Sermon Illustrations

"Holy Ground"

Recently, I came across an internet story about (one of my childhood idols and American icon) Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Perhaps most of you are aware that Fred Rogers, was a Presbyterian Minister, and died – February 27 - in 2003 at the age of 74.

But what you might not be aware of is a story that he - shared once - about visiting different churches each Sunday (during his days as a seminarian at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) in order to hear a variety of preachers.

According to Mr. Rogers, one Sunday, he was treated to “the most poorly crafted sermon he had ever heard, but when he turned to the friend who had accompanied him, he found her in tears. It was exactly what I needed to hear, she told Mister Rodgers. That’s when Mister Rodgers realized “the space between someone doing the best he or she can and someone in need is HOLY GROUND”.