After the Civil War in the fall of 1865, John Broadus and the faculty of the fledgling Southern Baptist Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina, became burdened for more preachers of the gospel to help heal the nation's gaping wounds. To help remedy that...
John Chancellor, at the age of 67, was just easing his way into retirement after 43 years in the broadcasting business as a journalist. He was seen often on the NBC Nightly News. At this point in his life, there was not a cloud in the sky. All was well, and life was good....
John Wesley was a tireless servant of God, and a man who had little use for leisure time. Across his lifetime, this eighteenth-century English evangelist planted churches, established orphanages, opposed slavery, wrote books, trained and ordained...
The story is told of a time when a great Scottish preacher prayed in the morning service for rain. As he went to church in the afternoon his little daughter said, "Here is the umbrella, Papa." The seasoned church leader looked quizzically and asked, "What...
Abraham Lincoln was a man known for his wit and wisdom. On one occasion he asked a critic, "How many legs would a dog have if you counted its tail as a leg?" The man thought for a minute and then said, "Five." "No," retorted Lincoln! "The answer is four....
In the book Holy, Holy, Holy, R. C. Sproul tells the story of his second year in teaching. He had been assigned to teach a class on Old Testament Introduction to 250 college freshmen. As part of the coursework, Dr. Sproul required three small papers due on...
Traveling by train within the United States, Bishop William Quayle fell into conversation with some of his fellow passengers. The bishop was not wearing his religious garb at the time, and so one of the passengers was curious to know what he did for a living....
Robert Murray McCheyne was a gifted and grace-filled preacher of the gospel in Scotland. He entered Edinburgh University at the age of fourteen in 1827, after which he went on to lead a Presbyterian congregation to over a thousand by the age of twenty-three....
While I was ministering at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Toledo, Ohio, there was a man in our congregation who was a senior pilot with Northwest Airlines. He was among their top ten senior pilots and had some thirty years of flying the Boeing 747 around the...
When a young couple gets married, they immediately dream of getting their own house. They work hard and set about saving their money for a down payment on their dream house. Finally, the day arrives when they draw up the papers to buy the house. They meet with...
I have a friend in ministry who has a wonderful habit of invariably finishing a conversation especially when talking of difficult problems or people with the words, “It is all good.” His words are based on the wonderful promise of Paul in Romans 8:28 where those loved by God are reminded that God is actively working all things in their lives together for their good....
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Phillips Brooks, the former New England pulpiteer, was known for his calm demeanor. So you can guess the surprise of his associates when they found him pacing up and down the floor of his study like a lion in a cage. One of the friends asked, "What is the trouble, Dr. Brooks?" He abruptly responded, "The trouble is that I am in a hurry, but God isn't."...
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Before entering the ministry, I spent some six years as a reserve police officer in the Royal Ulster Constabulary. At the time, Northern Ireland was dealing with the insurgency of the IRA terrorist organization which was trying to force the British out of Northern Ireland against the will of the majority of its people. As a police officer, I was a target for assassination....
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I once read about an Ambassador from Spain to America who did not know the English language very well. In a meeting with an American diplomat they began to engage in some small talk, and so the Ambassador was asked if he had any children....
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Daniel Boone was one of the heroes of the American frontier. It is said that he was once returning from the uncharted forests beyond the Kentucky River, and was asked by a lady if he was ever lost. The famous scout replied, “I cannot say I was ever lost, ma’am, but I was bewildered for three days.”...
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Some years back the Readers Digest magazine told the story that when someone suggested that rowing become part of the Clemson University’s athletic program, Athletic Director, Frank Howard, declared...
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A generation back there was a famous Hollywood actor named Spencer Tracy who starred in such notable flicks as Captain Courageous (1937), Father of the Bride (1950), and The Old Man and the Sea (1958). Most people in that day...
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When David Thoreau, the American writer, was on his deathbed, he was visited by a minister who urged his dying friend to be ready for death. The pastor queried, “Do you know where you are going in the next life?” Thoreau...
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William Temple, 98th Archbishop of Canterbury, famously said: “Prayer is not the overcoming of God’s reluctance but the laying hold of His willingness.” In these words...
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We say that a first impression can be a lasting impression and indeed that is true. The first time we do something is often the most memorable. The first time we meet someone we...
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