446 Sermon Illustrations on Sin

In addition to being one of the most successful baseball managers

of his day, John J. McGraw may have been responsible for there being a

third-base umpire. Long before he became a famous manager of the New

York Giants, as a young third baseman with the old Baltimore Orioles

the intensely competitive McGraw had a habit of hooking his finger in

the belt of a base runner who was tagging up to score after a long fly

ball. This trick usually slowed the runner enough so that he was

thrown out at the plate.

Despite violent protests, McGraw got away with his play for some

months - until one base runner secretly unbuckled his belt. When the

runner dashed for home, he left his belt dangling form McGraw's

finger. The need for a third-base umpire could hardly have been made

clearer.

In April 1995, a 2-year-old girl was killed by her grandmother's mixed-breed dog after playing on swings nearby. Bites from the 120-pound dog punctured the 25-pound girl's internal organs.

In March 1995, a wolf-hybrid belonging to a house guest mauled a 4-year-old boy in an unincorporated county. The boy survived.

In December 1994, a 3-year-old girl was rescued by a friend from an attack by the family Rottweiler. The girl was sitting on the floor, putting on a shoe, when the dog began mauling her.

May 1994: A 2-year-old boy survived near-scalping, gashes and a crushed arm after four Rottweilers dragged him across the street.

October 1991: A neighbor's chow crossed the street and tore part of a 3-year-old girl's face off as she played on her front porch. The dog was killed by police after a chase.

February 1991: Two pit bull terriers attacked a 6-year-old girl as she was walking to a friend's house. The girl survived. Owners of the dogs had been cited a dozen times earlier for alllowing the vicious dogs to run free..

October 1990: A 4-year-old boy was killed by a neighbor's malamute as the child ran down a road trying to catch up to his mother.

May 1990: A West Denver boy, 6, was mauled by a wolf-hybrid twice his weight as he crossed a bridge on his way to school.

May 1989: A Denver man, 58, sustained two broken legs and 70 bites after being set upon by a pit bull terrier. To rescue him, a neighbor shot the dog.

Source: Denver Post

- Ann Landers, {Courier-Journal, }Thursday, June 6, 1996

"Family Pets Are Known To Attack Kids"

Have you ever bitten into an apple and found a worm in it, and yet

the outside of the apple showed no hole or entry point for the worm?

How did the worm get inside the apple? Clearly he could not have

burrowed in from the outside. No, scientists have discovered that the

worm can come from inside. But how does he get in there? Simple! An

insect lays an egg in the apple blossom. Some time later, the worm

hatches in the heart of the apple, then eats his way out. Sin, like

the worm, begins in the heart and works out through a person's

thoughts, words, and actions.

Many of us who are trying to get rid of sin are like housewives who

destroy the spiders' webs without destroying the spiders.

Some fraternity members put Limburger cheese very gently on a

brother's moustache while he slept. He woke up about an hour later

and said, "This room stinks!" He walked into the hall and said, "This

hall stinks!" He walked into the living room and said, "This living

room stinks!" Then, greatly perplexed as to where the smell was

coming from, he walked outside and exclaimed, "This whole world

stinks!" And the real problem was right under his own nose - just

like the sin in our lives.

A Danish poet related a dream of death. On his passing into the

word beyond, an angel met him a showed him a great golden book. "What

is this?" he inquired.

"It is the book of your life," was the reply.

Looking closer, he noticed there was some writing on the first

page. "What is this?" he asked.

"These are your evil acts," said the angel, "and you see that they

are many." The angel turn the page, and the dreamer saw the next page

more closely written. "These are your evil words, and you see that

there are more of these than you evil acts," said the angel.

The poet trembled. The next page was still more closely written.

"What are these?" asked the dreamer. "These are your evil thoughts,

and you see that there are very many, for a person thinks more than he

or she speaks and acts." With trembling voice, the dreamer asked what

the fourth page contained. The angel turned it over, and lo! it was

black as midnight. "This represents you evil heart." said the angel,

"for it is out of the blackness of the human heart that all thoughts

and words and acts come."

