STORY : New Ideas by William Barclay

Story title : New Ideas
By: William Barclay


    Normally nothing moves more slowly than a church. Religious people have a passion for the old.
    Some of today's most useful discoveries were made by men who dared to be and think different, and suffered for it. The man with something new always has to fight.
    The church branded Galileo a heretic when he taught that the earth moved round the sun.

STORY : Where Are You, Lord? by Brewer Mattocks

Story title : Where Are You, Lord?
By: Brewer Mattocks

     The parish priest in a town named Austerity climbed way up into the church's steeple to be nearer to the Lord. He wanted to hand down God's Word to his parishioners, like Moses of old. Then one day he thought he really heard God say something.
     So he cried aloud from the steeple, " Where are you, Lord? I can't seem to hear your voice clearly".
     And the Lord replied, "I'm down here among my people. Where are you?"

STORY : Influence Of Christianity by Bruno Hagspiel

Story title: Influence Of Christianity
By Bruno Hagspiel

    We have all heard the story of the "Mutiny on the Bounty," When nine mutineers, six local men, and ten local women were put ashore on Pitcairn Island. As a result of one of them making some crude alcohol, eventually all of them died except Alexander Smith. He found a Bible, read it, and decided to

STORY: Approachableness by William Barclay

Story title: Approachableness 
by William Barclay

      The Gospel story about the mothers bringing their children to Jesus to be blessed, tells the kind of person he was. Children would go to him. That is no small compliment. Many big men scare children away.
      A famous preacher once said that no one could be a follower of Jesus some people nowadays would, "They're only kids; don't bother about them."
   

STORY: Achievement by Edmund Bok

 Story title: Achievement
By: Edmund Bok

     There is a legend about an Indian chief who used to test the strength of his young braves by challenging them to climb up the side of the mountain as far as they could go without stopping. On an appointed day, four braves left at daybreak.
     The first returned with the branch of a spruce tree to show how high he had gotten. The second

STORY: Obedience Save by William Barclay

Story title: Obedience Save
by William Barclay


      A veteran Navy man insisted that discipline and obedience were absolutely essential. They had to condition a sailor to obey orders automatically and unquestioningly. His life might one day depend on that. He gave and example out of his own life.
    He was working on a tugboat which was towing a very heavy ship through rough seas. The vessel

STORY : Joy In Suffering by Joel Fritz

Story title : Joy In Suffering
by: Joel Fritz

    I remember a crippled man in the hospital where I was chaplain for a few years.  He was unbelievably disfigured. His body was twisted like a corkscrew and all he could do was sit in bed, day and night. If someone came to visit him, he could not even turn his head enough to make eye contact.
    Whenever I came around to visit him, my standard greeting would be, "Well, how are thing today?"

STORY: Mixing Priorities by Carlos Valles

Story title: Mixing Priorities
by: Carlos Valles

     If we like something very, very much, it can get our judgment out of focus. It can mix up our priorities. It can make us put the cart before the horse, or let the tail wag the dog.
    Take a practical case. A workman from Madang is delighted to find that buses going to lae now have television in them. So do the ones travelling to Goroka. Our man has to make his usual trip to Lae to go to work. He buys his ticket and hops aboard the bus. As he is taking his seat, he asks the

STORY: International Co-operation by Rockefeller Foundation

Story title: International Co-operation
by Rockefeller Foundation

   Whether we wish it or not, even in war we help our enemies, proving
that we are, despite our antagonism, one big, though sometimes unhappy,
family.
   An American soldier wounded by the Japanese owes his life to the
Japanese scientist Kitasato, who islolated the germ of tetanus. A Russian
soldier is saved by a blood transusion, which came to him from Landsteiner,

STORY: Goodness Gives You AWAY by Tony Castle

Story title: Goodness Gives You Away
by: Tony Castle


    There is an orintal fable about a man who owned a ring set with a
beautiful jewel. Whoever wore the ring became so pleasant in character that
everyone loved him. The ring was a charm that passed down from father
to son.
    But then, there was a father with three sons, all of whom he loved
equally. So he had two other rings made which looked exactly like the magic

STORY: A Prophet Away From Home by Jacob Braude

Story title: A Prophet Away From Home
By: Jacob Braude


     They tell this story about Nikita Kruschev, the former heavy set
head of Russia. He went to his tailor and asked him to make him a three
piece suit. The tailor took the big man's extensive measurements, then
measured the cloth Kruschev had brought along, and said that he did not
have enough cloth for a three piece suit. All he could make of it would be
trousers and a coat.
     Krushshev was unhappy and took back his cloth. Within a few days

STORY : Happy Ending by Herbert Prochnow

Story title: Happy Ending
By: Herbert Prochnow


     They tell the story of the old dog who saw a puppy chasing its tail, and
asked,"Why are you chasing your tail?"
      Said the puppy, "I have mastered philosophy. I have solved the
problems of the universe, which no dog before me had rightly soloved. I have

STORY : Keep Looking Up by Willi Hoffsuemmer

Story title : Keep Looking Up
By: Willi Hoffsuemmer

     While God was creating this earth, he asked the animals what wishes they had, and he fulfilled them all.
      But when the humans heard about this, they were upset because they had never been consulted. "We'll never be satisfied with the way this earth was made, "they complained to the Lord.
    "You're not supposed to be, "replied the Lord. "This earth was not meant to be your home. Heaven is your home."
      That is why, ever since then, animals walk with their eyes looking towards the earth, while humans stand erect and look towards heaven.

