In 1936 an advertising executive in Philadelphia, Philip Klein, founded the Friday the 13th Club. Its members are committed to defying old superstitions. They walk under ladders. They break mirrors. T...
After the U.S.S. Pueblo was captured in 1968 by the North Koreans, the 82 surviving crew members were thrown into brutal captivity. In one particular instance 13 of the men were required to sit in a r...
A woman walked into the huge mega church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and led her up the flight of steps. “Where would you like to sit?" he asked politely. "The front row please," sh...
Be sure to speak the truth you would like to have played out in your life. Remember it was words that brough all of creation into being....
In Charles Schultz's famous Peanuts comic strip the little dog Snoopy is recalling the past. "I remember those summer evenings years ago at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. We used to sit around and sing wh...
Here are some comments you'll probably never hear at church: 1. Hey! It's my turn to sit in the front pew. 2. I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes over time. 3. Personall...
Writing in the October/November 1998 issue of Carolina Mountain Living Timothy M. Smith remarked on the strange fact that towns put up signs "No Loitering!" He says "The problem is ... that we're alre...
The pastor of a big city church ran an ad for a caretaker-housekeeper. The next day, a well-dressed young man appeared at the pastor's door. But before he could say more than, "Hello, I came t...
A young honeymoon couple were touring southern Florida and happened to stop at one of the rattlesnake farms along the road. After seeing the sights, they engaged in small talk with the man that handl...
During a trip to Lancaster, Penn., I once had dinner in an Amish home, where I heard about their unusual procedure for choosing a pastor. ...
Different subjects are difficult for some, while we excel in others, including thinking on our feet....
Isn't it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven but they don't want to believe, do or say anything to get there?...
Harold and Don Reid, two of the legendary Statler Brothers, tell a wonderful story in their book Random Memories. ...
For a long time the center of Christianity in Europe was not Rome but Constantinople. In the Imperial Palace they placed a throne; a throne on which no one ever sat. On that empty throne they put a co...
Oscar Cervantes is a dramatic example of the Spirit's power to transform lives. As a child, Oscar began to get into trouble. Then as he got older, he was jailed 17 times for brutal crimes. Prison psyc...
In her book The Key to a Loving Heart, Karen Mains includes a parable about the church titled "The Brawling Bride." It tells about the most climactic moment in a wedding ceremony. The families have be...
As Pastor John Aker boarded a DC-10 at Newark Airport, the plane was nearly empty. The computer, however, had assigned him a seat next to a man named Richard. Once airborne, the two began talking; Ric...