Sermon Illustrations

One of my most treasured possessions is this quilt. It was finished by my grandmother, but it has a remarkable story. Many years ago, after my great-grandmother had passed away, my grandparents were going through her things. They discovered a box filled with quilt squares. Each square bore the image of a U. S. President.

My grandfather instantly recognized what he was looking at. When he was a child, his mother had started an ambitious project: a quilt bearing the images and signatures of all the U. S. Presidents. She invited her son, my grandfather to help her. As a child, he traced the images of each of the Presidents (who had served up until that time) and their signatures. But, for some reason the project was delayed. The squares were placed in a box, and the quilt was never completed.

That is, until, it was discovered anew by my grandparents following the passing of my great-grandmother. They took the squares and finished the quilt. My grandfather traced the remaining images (Ronald Reagan is the last image on the quilt) and signatures. My grandmother placed the images accordingly and finished the quilt.

They took what was laid aside, discarded, forgotten and fashioned something that is quite beautiful and unique. God, in Jesus, does a similar thing with our lives. He picks up the pieces and patches them together as they were originally intended to be.