True, sourced stories for sermons and lessons. Search by keyword, theme, or Bible book.
20 illustrations found
Booker T. Washington’s Entrance Exam
Born into slavery, young Booker T. Washington heard about Hampton Institute in Virginia and decided he would get there somehow, even though it was about 500 miles away.
Cal Ripken Just Kept Showing Up
Lou Gehrig played 2,130 games in a row, a streak so long that people called it unbreakable. On September 6, 1995, Baltimore's Cal Ripken Jr. played his 2,131st straight game.
Eric Liddell Wouldn’t Run on Sunday
When Scottish sprinter Eric Liddell learned that the 100 meter heats at the 1924 Paris Olympics would be run on a Sunday, he refused to take part, even though the 100 was his strongest distance, and news of his decision travelled around the world.
Eugenio Monti Lends a Bolt
At the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Italian bobsledder Eugenio Monti was the most dominant driver of his era. During the two-man event, the British team of Tony Nash and Robin Dixon suffered a broken axle bolt on their sled in their first run, and without a replacement they were finished.
Fosbury Flopped Backward to Gold
Before Dick Fosbury, high jumpers went over the bar face down using the straddle or the scissors. As a teenager at Medford High in Oregon, Fosbury worked out a different way.
If She Says They’re Good
As a girl in West Virginia, Katherine Johnson counted everything: the steps to the road, the steps up to church, the dishes she washed. Her father was so determined she would reach her potential that he moved the family 120 miles so she could keep going to school.
Jim Thorpe Got His Gold Back
At the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Jim Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, won both the pentathlon and the decathlon in dominant fashion.
John Snow Took the Handle Off the Pump
In 1854 most people believed cholera spread through bad air. Dr. John Snow held the unpopular view that it spread through water.
Mary Anning Dug Out a Monster
Mary Anning grew up poor in Lyme Regis on the English coast. Her father, a cabinetmaker, taught her to hunt and clean fossils on the beach, and when he died in 1810 the family sold her finds to pay debts.
Rosa Parks Stayed Seated
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. She was not simply a tired seamstress who happened to say no.
Sugihara Kept Writing Visas
In the summer of 1940, Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat in Kovno, Lithuania, when Jewish refugees from Poland began crowding outside his consulate.
The Doctor Who Drank the Bacteria
In the early 1980s in Perth, Australia, a young doctor named Barry Marshall teamed up with pathologist Robin Warren, who had spotted curved bacteria in stomach biopsies.
The Doctor Who Said Wash Your Hands
In the 1840s, a young doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis started counting deaths in two maternity wards at Vienna General Hospital. Women in the ward run by doctors and medical students died at nearly five times the rate of the ward run by midwives.
The Homeless Man Who Kept the Ring Safe
In February 2013, Sarah Darling of Kansas City accidentally dumped her diamond engagement ring into the donation cup of Billy Ray Harris, a homeless man who often slept under a bridge.
The Man Who Didn’t Pick Up the Phone
In the early hours of September 26, 1983, at the height of the Cold War, Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov was on duty at a nuclear early warning center when the computers announced that the United States had launched missiles.
The Navajo Code Was Never Broken
In World War II, the Marines needed a code the enemy could not break. They decided to try one based on the Navajo language, which was unwritten and spoken by very few people outside the Navajo Nation.
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 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.
Washington Hands Back the Power
When the Revolutionary War was over, George Washington could have held on to command of the army, and plenty of people expected him to. Instead, on December 23, 1783, he stood before Congress in Annapolis and resigned his commission.
Where the Scriptures Speak
In 1809 in western Pennsylvania, Thomas Campbell was trying to explain to friends how Christians could stop dividing. He offered a simple rule: "Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent."