"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus" ( Hebrews 12:1–2 ). Failure is not the opposite of a faithful life; often it is part of the road. These ten stories about perseverance, failure and success, retold in our own words, include famous figures who failed many times before they succeeded, a turtle that did not need rescuing, a car-park joke, a friend who gave up an Olympic place and a father's tribute that measured success by character. Where popular versions of a story have grown in the telling, we say so. Each ends with a takeaway for sermons or reflection. Stories in this collection: "Never Give In": What Churchill Really Said Success Doesn't Come Easy Who Am I? Abraham Lincoln's Setbacks J. K. Rowling: "Rock Bottom Became the Solid Foundation" "A Short Life, Full of Consequences": Wilbur Wright Ole Bull and the Critic Always Ask the Turtle A Gold Medal in Her Heart: Esther Kim and Ka...
Sermon stories for preaching and faithful living