True, sourced stories for sermons and lessons. Search by keyword, theme, or Bible book.
195 illustrations found
The New Testament Sewn into a Pillow
Adoniram and Ann Judson were American missionaries in Burma. In 1824, when war broke out with the British, Adoniram was arrested as a suspected spy and thrown into the death prison at Ava.
The Oldest Tree Ever Cut Down
In the summer of 1964, a geographer named Donald Currey was studying ancient bristlecone pines below Wheeler Peak. He found a tree local mountaineers called Prometheus.
The One-Armed Outfielder
When Pete Gray was six, he was hitching a ride on the running board of a produce truck. The driver stopped suddenly, Gray fell, and his right arm got caught in the wheel spokes.
The Prayer Meeting That Lasted 100 Years
In early 1727, the Moravian settlement of Herrnhut in Germany was a mess. About 300 people lived there, and they were full of arguing and division.
The River That Ran Free Again
In the early 1900s two dams went up on the Elwha River in Washington's Olympic Peninsula. They made electricity, but they also blocked salmon from the upper river for about a century.
The Runner Who Wouldn’t Take the Win
In December 2012, at a cross-country race in Burlada, Spain, Kenyan Olympic medalist Abel Mutai was way out front. Just short of the finish, he got confused and pulled up about ten meters early, thinking he had already crossed the line.
The Sailor Who Turned Around
On September 24, 1988, Canadian sailor Lawrence Lemieux was racing in the Finn class at the Seoul Olympics and was on course to finish second in that day's race.
The Seeds Came Back Out of the Ice
In Norway sits the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a safe place to store backup copies of the world's crop seeds. A research center called ICARDA kept a seed bank in Aleppo, Syria, with about 150,000 cereal, food, and feed samples from more than 100 countries.
The Seventh Grader Who Stopped the Bus
One afternoon in April 2023 in Warren, Michigan, a school bus driver called the transportation base to say she felt dizzy and needed to pull over.
The Shortest Home Run Trot in Softball History
In April 2008, Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky hit the first home run of her life, but she missed first base, turned back, and tore up her knee.
The Soldier Who Didn’t Know the War Was Over
Hiroo Onoda was a Japanese army officer sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines near the end of World War II with orders never to surrender.
The Stick Insects on One Bush
Lord Howe Island, off Australia's east coast, was once crawling with big, wingless stick insects about six inches long. Then in 1918 a shipwreck brought rats to the island, and the insects disappeared.
The Subway Superman
On January 2, 2007, construction worker Wesley Autrey was standing on a Manhattan subway platform with his two little girls. A young film student named Cameron Hollopeter had a seizure and fell onto the tracks just as a train's headlights appeared.
The Survivor Tree
A month after the September 11 attacks, workers at Ground Zero found a badly damaged Callery pear tree in the rubble. Its roots were snapped and its branches were burned and broken.
The Trainer Who Ran onto the Field
On January 2, 2023, in front of a national TV audience, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals, stood up, and collapsed.
The Village That Hid Thousands
During World War II, the little French village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and the farms around it became a refuge. Led by Pastor André Trocmé, his wife Magda, and his assistant Pastor Edouard Theis, ordinary church people took in an estimated 5,000 refugees, about 3,000 to 3,500 of them Jews fleeing the Vichy government and the Germans.
The Wood Frog Thaws Heart First
The wood frog of the far north survives winter in a remarkable way. It freezes.
Thousands Came to Cane Ridge
Barton W. Stone was the ordained minister at the Cane Ridge meeting house in Kentucky. In the summer of 1800 he traveled to Logan County to attend a revival led by James McGready.
Togo Ran the Longest Leg
In January 1925, diphtheria broke out in Nome, Alaska, and the town needed antitoxin fast. Planes could not fly in the winter conditions, so dog sled teams formed a relay to carry the serum 674 miles from Nenana to Nome.
Tu Youyou Looked in the Old Books
Malaria is caused by a tiny parasite spread by mosquitoes, and it has killed millions over the centuries. In the 1970s a Chinese scientist named Tu Youyou took an unusual approach.