the chaplain." I

walked away a few paces and then turned and went back to the boy's

bedside.

I said, "My boy, I am not going to get you the chaplain. I am going

to tell you what to do myself. Now, understand, I am an agnostic. I

don't know whether there is any God. I don't know whether there is any

heaven. I do not know whether there is any hell. I don't know

anything. Yes, I do. I know one thing. I know my mother was a good

woman. I know, if there is a God, my mother knew Him. If there is a

heaven I know she is there. So, I will tell you what my mother told

me. You can try it and see if it works. Now I am going to teach you a

verse of Scripture. The verse is \reference{John 3:16}{John 3:16},

'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that

whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting

life.' My mother said that I can not save myself, but if I will

believe in Jesus He will save me."

I asked the boy to say the verse with me. I started and he followed

with a weak and trembling voice. I referred the lad to another verse

my mother taught me, but he closed his eyes, stretched his hands

across his breast and in a whisper he quoted slowly, repeating some of

the words of \reference{John 3:16}{John 3:16} several times: "For God

so loved the world... He gave His only begotten Son... that whosoever,

whosoever... whosoever believeth, believeth in Him, believeth in Him."

Then, he stopped and said with a dear voice, "Praise God,

Wardmaster, it works! I believe in Him! I shall not perish! I have

everlasting life! I have been born again! Wardmaster, your mother was

right. Why don't you try it? Do what your mother said. It works,

Wardmaster! This thing works! Wardmaster, before I go, I want to ask

you to do something for me. Take a kiss to my mother and tell her what

you told me, and tell her that her dying son said, 'It works.'"

I leaned over and kissed him and, then as he drew his last breath

he said, "It works."

[The old man, wiping tears out of his eyes and tears out of the

wrinkles of his face, said, "The lad was right. It does work.

Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but has now everlasting

life. It works! I know it works!"] --Bob Jones

G. Campbell Morgan told about a Christian woman who was struggling

with an important issue. She was hesitant to give her life fully to

Jesus. The woman said to Morgan, "I know I will have to do all the

things I most dislike, but I am determined to be a real Christian."

A year later, Morgan was visiting in her town and spoke with her

again. "Do you recall," she inquired, "what I said to you when I

dedicated my life to Christ?" He told her he did. As she looked at

him, the light of God appeared to be on her face. She exclaimed, "But

it's been so different, Dr. Morgan! I began to follow Christ, feeling

that I would have to do all the things that were contrary to my

desires, but now I do what I want every day because God has made me

pleased with the things that please Him!"

When I was first engaged in the ministry, I knew a man by the name

of K___, a very wicked one, whose wife was a member of my church. He

was profane, very crude and rough, and sinful, but God met him; the

Holy Spirit touched his heart, and then it seemed as if, more than

ever, he went into desperate conflict with his convictions. One day he

was out in the field plowing, and there came to him the mighty power

of the Gospel, and wrought upon his heart. When he came to tell his

experience and unite with the church, he told us this:

"I was driving my oxen around the furrow, and it seemed as if they

acted like so many demons. I could not keep them in the furrow, nor

manage them. But by and by my heart was so wrought upon that I could

not bear my convictions any longer, and I stopped my oxen, and knelt

right down here in the field and said, 'Lord Jesus, I surrender to

Thee. I give myself to Thee:' and I was converted; and I was so

blessed in my heart that I unhitched my oxen, and went right up to the

house, and told my wife. After dinner I went out plowing, and how well

the oxen behaved themselves; why, they went right along in the furrow

so well that I did not know but that they too had been converted."

When he was so wicked and rough, pounding his cattle, it is no

wonder they behaved so, but when he was toned down in his own heart it

had an effect on everything about him. Oh, how the very beasts of the

field do feel the sweet blessings that come into men's hearts, and

flow out in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. --Albert P. Graves