Sermon Illustrations

The daughter of a preacher picked up a paper packet of straight pins from her mother’s sewing basket. As it fell open dramatically, the little girl gave one astonished look, then dashed to the study, saying, “Look, daddy, look! Here’s your congregation; see? Pew after pew of them, sitting in rows with their hats on! But look out, for they’re all awfully sharp at the other end!”

“They are, indeed,” he agreed, and added, “Here I am, slaving over next Sunday’s sermon, using Paul’s text ‘called to be saints.’ And here you are, bringing me saints from my own sanctuary. Had you noticed that the poor things can only go as far as their heads will allow them?

How far will your head let you go? What kind of faith do you have? How much of what God promised do you believe?

The preacher continued speaking to his little daughter, “On Sunday I’m going to quote from an ancient Letter to Diognetus which says, ‘Christians hold the world together.’ The point is, could we trust this congregation to hold anything together long? I can see that they might fall out, or get bent, or not want to stick together, or maybe even prick one another, so that they will never come back.”

Can you believe that Christians hold the world together? Do you believe the Christians in this church are part of those holding the world together? Will you believe that you as a Christian will be used of God to help hold the world together?

Do you know where you fit into the purpose of God? To know that, you must have A Sense of What’s Possible when we cooperate with God.