It was testimony time at the prayer meeting. A man jumped up and

shouted, "Brothers and sisters, I have been a miserable and

contemptible sinner for years and never knew it before tonight."

A deacon shut him up with, "Sit down Brother. The rest of us have

known it for years."

Hoover Rupert, {Why Didn't Noah Swat Both Mosquitoes? }(Lima,

OH: CSS Publishing Co. Inc., 1994), p. 84

Man is the only kind of varmint that sets his own trap, baits it,

then steps in it.

- John Steinbeck, {Sweet Thursday}

Our sin can distort our view of others.

I live on a county road that is not easy to find, so when we werre

planning for a garage sale, we made many signs to direct people to our

home. It was my responsibility to put up the signs. Instead of going

to the trouble of making stakes to hold the signs. I put them on all

the stop signs, exit signs, and power poles in our area, all pointing

the way to our house. I knew that was illegal, but still decided to

take the easy way out.

The next morning one of the first cars to arrive was a County

Sheriff. My first thought was "Oh no! I am in big trouble!" I went

out to the drive and met him. With a guilty look on my face I said,

"Let me guess, I shouldn't have put the signs on the road signs."

He replied, "No, I just wanted to look at your stuff!"

Sometimes the sin in our hearts can give us the wrong view of the

words or actions of others. It may not be that they did something

wrong as much as the problem in our own hearts!

\reference{Titus 1:15}{Titus 1:15} - Unto the pure all things are

pure; but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving in nothing pure;

but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

- Pastor Otis Nixdorf @ http://www.bbfi.org/sermons/illus1.html

There is an old saying that goes, "If you haven't let go of your

sins, you're holding on to a hand grenade with the pin pulled out."

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

Publishers, 1995), p. 29

Lord Byron, a brilliant poet, spent his life in a mad search for

pleasure. Moderns would say, "He tried to live it up." Then in

despair he wrote:

######The thorns I have reaped are of the tree I planted. ######They have torn

me and I bleed. ######I should have known what fruit would spring from

such a tree.

One tiny piece of dirt in the carburetor can keep the most powerful

truck from climbing a mountain road. A rather small impurity - but

all-important in making the ascent.

Having just moved into his new office, a pompous colonel was

sitting at his desk when a private knocked on the door. Conscious of

his new position, the colonel told the private to enter, then quickly

picked up the phone and said, "Yes, General, I'll be seeing the

brigadier this afternoon, and I'll pass along your message. In the

meantime, thank you for your good wishes, sir." Feeling as though he

had sufficiently impressed the young enlisted man, he asked, "What do

you want?"

"Nothing important, sir," the private replied, "Just here to hook

up your telephone."

- {Quote}

Walking through a park, I passed a massive oak tree. A vine had grown up along its trunk. The vine started small--nothing to bother about. But over the years the vine had gotten taller and taller. By the time I passed, the entire lower half of the tree was covered by the vine's creepers. The mass of tiny feelers was so thick that the tree looked as though it had innumerable birds' nests in it.

Now the tree was in danger. This huge, solid oak was quite literally being taken over; the life was being squeezed from it. But the gardeners in that park had seen the danger. They had taken a saw and severed the trunk of the vine--one neat cut across the middle. The tangled mass of the vine's branches still clung to the oak, but the vine was now dead. That would gradually become plain as weeks passed and the creepers began to die and fall away from the tree. How easy it is for sin, which begins so small and seemingly insignificant, to grow until it has a strangling grip on our lives. And yet, Christ's death has cut the power of sin. Yes, the "creepers" of sin still cling and have some effect. But sin's power is severed by Christ, and gradually, sin's grip dries up and falls away.

-J. Alistair Brown

| My Source:

| VIGIL, Vol. XXVII, #2, February 1999

|

|------------------------------

| Author: Neal Pollard

|------------------------------

WHEN SODOM LIVED IN LOT'S FAMILY

by Neal Pollard

No more awful picture of sin "gone to seed" is painted than that which the Holy Spirit unveils in Genesis 19. A reading of this chapter will leave one with a sick feeling about the potential evil that can consume men's hearts. What a warning it is for man today.

