Understanding
Does Understanding Equal Truth?
"Just because you can't
understand something doesn't make it untrue." --Kent Crockett
One Advantage of Ageing
"In youth we learn; in age we understand." --Maria Ebner-Eschenbach
Not Understanding What He Read
One guy confessed, "I've
only read one book in my life and I didn't understand it."
When told it was the
dictionary, he replied, "Well, no wonder it kept changing the subject!"
Kent Crockett's Sermon Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
Why the Bird Sings
"The bird does not sing
because it has an answer; it sings because it has a song."--Chinese proverb
Kent Crockett's Sermon
Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
Unity
Sticking Together
"Christians, like snowflakes, are frail, but when they stick together they can stop traffic." --Vance Havner
Two Better Than One
"Two Christians are better than one--when they're one." --Our Daily Bread
How to Spell Unity
"Unity means U in I and I in U." --Fred Price
Agree to Disagree
"It is okay to disagree, but do it agreeably. We can agree to disagee--until the Lord shows you that I'm right!" --Harry Ramey (joking)
If Not in Unity
"We can work in harmony if we are in unity. But if we aren't in unity, the harmony will be horrible." --Mark Moore
Unity and Diversity
"Unity without diversity leads to uniformity, and uniformity tends to produce death. However, if diversity is not kept under control, it will destroy unity." --Unknown
Not Twin Brothers
We can be brothers without being twin brothers.
What Unites Also Divides
"What unifies also
divides. If I asked everyone with blue eyes to stand up, it would separate them
from those who have brown eyes. When we choose to follow Jesus, it separates us
from those who don't." --Kent Crockett
www.kentcrockett.com
Jesus said, "Do not think
that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a
sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her
mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." (Matt. 10:34-35)
How to Unify a Church
Former pastor Eric Daniel
Harris, 37, pled guilty to the November 1996 arson that burned down the Kentucky
Missionary Baptist Church in Saline County, Arkansas. According to a federal
prosecutor, Harris said he did it because "there was a division among church
members, and they needed a project to unify them." --News of the Weird, March
30, 2000
Value
Garage Sale Prices
A friend of
mine bought an almost new $125 ski bib for a nickel at a garage sale. At one
time, the original owner wanted it badly enough to pay $125. As time passed, the
owner’s appreciation for the item dwindled down to a mere five cents.
Many people
put garage sale prices on their blessings, ready to surrender them to the lowest
bidder. Are you one of those people?
(Kent
Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers,
2004, 170)
Vision
Definition of Vision
Vision is hope with a blueprint.
Like a Polaroid Picture
When you take a Polaroid
picture, the longer you look at it, the clearer it gets. The longer you look at
the vision God has given you, the more defined it becomes. God's will might look
fuzzy at first, but becomes clearer with time.
Kent Crockett's Sermon Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
Seeing It Before It Happens
"I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp in-focus picture of it in my head."--pro golfer Jack Nicklaus
Voting vs. Vision
The pastor of a church
decided that God was calling the church to a new vision. So at the deacons'
meeting, he presented the new vision with as much conviction and passion as he
could muster. When he finished, the deacon chairman called for a vote. All 12
deacons voted against the new vision, with only the pastor voting for it.
"Well, pastor, it looks like you'll have to rethink your vision," the deacon
chairman said. "Would you like to close the meeting in prayer?"
The pastor raised his hands to heaven and prayed, "Lord! Please show these
people that it's not MY vision but it's YOUR vision!"
At that very moment, the clouds darkened and a bolt of lightning shot through
the window, splitting the table in two. The deacons were all knocked out of
their chairs as the pastor remained standing untouched.
As the deacons dusted themselves off, the chairman said, "Well, that's twelve
votes to two now."
Kent Crockett's Sermon
Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
The Vision of a Church
To make the VISION of a
church become a reality:
We need to ENVISION the
future together.
We need the SUPERVISION
of the leadership.
We need the PROVISION of
God.
Kent Crockett's Sermon
Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
Waiting
It is Just a Delay
Our son Scott called home
on the cell phone, telling us that traffic had stopped on the Interstate and
that he would be late arriving. My wife started worrying and said, “I hope he’ll
be okay.”
