The new minister’s family was presented with a pie baked by a congregational member who was a rather poor cook. The pie was inedible, so the minister’s wife reluctantly threw it into the garbage. The preacher was faced with the problem of thanking the baker and at the same time being truthful. After much thought, he sent the following note: “Thank you for being so kind and thoughtful. I can assure you that a pie like yours never lasts long at our house.”

Green, M. P., ed. (1989). Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file). Baker Book House.