There is a fierce battle being waged today between right and wrong. Every nation (Proverbs 14:34), family (Deuteronomy 4:40), church of Christ (Jude 1:3), and individual (James 4:7), on this earth is fighting it! The battle went poorly in Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Lot. Abraham stood before God, as recorded in Genesis 18, and pleaded with God to spare the city if he could find ten righteous souls. God said, "I will not destroy it for ten's sake" (Genesis 18:32). Apparently, there were not even ten in the entire valley. Moses later recalls, "The overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath" (Deuteronomy 29:23). The wickedness of that place and time is so notorious that it is remembered yet today (Jude 1:7).

Throughout the New Testament, Christ and others use Sodom figuratively to represent wickedness in this world. Truly, many valuable lessons today about the consequences of letting this world get too great a hold upon the heart as Sodom did Lot's family are to be learned. Not only did Lot's family live in Sodom, Sodom lived in Lot's family. That was the problem. Notice what followed this tragic state.

WHEN SODOM LIVED IN LOT'S FAMILY, respect for parents declined (Genesis 19:14). After the angels told Lot that Sodom was about to be destroyed, Lot went to warn his daughters' husbands. It is immediately apparent that they were neither spiritually-minded nor did they hold righteous Lot in too high a regard! They did not take the elder Lot seriously. In a matter of hours, consequently, they were among those consumed with fire. If they had properly honored him, they might have been spared.

When the world lives in one's heart today, respect for parents declines. They cannot tell that one anything. Their advice is perceived as a "joke." So often, by the time one believes his parents' counsel, it is too late and a life has been wrecked by folly.

God warns against such disrespect for one's parents. Under Moses' Law, there was a provision for the death penalty where such behavior by children occurred (Leviticus 20:9). Even under Christ's Law there is a warning for children to honor their parents; (cf., Ephesians 6:1-3). It is apparent when the world is in one's family, for the children hold the parents in contempt rather than with respect.

WHEN SODOM LIVED IN LOT'S FAMILY, there was a reluctance to flee evil (Genesis 19:15-16). The angels literally had to lead Lot and his family by the hand out of Sodom (16). Do not forget that what they left back there was wanton homosexuality, sadistic behavior, and total unrighteousness. Despite that, they could not bring themselves to leave.

Today, Christians are told to flee the evil of this world, to flee fornication (1 Corinthians 6:18), idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14), the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10-11), and youthful lusts (2 Timothy 2:2). In summation, he is to flee worldliness (cf., James 4:4). This concept is one that Christians might think only those in the world need. Yet, New Testament writers are telling Christians to get the world out of them.

Too many are reluctant to distance themselves from activities and associations clearly evil! When one leaves the world and gets on the safe ground of salvation, he should never forget what it is he is leaving behind--condemnation (Romans 8:1), the road to everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46), and the misery and consequences of sin (Galatians 6:7). One is not thinking in his right mind who keeps the world in his heart, longing for the harmful things he has left behind. One day this world will be destroyed (2 Peter 3:10-11). All those in and out of the church reluctant to leave evil will suffer!

WHEN SODOM LIVED IN LOT'S FAMILY, fear reigned in the place of faith (Genesis 19:17-22). The angel specifically told Lot that he would be safe up in the mountains, but he was, incredibly, too afraid! He was so influenced by the sinful society of Sodom that he was conditioned to be afraid.

That is the effect which the world can have on the backsliding Christian. It offers no solace or peace of mind. The world encourages and breeds fear. Contrast that with what God offers. Through Paul, he admonishes, "Be strong in the Lord..." (Ephesians 6:10).

The faithful Christian has no reason to fear any threat of this world (Matthew 10:28). Jesus told his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled (John 14:1). The faithful Christian also has no reason to fear the Judgment (cf., 2 Thessalonians 1:7). How perfectly clear John makes this in 1 John 4:17-18, that the faithful "May have boldness in the day of Judgment..."

