7th Sunday of Easter

Illustrations



 

. "A senior executive of one of the largest banks in New York told how he had risen to a place of prominence and influence. At first he served as an office boy, then one day, the president of the company called him aside and said,"I want you to come into my office and be with me each day." The young man replied, "But what could I do to help you, sir ? I don't know anything about finances." "Never mind that!!! You will learn what I want to teach you a lot faster if you just stay by my side and keep your eyes and ears open." That was the most significant experience of my life," said the now famous banker. "Being with that wise man made me just like him. I began to do things the way he did, and that accounts for what I am today."

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I once formed a mutual encouragement fellowship at a time of stress in one of my pastorates. The members subscribed to a simple formula applied before speaking of any person or subject that was perhaps controversial.

* T < Is it true?

* H< Is it helpful?

* I < Is it inspiring?

* N< Is it necessary?

* K< Is it kind?

If what I am about to say does not pass those tests, I will keep my mouth shut! And it worked!

- Alan Redpath, from A Passion for Preaching

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SOULS IN DANGER

Two Ladies were sharing lunch together when one said to the other: "I don't know many Christians, but somehow I can't help regarding them as hypocrites."


Said the other, "But your sister-in-law, she lives in the same house with you; surely you must acknowledge that she is a devoted Christian."
 

"That's just it," was the laughing reply. "She has a very lovely disposition, and she devotes her life to missions and Sunday schools, but she has never said a word to me about becoming a Christian. It's only make-believe with her about souls being in danger. You need not tell me! I know that she is fond of me, but if she believed all that, don't you think she would not have said something?"

Contributed by: Brian Archer

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A Thought

You can give man social and economic freedom, but if his thirst for fellowship with God remains unquenched, he will still behave like an animal.

Witness the prosperity of Western civilization at this very moment. We have everything a machine age can provide, yet boredom and unhappiness have reached an all time high and our morals have plunged to an all-time low. The reason: our hunger for God has not been satisfied.

- Billy Graham, The Secret Of Happiness, p. 74.

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The 15-year-old boy was having a hard time working in his father's store all summer. He knew it was necessary, but there were many things he would rather be doing on hot sunny days. To make it worse, his father was a perfectionist and spent much of his time looking over his son's shoulder, checking on the quality of his work. It was bad enough to be cooped up inside every day while his friends played ball, swam, and generally enjoyed life. It was worse to be constantly scrutinized and judged in every little thing he did. He told his father this one day and it was agreed that if 15 was old enough to earn money, it was old enough to be trusted to do a good job. From that point on, his father restrained himself and let other workers check his son's progress.

For the boy, this was quite a change. Instead of pointing out every little mistake, the workers gave the boss's son the benefit of every doubt and praised him. They gave his father glowing reports of the boy's work and seldom gave any direction or criticism. The boy was uncertain where he stood at first, but then he began to take pride in what he was doing and the workers who watched were even more impressed. Both father and son gained: the father began to see his son through other's eyes, and the son realized how to please others by first pleasing himself.