15 Sermon Illustrations on Man

A dull man is so near a dead man, that he is hardly to be ranked in the list of the living: and as he is not to be buried whilst he is half alive, so he is as little to be employed whilst he is half dead. Sacille.

The Russian astronaut Gherman Titoy said after his return from space: "Some people say there is a God out there. . . . but in my travels around the earth all day long, I looked around and didn't see Him. . . . I saw no God nor angels. The rocket was made by our own people. I don't believe in God. I believe in man, his strength, his possibilities, his reason."

"In 1924 the Soviet revolutionist Leon Trotsky promised that with

the abolition of God would come a new breed of man. 'Man will become

immeasurable stronger, wiser and subtler; his body will become more

harmonized, his movements more rhythmic,' Trotsky wrote. 'The average

human type will rise to the heights of an Aristotle, a Goethe, or a

Marx. And above this ridge new peaks will rise.' Today's Russian

laughs at such words, but not our philosophical elite. Instead they

promise a new breed of human who can be moral without God. Could we

be so blind in the enlightened '90s? Where will we find the

motivation to love? To be honest, selfless, good? History

demonstrates that apart from Jesus Christ we will never find it within

ourselves." -- Graeme Crouch

Being male is a matter of birth. Being a man is a matter of choice.

-{ Ben Kinchlow}

- Tom Sirotnak, {Warriors}, (Nashville: Broadman & Holman

Publishers, 1995), p. 10

Spiritual Trees

Read: Psalm 1

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season. --Psalm 1:3

Godly men and women are compared in Scripture to sturdy, healthy trees, planted by the rivers of water, laden with fruit, and full of leaves (Ps. 1:3; 104:16). In order for us to be fruitful trees, we must:

1. Stand straight for God. Lives that reveal Christlike character are lovely to behold, for they are not gnarled by sin or rotted by hypocrisy.

2. Be strong. Those who are well-rooted in God's Word will be unmovable in times of trial and temptation.

3. Keep growing. As healthy trees add a new ring of growth each year, we too should constantly grow in grace (2 Pet. 3:18).

4. Bring blessing to others. Some trees provide food, others give shade, and others are made into lumber. So too, Christians should provide spiritual food and comfort to their neighbors, as well as use their time and talents to build people up in the Lord.

5. Be ready to be transplanted when God so wills. Christians are not here to stay; they are waiting to be transplanted in the garden of heaven where their fruit will never wither and their leaf will never fade.

How good a tree are you? Is there any fruit, any beauty, any growth worth talking about? Or are you wilted and unproductive? Get growing! --Henry G. Bosch (ODB Editor 1956-1981)

The just are nourished like a tree

Set by the riverside;

Their leaf is green, their fruit is sure,

And thus their works abide. --Anon.

When growth stops, decay begins.

(Remember This is just tongue-in-cheek and not the way “REAL” men think about women and do things!)

Because I'm a man, when I lock my keys in the car I will fiddle with a wire clothes hanger and ignore your suggestions that we call a road service until long after hypothermia has set in.

Because I'm a man, when the car isn't running very well, I will pop the hood and stare at the engine as if I know what I'm looking at. If another man shows up, one of us will say to the other, “I used to be able to fix these things, but now with all these computers and everything, I wouldn't know where to start.”

Because I'm a man, when one of our appliances stops working I will insist on taking it apart, despite evidence that this will just cost me twice as much once the repair person gets here and has to put it back together.

Because I'm a man, I must hold the television remote control in my hand while I watch TV. If the thing has been misplaced, I may miss a whole show looking for it (though one time I was able to survive by holding a calculator).

Because I'm a man, I don't think we're all that lost, and no, I don't think we should stop and ask someone. Why would you listen to a complete stranger - I mean, how could he know where we're going?

__________

Source: The Funnies, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/andychaps_the-funnies

*

…. the breath of man that I have created. –Isaiah 57:16

Chickens everywhere. In the living room. In the bedroom. In the kitchen. . . . Nothing wrong with chickens, you understand, but would you want them to have the run of your house? Talk about fowl! Or is it foul?

The woman in Virginia who lets chickens rule her roost shares her abode with more than 100 of the feathery little critters. I’ve heard of people with lots of cats (which also gives me pause to wonder) but 100 chickens?

Well, the chicken woman does have her reasons. Her goal is to rescue chickens from poultry farms, where she says the hens are “murdered.” To her, next week’s fare at KFC is being subjected to something she considers comparable to the Holocaust, so she tries to save them.

To this woman, there is no distinction between chickens and people–and people have no right to kill chickens. The frightening thing is that her thinking is not all that unusual these days. Growing numbers of activists are teaching that your little Foofoo and this lady’s chickens and the crocodiles that Steve Irwin wrestles are all equal with people. To them, one life is no more valuable than another. Man or mouse. Boy or bobcat. Woman or wombat. All the same.

This is, of course, where Darwin’s theories of evolution get us. If everything evolved from a one-celled thingamajig, then we’re all cousins anyway. People may be able to build tall buildings and invent the Internet and go to the moon, but to these folks we’re no more special than an aardvark.

Chicken feathers!

Clearly, God did the most special thing when He breathed life into that first human, Adam. In that activity, God demonstrated how unique mankind is. Created as we are in God’s image and energized by the breath of our Creator, we stand alone in God’s creation. We are so special that God sent His perfect Son to earth to rescue us.

Chickens are fine. Dogs are great. Cats are . . . well . . . cats. And we need to treat them all humanely. But God did something special when He made Adam and Eve. It’s another reason to give Him our praise, honor, and adoration. –DB

REFLECTION: The Bible says we are to have dominion over the animals. How can I show my concern for animals without going to an extreme? * What difference does it make if I believe mankind is special? How does that change my view of life?

You are special! God made you that way!