If one is not living right, his fears are justified. If he does not repent, his worst fears will one day be realized. But that fear should be used as a motivation to repent. It should not be allowed to conquer and defeat the wayward.

WHEN SODOM LIVED IN LOT'S FAMILY, a deadly yearning for the earthly was stronger than the will to obey God (Genesis 19:26). This powerful lesson was learned by Lot's wife in a most graphic way. God told Lot's family not to look back at the wicked city, but Lot's wife was too enamored with it. Her glance backward was fatal. A study of Genesis 13:9-11 shows that it was the pursuit of worldliness that got them in trouble in the first place. Through the eye of sight rather than faith, Lot chose what "looked better" (cf., 2 Corinthians 5:7). And through the eye of lust, Lot's wife wanted just one more look. It was one look too many.

With grim recall, Jesus simply says, "Remember Lot's wife" (Luke 17:32). Likewise, today, when true worship loses its excitement and appeal, remember Lot's wife. When sinful activity seems too good to be true, remember Lot's wife. When the lure of the world becomes a temptation to quit the church, remember Lot's wife. When envy strikes because of a neighbor who has it all but the Lord, remember Lots' wife. If and when one's desire for the things of this earth are stronger than one's will to obey God, be careful (cf., 1 John 2:15-17).

WHEN SODOM LIVED IN LOT'S FAMILY, Sodom's immorality had taken root in their actions (Genesis 19:30-38). Unfortunately, the problems of Sodom were not completely removed, even after its destruction. Sodom was still very much in the hearts of Lot's daughters. They had regular contact with the citizens of Sodom, and its influence rubbed off on them (cf., 1 Corinthians 15:33). In such a spiritual condition, they did the unthinkable with their own father. They were blind to the common sense and wisdom later recorded by Solomon, who wrote, "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?" (Proverbs 6:27-28). They had played with the fire of Sodom and it seared their hearts.

May no one think that such cannot happen to him today. One cannot drink from the waters of religious error and not be effected. One cannot feed his mind on the garbage of this world without consequence. One cannot go where Satan is and escape his influence. It is the old adage, "Sit down with dogs; rise up with fleas."

One may think he can surround himself with evil and not be effected. But look at Lot's daughters, and what the Sodom in them produced. It was with them as with God's people centuries later, of whom Hosea bleakly commented, "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind" (Hosea 8:7). Lot's descendants would become a plague on the descendants of Abraham. What a warning that is to Christians today!

It was not a sin for Lot and his family to live in Sodom. But look at the devastation that occurred because Sodom was in them. Jesus said something interesting in his prayer to the Father in John 17:15 when he pled, "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil."

Do not think it necessary, or good, to pack up, move to the mountains, and live like a hermit. As long as Christians live, they have to be in the world! But they must never let this world get in them!

-- P.O. Box 745

Mechanicsville, VA 23111

By Myra Ross Welch (1926)

'Twas battered and scarred and the auctioneer

Thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin,

But he held it up with a smile:

"What am bidden, good folks?" he cried,

"Who'll start the bidding for me?"

"A dollar! A dollar!" then "Two! Only two?"

"Two dollars, and who'll make it three?"

"Three dollars once, three dollars twice . . .

And going for three . . . " but no.

From the room, far back, a gray-haired man

Came forward and picked up the bow.

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,

And tightening the loosened strings,

He played a melody pure and sweet,

As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer

With a voice that was quiet and low

Said, "What am I bid for the old violin?"

And he held it up with the bow.

"A thousand dollars! And who'll make it two?

"Two thousand! Who'll make it three?

"Three going once? Three going twice?

"And going . . . and gone!" said he.

The people cheered but some of them cried,

"We do not understand!

What changed its worth?" -- Swift came the reply,

"The touch of the Master's Hand."

And many a man with life out of tune

And battered and scarred with sin

Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd

Much like the old violin.

