10 Things you don't have to know

These are really illustrations dealing with the fact that sometimes genune Christians will not know when exactly they became Christians. Such a lack should never mean a person has no assurance.

1. You don't have to know when you were born to be alive
2. You don't have to know which door you came in by to know you are in the building
3. You don't have to be able to describe how you got there to be sure you are in London
4. You don't have to remember getting dressed to know you have clothes on
5. You don't have to remember what you ate to know you have eaten dinner
6. You don't have to have seen the apple fall from the tree to enjoy eating it
7. You don't have to know when the bread was baked to enjoy eating it
8. You don't have to know when your pet dog was born in order to enjoy playing with him
9. You don't have to have seen the sunrise to enjoy its rays
10. You don't have to know the source of the Nile to swim in its waters

10 Sermon Illustrations on Worldliness

1 To be worldly is only to think horizontally and to forget about the vertical

2 Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mould

3 If someone kills your brother you would not be his friend. Given the crucifixion of Christ, why would you want to be the world’s friend?

4 When negotiating hair pin bends in the Alps, the thing to do is not to see how close to the edge you can get but to drive safely all the way

5 Keep the boat in the water and the water out of the boat

6 A characteristic of adolescents is often their eagerness to follow the latest fad - worldly Christians often behave similarly

7 A stick insect can so blend with its environment that it can’t be seen - some Christians look no different to unbelievers

8 If two live electric wires touch there will be sparks. To prevent this there are two options - isolation or insulation. It is the latter that pictures the Christian - in the world but not of it.

9 Gollum and his detrimental obsession with the ring

10 Accents People often pick up an accent from others if they spend time with others, sometimes quite quickly. Others retain their original accent even after years of living with those with a different accent

Taste and see

In Psalm 34:8 David calls on us to Taste and see that the LORD is good; and he assures us blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. So here is the invitation. Taste and see that the LORD is good.

There's a lot of advertising at the moment for MacDonald's new vegan burger, McPlant. I am not a vegan (or a vegetarian) but I thought I'd like to try one and see if they taste as good as they claim. So yesterday I went along and bought one for my lunch. I can assure you, it's very tasty. I've tasted it and so I can say it is good.

Now David urges us here to give ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord and then we will know by experience how very good he is. A person who takes refuge in the Lord will be blessed indeed. David can say that because he's experienced it and I can say it too to some extent for the same reason. You'll never regret turning to Christ for refuge.

There is a Scottish expression - Better felt than telt. It is not easy to describe how good God is, how wonderful all his ways, but when you experience it - then you'll know.

See more on my sermon illustrations blog