by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Oct 15, 2019 | Church, Sermon Illustrations
In her excellent book, Liturgy of the Ordinary, author Tish Harrison Warren deals with an issue on many people’s minds: why is it that so many people, especially younger generations, don’t consider church an essential part of their life and faith? Warren...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Oct 8, 2019 | Sermon Illustrations
The value of a US hundred-dollar bill is not based on where it has been or how it has been used. Its value is not determined by its shape, size, or color. A one-dollar bill in American currency has the same shape, size, and color as a hundred-dollar bill. If you want...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Oct 1, 2019 | Sermon Illustrations
While we are comparing, consider this. What we call “poverty” today would have been considered middle class just a few generations ago. In 2000, the average “poor” family had goods and services rivaling middle-class families of the 1970s: 60 percent had microwaves, 50...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Sep 24, 2019 | Sermon Illustrations
I witnessed a ritual sacrifice in the middle of a cool, third-wave coffee shop the other day. It’s the sort of place that attracts herds of bearded hipsters and where they brew your coffee by hand, one cup at a time. I was sitting at a long row of benches against the...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Sep 17, 2019 | Sermon Illustrations
In his book, Soul Keeping, pastor John Ortberg describes his first conversation with Dallas Willard, who would eventually become his spiritual mentor. In this early conversation, Willard begins to re-route Ortberg’s life direction, helping him see that more...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Sep 10, 2019 | Sermon Illustrations
The typical American response to pain is to take an aspirin at the slightest ache and silence the pain. That approach only deals with the symptom of the problem. We dare not shut off the warning system without first listening to the warning. A tragic example of...