A "mess 'o pottage"

A glass of wine

A game and he travels on.

He's "going" once

And "going" twice

And "going" . . . and almost "gone"

Then along comes the Master, and the foolish crowd

Never can quite understand

The worth of a soul or the change that's wrought

By the touch of the Master's Hand.

submitted by

Matthew Cole

One rainy afternoon I was driving along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick.

Suddenly, my son Matthew spoke up from his relaxed position in the front seat. "Mom, I'm thinking of something."

This announcement usually meant he had been pondering some fact for a while and was now ready to expound all that his seven-year-old mind had discovered.

I was eager to hear. "What are you thinking?" I asked. "The rain," he began, "is like sin. And the windshield wipers are like God, wiping our sins away.

After the chill bumps-raced up my arms, I was able to respond, "That's really good, Matthew." Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little boy take this revelation? So I asked, "Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What does that tell you?"

Matthew didn't hesitate one moment with his answer. "We keep on sinning and God just keeps on forgiving us."

"Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10

An old Calvin & Hobbes cartoon

Calvin: Hobbes, do you think our morality is defined by our actions, or by what’s in our hearts?

Hobbes: I think our actions show what’s in our hearts.

[a frame passes while Calvin ponders on this]

Calvin: I RESENT THAT!

*

It's always a political battle when the government wants to establish a toxic waste dump somewhere. Not too many people are all excited about having radioactive or otherwise toxic material buried near their house. In fact, the American government has established what they call a "Superfund" to pay for the cleanup of some of those areas that can be hazardous to people's health. Well, I tell you what. I'd sure want it cleaned up if there was a toxic waste dump near where I live.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Removing The Toxic Waste."

People can accumulate toxic stuff, too - attitudes and reactions that give off a kind of spiritual radiation ... that pollutes the environment and it's hazardous to the spiritual health of others.

In our word for today from the Word of God, He orders a cleanup of the toxic waste dump that we sometimes carry around inside of us. In Colossians 3:8, God says this: "Rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips." God here is calling for zero tolerance of these hurtful ways of talking - these hurtful ways of treating people.

Later, He describes what we're like when we've started to clean up the toxic waste that we've been communicating. "Clothe yourselves with compassion, (I like this list better) kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Colossians 3:12, 13) In short, let it go instead of letting it grow.

When we're being one of those "anger, rage, malice, and slander" people, it's usually because we've become very good at being a "wrongologist" -someone who's an expert on what's wrong with our friends, what's wrong with our church, what's wrong with our coworkers, and our spouse, and our family. When you regularly focus on the things that are wrong - and there are some frankly in every person and every situation - you make yourself miserable much of the time. But it doesn't stop there. You radiate those toxins to the people around you and then you bring them down, too!

"Wrongologists" tend to rewrite that old spiritual that says, "It's not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of the prayer." Well, their song says, "It's my brother, it's my sister, it's not me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer." Well, that is the opposite of the kind of things a new person in Christ is to be known for - "compassion (that means you give other people the benefit of the doubt), kindness, humility (that means you're committed to serving other people, not judging them), gentleness (instead of harshness), and patience."

You know, Jesus didn't die to make you more religious. He died to make you like Him - to take on His characteristics. To treat people as He treated them, to lift people up, and not to tear them down. To bring joy and love and healing into the lives you touch - not negativity and criticism. Maybe you've allowed too much toxic waste to get buried in your heart. Would you talk to Jesus about that right now? He's ultimately the One who can clean that up. Let Him help you remove all that toxic garbage that contaminates you and frankly everyone around you. Then, instead of polluting your environment, you can be a breath of fresh air!

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

*

"Irresistible" Temptations

Read: Luke 4:1-13

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. --Matthew 4:1

Before I was old enough to get a driver's license, I often thought about what it would be like to drive on the open road. I was afraid I would be tempted to go as fast as the car would go. I didn't know if I would have the self-control to drive according to the speed limit and driving conditions. When I turned 16, though, I realized it was possible to control an accelerator instead of being controlled by it.