I told her, “There’s
nothing to worry about. It’s just a delay.”
My words caught me by
surprise, as it seemed God was repeating those words to me. I had been waiting
for the Lord to answer one of my prayers. It was like He said, “There’s nothing
to worry about. It’s just a delay.”
--Kent Crockett
www.kentcrockett.com
Wisdom
To Speak on Not to Speak
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." --Sam Levenson (American humorist & author, 1911-1980)
Get It In Writing
A young man loaned an
acquaintance $500, but failed to get the borrower's signature on a receipt. When
the guy hadn't paid him back a year later, he realized he had probably lost the
money due to lack of proof. He asked his father what to do.
"The answer is simple,"
his father said. "Just write him and say you need the $1,000 you loaned him.
"You mean $500," his son
replied.
"No, you need to say
$1,000. He'll immediately write back that he only owes you $500, and then you'll
have it in writing!"
Kent Crockett's Sermon Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
You Have Got to Ask for It
"Just remember that when you don't know what to do, God always knows what to do, and He will tell you (James 1:5)." --Kent Crockett
Wisdom is Better Than Intelligence
"You might not be able to improve your I.Q., but you can improve your W.Q. by praying for wisdom."--Kent Crockett
Wisdom is a Pass Key
When I was in college, I
lived in a dorm that had 100 rooms, with a lock on each door. It took 100 keys
to open those 100 doors. However, the person in charge had a pass-key. That
single key had the ability to open the doors to every room in the dorm.
Wisdom is like a
pass-key, that will unlock difficult decisions and open doors for you. The Lord
is the only one who has the key, but He'll loan it to you, if you'll ask for it.
James 1:5 (NASV) says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
--Kent Crockett
Kent Crockett's Sermon Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
Common Sense versus Wisdom
"Common sense is the ability to see the
obvious. Wisdom is the ability to see beyond the obvious."--Kent Crockett
Work
The Workaholic
One
workaholic stood at a busy intersection holding a sign that read, "Will Work for
the Fun of It." Although God wants us to enjoy our work, he also wants us to
enjoy our rest. (Kent Crockett, The 911 Handbook, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson
Publishers, 2003, 90)
Worldly
How the World Views Christians
"If you are living in a
world where everyone limps, a person who walks normally is considered abnormal."
--Peter Lord
Kent Crockett's Sermon Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
The World Is Not Round
A teacher asked a
student, "Is the world round?"
"No, ma'am," he answered.
"Is it flat?" she asked.
"No, ma'am," he replied.
"Well, if it's not round
and it's not flat, then what is it?"
"It's crooked!" he
explained.
He got it right. The
world that we live in is crooked.
Kent Crockett's Sermon
Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
Worry
Worry Makes Life Hard
Worrying
can be more stressful on us than actually going through what we fear. My son
Scott transferred from a small private school to a large middle school in
seventh grade. He had to make numerous adjustments and hated every one of them.
He constantly complained about having to attend the new school.
I prayed
with him every night and gave him some fatherly advice. “Scott, don’t worry
about it. It’s not as bad as you think.”
He
responded, “Dad, it’s not that easy. It’s hard not to worry.”
By November
I noticed he hadn’t said anything about disliking the new school. “Scott,” I
asked, “You seem more relaxed than you were a month ago. Are you still having
problems adjusting to school?”
He
answered, “Yes, but I quit worrying about it. I found out that worrying was
harder on me than actually going through it.”
Many people
never learn that it’s usually more draining to worry than it is to experience
the thing they dread. Prayer can remove the weight of worry.
(Kent
Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers,
2004, 133-134)
Writing
Dr. Seuss Rejected by 27 Publishers
When Theodor Seuss Geisel
(Dr. Seuss) wrote his first children's book, And to Think That I Saw It on
Mulberry Street, it was rejected by 27 publishers. A friend finally
published his work in 1937, which was the beginning of a successful writing
career.
By the time of death in
1991, Geisel's books had sold more than 200 million copies in 15 languages.
Since his death another 22 million of his books have been sold. What if he had
quit after his 26th rejection from a publisher?