Illustrations Archives

• Illustration: Memory  (July 21, 2010)
  Two middle-aged couples were enjoying friendly conversation when one of the men asked the other, "Fred, how was the memory clinic you went to last month?"
• Illustration: Missions and Evangelism  (July 21, 2010)
  In an article in the July 26, 2003 issue of World magazine, Gene Veith points out that, ?Christianity is growing at a rate that is nearly unparalleled in the history of the church. Yet this growth primarily is taking place in cultures that previously have not been Christian at all. In historically Christian societies, where for centuries upon centuries the church has thrived, Christianity seems to be fading.
• Illustration: Apologies  (July 21, 2010)
  British Prime Minister Tony Blair came to Washington and spoke to a joint session of Congress on July 17, 2003. Early in his speech he commented, ?On our way down here, Sen. Frist was kind enough to show me the fireplace where in 1814 the British had burned the Congressional Library. I know this is kind of late, but: Sorry.?
• Illustration: Different Approaches  (July 19, 2010)
  A veterinarian was feeling ill and went to see her doctor. The doctor asked her all the usual questions: What are your symptoms? How long have they been occurring? Etcetera. Finally the vet interrupted the doctor, saying...
• Illustration: Jesus  (July 19, 2010)
  In their book Jesus Manifesto (Thomas Nelson), Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola share this: ?There is a billboard in Oklahoma that reads, 'Eternity is hell without Jesus.?
• Illustration: Summer Camp  (July 12, 2010)
  Dear Mom, Our Scout Master told us all write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and worried. We are OK. Only two of our tents and four sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Jeff when it happened. Oh yes, please call Jeff's mother and tell her he is OK. He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue Jeeps. It was neat.
• Illustration: Faithfulness  (July 12, 2010)
  The woman's husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months, yet she had stayed by his bedside every single day. One day, when he came to, he motioned for her to come nearer.
• Illustration: Grandparents  (July 1, 2010)
  When the 3-year-old boy opened the birthday gift from his grandmother, he discovered a water pistol. He squealed with delight and headed for the nearest sink.
• Illustration: Hope  (July 1, 2010)
  Milton Berle told the story of four widows who were playing cards in the retirement home where they lived. A good-looking, older fellow walks in, bags under each arm. "What's a good-looking man like you doing here?" one asks.
• Illustration: Lost  (July 1, 2010)
  Chester Harding was painting Daniel Boone's portrait in 1820, when Boone was nearly 86 years old. Harding asked Boone if he had ever been lost during his travels. Boone replied, ?No, I can't say as ever I was lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.?
• Illustration: The Challenge of Preaching  (July 1, 2010)
  Bruce Thielemann once wrote, ?The pulpit calls those anointed to it like the sea calls its sailor; and like the sea, it batters and bruises, and does not rest...To preach, to really preach, is to die naked a little at a time, and to know each time you do it that you must do it again.?
• Illustration: Loneliness  (June 28, 2010)
  David Jeremiah wrote: ?When missionary Amy Carmichael went to India, she suffered from acute, prolonged loneliness and homesickness. The other missionaries tried to be kind to her, but they were busy and had their own interests. One day, Amy's condition became almost intolerable, and when her mail arrived, she ran into the house, into her bedroom. Locking the door, she knelt by her bed. There she opened her letters and read them aloud, one by one, to her heavenly Father."
• Illustration: Life Is Short  (June 28, 2010)
  A distraught patient phoned her doctor's office. Was it true, the woman wanted to know, that the medication the doctor had prescribed was to be taken for the rest of her life? She was told that it was.
• Illustration: Choices, Improvements  (June 21, 2010)
  A farmer was driving along the road with a load of fertilizer. A little boy, playing in front of his house, saw him and called, "What have you got in your truck?"
• Illustration: Second Coming  (June 21, 2010)
  David Jeremiah writes: ?The Diamond Wedding Gown, offered exclusively by a chic bridal salon in Beverly Hills, can be yours for only $12 million. It's the most expensive wedding dress in the world, and it's bedecked with 150 carats of diamonds. If that's over your budget, you might consider the world's second most expensive wedding dress. It comes in at a mere $8.5 million and features 1,000 pearls and a rare five-carat white gold diamond."
• Illustration: Opportunity  (June 14, 2010)
  The right time to do the right thing is always right now. Recent reports indicate that George Washington, if he were alive today, would owe a huge library fine. New York City?s oldest library has a ledger that indicates George Washington never returned two books he borrowed in 1789.
• Illustration: Media, Influence of  (June 14, 2010)
  A recent study form the Dartmouth Medical School says that middle school children who are allowed to watch R-rated movies are more likely to start drinking alcohol. Twenty-five percent of those who said their parents let them watch the movies ?all the time? started drinking. Nineteen percent who said their parents let them watch ?sometimes? had started drinking. Only 3 percent who were forbidden to watch R movies had started drinking.
• Illustration: Hope  (June 14, 2010)
  Jennifer Arnold recently was featured in a PBS documentary titled, "Though the Eyes of a Dog." It chronicles her organization, which is involved in the training of service dogs and matching them with people in need. USA Today also told her story.
• Illustration: Happiness  (June 14, 2010)
  People have their own various interesting takes on happiness. Don Marquis was reported to have said, ?Happiness is the interval between periods of unhappiness.? Schweitzer said, ?Happiness? That is nothing more than health and a poor memory.?
• Illustration: God, Creator  (June 14, 2010)
  The leaf cutter bee cuts a round piece of leaf to line a nest. Then she cuts oval pieces for the sides. Here she lays an egg and places near it a paste of pollen-nectar to feed the larva that will hatch. Then she cuts another round piece to close the opening. She makes some of the pieces round and some of them oval. How does she know to do that? Can this be explained in natural terms alone? Those who have eyes to see can perceive evidence of a designer and creator.