Have you ever heard about someone who justified his sin, claiming that the temptation was so irresistible that he had no other choice? Or have you ever wondered whether a certain questionable activity might actually be all right for you? After all, you reasoned, didn't this unique opportunity come along at just the right time and provide just what you thought you needed?

We learn from the temptation of Jesus Christ that when we have an occasion to sin, God will always provide a way for us to escape or He will give us the strength to resist it (Lk. 4:1-13; 1 Cor. 10:13). By relying on the Holy Spirit and the Word of God as Jesus did, we can resist temptation rather than be ruined by it.

For the Christian, there is no such thing as an irresistible temptation. --MRDII

Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;

Each victory will help you some other to win,

Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue;

Look ever to Jesus--He'll carry you through. --Palmer

Every temptation is an opportunity to trust God.

Dirty Dishes

Read: Matthew 24:32-44

Little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. --1 John 2:28

When I was a boy, my father often traveled to other cities to speak at churches and Bible conferences. Sometimes my mother would accompany him, leaving my brother and me alone for a few days. We enjoyed being independent, but we detested doing the dishes.

I remember the time we tried to put off that dreaded chore as long as possible by stacking all the dirty plates, glasses, and silverware in the oven after each meal. At the end of the week, there was hardly any room left. Then, on the evening before Mom and Dad were to return, we rolled up our sleeves and cleaned up the whole mess. It took hours! How ashamed we would have been if our parents had come back earlier than we expected.

Because we don't know exactly when Christ will return (Mt. 24:36,42,44), we must not get lazy in our Christian walk. The expectancy of His any-moment appearance should help us be "faithful and wise" servants (v.45) and live in a way that "we may have confidence and not be ashamed" when He comes (1 Jn. 2:28).

Yes, Christ will come again, just as He promised. Perhaps today! Do you have any "dirty dishes"? Now is the time to get ready. --RWD

Blessed are those whom the Lord finds watching,

In His glory they shall share;

If He shall come at the dawn or midnight,

Will He find us watching there? --Crosby

Live as if Christ died yesterday and is coming back today.

Beware Of The Bear!

Read: Hosea 13:1-8

I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs. --Hosea 13:8

Bible In One Year: Zechariah 11-14

If you have visited Alaska, you have no doubt seen warnings about the bears that roam the wilderness. Experienced old-timers who know the habits of bears offer these suggestions for safety:

* Don't climb a tree. Bears climb.

* Don't run. Bears can run faster.

* If the bear is brown, curl up and play dead. If it's black, move wildly and make lots of noise.

* Never, never offer food to a bear.

* Above all, don't get between a mother bear and her cubs.

In our Bible reading from Hosea, God described Himself as being as angry with Israel as a mother bear who has been deprived of her cubs (13:8). God had done so much to show His love, but His people had wandered away from Him and taken the path of disobedience. So He disciplined them, while reminding them of His love (13:4-6; 14:1-9).

We need to learn from what happened to Israel. To avoid God's anger and enjoy His love today:

* Love and worship Him above all (13:4).

* Don't try to hide your sin--confess it (14:1-2).

* Stay on the path of righteousness (14:9).

Our God is a jealous God (Ex. 34:14). He loves us but He will not tolerate disobedience. Beware of the Bear! --DCE

God loves us, it's true, but don't be deceived

And think that without Him you'll win;

He's not only love, He's also the Lord

Who deals with His children who sin. --K. De Haan

God's love is to be enjoyed, not tested.

Sin

A Florida woman was sentenced to 12 months in a Jamaican prison for

smuggling cocaine in her hair. Shurwanda Brown pleaded guilty to charges of

possession and dealing in nearly 2.2 pounds of cocaine. Brown aroused police

suspicion before she boarded an Air Jamaica flight to Orlando because she had

unusually high hair. A search of her hair revealed a package of cocaine wrapped

in a stocking. (USA Today 12-2-99)

TS--How many times do we refuse to let go of old sins and try and smuggle them

past God? Your sins will find you out. Submitted by Michael Rains

SIN

(DISTRACTIONS)

According to Jeff Gammage in the Chicago Tribune, in the summer of 1996 several thoroughbred racehorses in Kentucky developed foul nasal odors and bloody noses followed by infections in their nostrils. When veterinarians examined the horses, to their astonishment they found small egg-shaped sponges deep in the horses' nasal passages.

