Sermon Illustrations on bad news
Stories
Bad News
A man went in for his annual checkup and received a phone call from his physician a couple of days later.
The doctor said, “I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”
“What’s the news?” the man asked. “Well, you have only 48 hours to live.”
“That is bad news!” said the shocked patient.
” I’m afraid I have even worse news,” the doctor continued.
“What could be worse than what you’ve already told me?” the patient stammered.
“I’ve been trying to call you since yesterday.”
Source unknown
The Good News or the Bad News
I read in a book recently about a young pastor who was fired from his church over a theological controversy. When he went to share the news with his wife, he said, “I’ve got good news and bad news, which do you want first?” The wife said the good news. He said, “We get to sleep in next Sunday.” The bad news is, I don’t have a job anymore!
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Not Until After My Death
Frederick William I was a king of Prussia in the early 18th century. Personality-wise, he was described as exacting, frugal and austere. He was known to beat his children when they disappointed him. His eldest son, the future king Frederick William II, along with two friends, attempted to run away to escape his father’s ire. One escaped, but the other was imprisoned, and after a season, executed in front of the son in an attempt to reform the child’s wayward path.
As he lay on his deathbed, the pastor attending him told him he must forgive all his enemies. Immediately he thought of his brother in law, George II of England. “In that case,” he told his wife reluctantly, “write to your brother and tell him I forgive him, but be sure not to do it until after my death.”
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Humor
Bad News
A man went in for his annual checkup and received a phone call from his physician a couple of days later.
The doctor said, “I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”
“What’s the news?” the man asked. “Well, you have only 48 hours to live.”
“That is bad news!” said the shocked patient.
” I’m afraid I have even worse news,” the doctor continued.
“What could be worse than what you’ve already told me?” the patient stammered.
“I’ve been trying to call you since yesterday.”
Source unknown
Bad News as Opposed to Good News
(What’s the worst good news you’ve ever received? Here are a few that come to mind for me.
“Mr. Halter, this is Bill from the Ford service department. I’ve got some good news for you. All the smoke you saw wasn’t from a blown head gasket. It was actually from your transmission. The cost is only going to be $3,500 to fix it instead of $4,500.” Oh yeah!
Once, my neighbor Steve called me while I was picking up my daughter from school: “Hugh, I think the salmon you had on the grill is done.”
“Why do you say that, Steve?”
“Well, I can see huge plumes of smoke billowing off of the cedar wall you built around your barbecue. I think your entire house may be on fire too!” Okay, thanks for calling me instead, of saving my house, you jackwagon.
Just after frantically waking up from an unplanned nap in terminal A, gate 43, and noticing that no one but me was still in the seating area, I heard these words from the ticket agent: “Well, sir . Ive got good news and bad news. You did sleep through the boarding process, but you can now go back to sleep and relax for another seven hours before the next flight leaves.” Argh!
Hugh Halter, Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth, David C. Cook, 2014, pp.49.
The Good News or the Bad News
I read in a book recently about a young pastor who was fired from his church over a theological controversy. When he went to share the news with his wife, he said, “I’ve got good news and bad news, which do you want first?” The wife said the good news. He said, “We get to sleep in next Sunday.” The bad news is, I don’t have a job anymore!
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Not Until After My Death
Frederick William I was a king of Prussia in the early 18th century. Personality-wise, he was described as exacting, frugal and austere. He was known to beat his children when they disappointed him. His eldest son, the future king Frederick William II, along with two friends, attempted to run away to escape his father’s ire. One escaped, but the other was imprisoned, and after a season, executed in front of the son in an attempt to reform the child’s wayward path.
As he lay on his deathbed, the pastor attending him told him he must forgive all his enemies. Immediately he thought of his brother in law, George II of England. “In that case,” he told his wife reluctantly, “write to your brother and tell him I forgive him, but be sure not to do it until after my death.”
Stuart Strachan Jr.
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