STORY : How A Conscience Works by June A. Westgaard

Story title: How A Conscience Works
By: June A. Westgaard

      Ann Connolly was shopping for groceries. While she was momentarily distracted, someone snatched her purse from her shopping cart.
      It so happens that Miss Connolly carries in her purse a talk back beeper device for telephone paging. So, as soon as she missed her purse, she hurried over to the store manager's office and dialed her own number into the telephone. This automatically activated her beeper talk back phone. Then she spoke into the manager's phone, knowing that her voice would be transmitted to the beeper in her purse, which was always turned up loud and clear for just such an emergency.
     One of the store attendants said afterwards that you should have seen that surprised man standing there with her purse and the purse was talking and saying for all to hear: " Take this purse to the manager's office, immediately!
    And he did!

STORY: Love Is Kind by Willian Barcly

Story title: Love Is Kind
by: William Barcly

      John Wesley on one of his countless journeys shared a carriage with an Army officer. They had a lively interesting conversation, but the officer's language was salted with swear words. Though it went against Wesley's grain, he showed no displeasure.
     When the coach stopped for a lunch break, Wesley used the opportunity to have a word with the officer. "I wonder if I might ask you a favor, "Wesley asked. " We will be travelling some distance together, and if I should forget myself and us a swear word in front of the ladies, would you kindly correct me?"
       The officer got the point immediately and painlessly/
        That it known as kindness in word.

STORY: Gambling by Fifth Wheel

Song title: Gambling
By: Fifth Wheel

     Any person who bets on the horses follows inspirations that come. One race track classic is the story of the perfect inspiration which came to a bettor when he visited the track on his birthday. It happened to be the fifth day of the fifth month. On the program he found a horse named Quintuplets, which means

STORY: Proposing Diplomatically by B.T. Botkin

Story title: Proposing Diplomatically
By: B.T. Botkin


      The man from the outback was very shy; the maiden was beautiful and seemed to him too wonderful to be asked for. He went on loving her silently for ten years. He built a fine home, with garden and barns, but he had not dared to propose.
       When everything was finished and furnished, he invited the maiden and her family over to see his

STORY : Lifeblood by Friedrich Dietz

Story title: Lifeblood
By Friedrich Diez

     An eight-year-old boy had just gotten over a serious illness, when his sister came down with the same sickness. The doctor knew that the only way to save her was to use the antibodies which had developed in the boy's blood. That would require a blood transfusion.
     So the doctor asked the little fellow if he would be willing to donate blood to his sister. The young

STORY: Weep No More, My Lady by Gems of Thought

Story title: Weep No More, My Lady 
By: Gems of Thought

When I quit this mortal shore, 

And live around this earth no more,

Don't weep, don't sigh, don't grieve, don't sob

I may have struck a better job.

Don't go and buy a large bouquet

STORY : Suffering As A Sign Of Love by Jewish Folklore

Story title: Suffering As A Sign Of Love
By: Jewish Folklore

    Two Jews once came to a small town rabbi and told him, " Our wise men at home have told us something that keeps bothering us because we can't understand what it means. They keep saying that we must with equal joy receive both the good and the evil which God sends. Tell us, rabbi, how can we possibly do such a thing?"
     "Well, I'll tell you, "answered the rabbi. "Just go over to the and told him their problem. He laid his

STORY : Keeping In Touch by Quote

Story title: Keeping In Touch
By: Quote

    Roger Schutz, director of Taize, the world famous ecumenical monastery in France, tells this story about one of his little nieces.
    She had grown up in the country of Zaire in Africa and had an African playmate who was her age. He was on orphan and was very lonely. He had built himself a little shack leaning against the high stone wall that separated the backyard of the girl's home from the open field where the little boy

STORY: The Complaint Book by Carlos Valles

Story title: The Complaint Book
By: Carlos Valles


      We seem to thrive on grievances. The first requirement in any registered establishment is a complain box, clearly visible. Sometimes its title is softened to "suggestion box."
      An Indian missionary tells this story on himself: "One day I was passing through a small out of the way station. There was not a soul around. But a sign in big red letters caught my eye. It proclaimed

STORY: Truthfullness by Paula Philips

Story title: Truthfullness
by: Paula Philips


      A group of young school teachers were taking a routine efficiency test. When they came to Part Three, they found a long list of book titles and authors. The directions said:" Check off the books you have read."
       When the examiners later checked the papers. they found that one third of the teacher had checked almost every book on the list. Some checked every one.

STORY: Freedom To Serve by Tony Castle

Story title: Freedom To Serve
By: Tony Castle

    Several hundred years ago a wealthy plantation owner was attracted by the heartbreaking sobs of a slave girl who was about to step up to the auction block to be sold. Moved by an impulse of compassion, he bought her for a very high price and then disappeared into the crowd.
     When the auction was over, the clerk came over to the sobbing girl and handed her her bill of sale,