Where did the sponges come from?

Authorities determined that someone wanting to fix races had tampered with the horses, inserting the sponges to interfere with the horses' breathing, cut down their oxygen intake, and slow them down. Ten instances of such "sponging" were reported within a nine-month period, and the FBI was called in to investigate.

Like sponges in a thoroughbred's nostrils, sins and distractions weaken a Christian. They take away from what God wants us to be and do.

Choice Contemporary Stories & Illustrations For Preachers, Teachers & Writers

Craig Brian Larson, Baker, p. 70.

SIN

(LEADS TO DEATH)

According to tradition, this is how an Eskimo hunter kills a wolf.

First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. He then adds layer after layer of blood until the blade is completely concealed by the frozen blood.

Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder, the wolf licks the blade in the cold Arctic night. His craving for blood becomes so great that the wolf does not notice the razorsharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue. Nor does he recognize the instant when his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite continues to crave more until in the morning light, the wolf is found dead on the snow!

Many kids begin using drugs, drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, or engaging in unsafe sexual behavior for the same reasons that the wolf begins licking the knife blade. It seems safe and delicious at first, but it doesn't satisfy. More and more is desired, leading to a crisis-or death.

Don't be fooled by the temptations of sin. Like the wolf, we can get away with it for a while. Eventually, however, its true character is revealed. Sin leads to death and destruction. "For the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23).

Hot Illustrations For Youth Talks

Wayne Rice, Zonderzan, pp. 87-88.

SIN

(MISSING THE MARK)

Let's say we were to get twenty of the best broad jump or long jump athletes in the world and take them to Huntington Beach pier and line them up. And let's say they were instructed, "We went you to jump as far as you can out into the water." Some could jump twenty-five feet. Some would come near the record and jump twenty-seven feet. Perhaps one could set a new record and jump twenty-nine or thirty feet. But nobody could jump to Catalina Island. It is humanly impossible. Every person would miss the mark because Catalina Island is twenty-six miles away.

In Romans 3:23, there is the universal statement that God gives to all men when He says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We all have missed the mark and are in need of the saving grace of God.

The Tale Of The Tardy Oxcart

Charles R. Swindoll, Word, p. 523.

SIN

(SAY NO TO)

In the 1960s, drug companies were presenting nearly 700 applications a year to the Federal Drug Administration for new medicines. The stressed New Drug Section only had sixty days to review each drug before giving approval or requesting more data.

A few months after Dr. Frances Kelsey joined the FDA, an established pharmaceutical firm in Ohio applied for a license to market a new drug, Kevadon. In liquid form, the drug seemed to relieve nausea in early pregnancy. It was given to millions of expectant women, mostly in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Although scientific studies revealed harmful side effects, the pharmaceutical firm printed 66,957 leaflets declaring its safety. The company exerted great pressure on Dr. Kelsey to give permission for labels to be printed, in anticipation of the drug's approval.

Dr. Kelsey reviewed the data and said no. Through several rounds of applications, she continued to find the data "unsatisfactory." After a fourteen-month struggle, the company humbly withdrew its application. "Kevadon" was thalidomide, and by that time, the horror of thalidomide deformities was becoming well publicized! One firm "no" decision by Dr. Kelsey spared untold agony in the United States.

Sometimes standing your ground on something may not seem that important but in time you may see the "big" picture.

God tells us to stay away from sin because He knows how harmful it is to our physical and spiritual well being. Although the world is pressing us to say yes to sin, we must have the courage to stand up and say "NO" (Tit. 2:12). It may not be the most popular decision, but it will be the wisest decision.

God's Little Devotional Book

Honor Books, p. 53.