UnashamedSermons.com » Illustrations

Career vs. Calling

Darren Ethier — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:35:40 +0000

“Career is what you’re paid for, but a calling is what you’re made for.”

- Bob Shank

Sometimes the Solution is Easier than You Think

Darren Ethier — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:10:11 +0000

Mensa is an organization whose members have an IQ of 140 or higher. A few years ago, there was a Mensa convention in San Francisco, and several members lunched at a local café. While dining, they discovered that their saltshaker contained pepper and their peppershaker was full of salt. How could they swap the contents of the bottles without spilling, and using only the implements at hand? Clearly this was a job for Mensa! The group debated and presented ideas, and finally came up with a brilliant solution involving a napkin, a straw, and an empty saucer. They called the waitress over to dazzle her with their solution.

“Ma’am,” they said, “we couldn’t help but notice that the peppershaker contains salt and the saltshaker?”

“Oh,” the waitress interrupted. “Sorry about that.” She unscrewed the caps of both bottles and switched them.

—Found on MSN; submitted by Sherman Lee Burford, Tuskegee Institute, Alabama to PreachingToday.com

A moment of Grace

Darren Ethier — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:08:52 +0000

On April 26, 2008, the Western Oregon women’s softball team played against Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. During the course of the game, Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky hit the first homerun of her college career. She dropped her bat and started to make her way around the bases. In the midst of all the excitement, she forgot to tag first base. When the first base coach brought the mistake to her attention, she quickly turned around. To everyone’s horror, her right knee buckled. Crying, she tried her best to crawl back to the base. Tucholsky’s teammates were warned that if they touched her, she would be called out. The umpires also noted that if her coaches opted to call in a pinch runner, the homerun would only count as a single.

You can probably imagine the shock everyone felt, then, when Mallory Holtman, the opposing team’s first baseman and career homerun leader for Central Washington, turned to the umpire and said, “Would it be okay if we carried her around the bases, and she touched each bag?” When the umpires gave their approval, Holtman and teammate Liz Wallace picked up Tucholsky, crossed their hands beneath her, and carried her to second base. Once there, they lowered the injured player and gently touched her foot to the bag. They did the same for third base and home plate. The crowd erupted into a standing ovation. Western Oregon went on to win the game, eliminating Central Washington from the playoffs.

When later asked about the good deed, Holtman said the decision to help out her opponent was simple. She felt Tucholsky deserved the homerun, because the ball cleared the fence. In her own interview, Tucholsky said, “It’s amazing, what they did…I hope I would do the same for her in the same situation.” George Vecsey, a writer who was there covering the game, said what happened can only be described as a moment of grace.

Ted DeHass, Bedford, Iowa, and Brian Lowery, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; source: George Vecsey, “A Sporting Gesture Touches ‘Em All,” The New York Times (4-30-08)

Understanding the Trinity

Darren Ethier — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:33:17 +0000

Here’s the beautiful thing: you don’t need to fully understand the Trinity to worship the Trinity, pray to the Trinity, and enter into the life of the Trinity.

They tell me that deep within the core of the sun, the temperature is 27 million degrees. The pressure is 340 billion times what it is here on Earth. And in the sun’s core, that insanely hot temperature and unthinkable pressure combine to create nuclear reactions. In each reaction, 4 protons fuse together to create 1 alpha particle, which is .7 percent less massive than the 4 protons. The difference in mass is expelled as energy, and after one million years, through a process called convection, this energy from the core of the sun finally reaches the surface, where it’s expelled as heat and light.

Now that was all kind of interesting, but you know what? I didn’t need to know all that in order to get a tan.

Kevin Miller, in the sermon “Getting to Know Your God” (available on PreachingToday.com)

Are you lonely at the top?

Darren Ethier — Sat, 03 May 2008 02:37:29 +0000

“If you’re leading others and you’re lonely, you’re not doing it right. Think about it. If you’re all alone, that means nobody is following you. And if nobody is following you, you’re not really leading.” - John Maxwell, Leadership Gold: … Continue reading →