Sermon Illustrations for Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 (2011)
Illustration
Exodus 14:19-31
Imagine you're in middle school, sitting in detention when another student whispers to you, "I have a plan. Follow my lead." Through cunning, he leads you out of the room and out of the building, dodging teachers and hall-monitors, but shortly after you get outside, you find you're not the only one who skipped; the school bully sees you. As he begins chasing you, your friend promises again to lead you to safety, so you follow for several blocks -- but just when you both have almost lost him, you find you've been lead into a fenced cul-de-sac. Some friend! Some leader! It would have been better to stay in detention than to get beat up! But there's a rattle beside one of the houses: a latch. A fence swings open and your friend's dad hurries you in and locks the gate. Trust put to the test is not trust misplaced.
Brian H.
Exodus 14:19-31
Things just worked out for Gloria. She was a bright student. She got along with her parents. She excelled at school and earned a college degree with flying colors. It was like God just put out his hand and opened all the doors she needed open. But then, there she was. She'd crossed the threshold of education. She was in the real world now. She had defeated all the worrying demons of anxiety and bad grades and come through victorious. Now what? The real world felt like a desert -- a desert she was suddenly adrift in. She thought she'd left all the challenges behind in school -- that once she got into the real world, things would be different. Easy. Better. But maybe she wasn't quite right about that.
Leah T.
Exodus 14:19-31
During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington knew how important it was to be a God-fearing man with a God-fearing army. Washington realized that only "Divine Providence," the words he used to reference God's actions in human affairs, would lead his army to victory and America to independence. This is why Washington required that every military unit have a chaplain and also insisted that his soldiers attend Sunday worship. Further, after every battlefield victory, Washington held a worship service of Thanksgiving.
As the Egyptians could say as the sea was rushing in upon them that the "Lord is fighting for Israelites against Egypt," perhaps the British felt the same when Washington pulled off military victories against some astonishing odds.
Ron L.
Romans 14:1-12
Many churches recite a creed as part of their liturgy, either the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed. The purpose of these declarations is to state firmly where the church stands and acknowledge the core beliefs of our faith. While many in both Western and Eastern Christianity hold to these same beliefs, there are so many different denominations of churches that it can be hard to believe that they all could have anything in common. What's even sadder is that there is even some animosity at times between various denominations in the church. Perhaps we should consider these things when we hear Paul's words: "Or you, why do you despise your brother?" (v. 10).
Craig K.
Romans 14:1-12
The lack of civility in our churches and in our nation as a whole is a mark of our time. How quick we are to judge one another, despite the apostle Paul's cautionary words, "Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God..." (Romans 14:10).
No one challenged more this tendency to pass judgment on others than did Abraham Lincoln. His memorable second inaugural address spoke of "with malice toward none." He asked his fellow citizens not to judge one another and yet he did believe in the righteous judgments of God. He noted that both sides, North as well as the South, prospered because of the dehumanizing slave trade.
During the Civil War when feelings of hatred were intense in the North against the South, Lincoln was accosted by a woman who told him point-blank that she thought he should destroy his enemies. Lincoln replied, "Madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"
Richard H.
Matthew 18:21-35
There is a company in Florence, South Carolina, that has been making bricks for 125 years. Even now with $8 million dollars of processing equipment, they still cannot improve on the efficiency percentage of when they first established the company. Only 60% of the finished product can be sent to market; the other bricks have enough imperfections that they must be ground up and recycled. The process of making a brick is not that difficult and even with the improvements in technology the process has changed very little; yet, even with technological advances, only 60% of the completed product is eligible for sale, the same as in 1885. This is why the company's motto is: "It's Simple. It's Just Not Easy." The process of making a brick is easy; it's just not that simple.
Jesus instructed that we forgive "77 times." It means our attitude toward forgiving another person is virtually unlimited; yet, how hard it is for us to forgive someone just once, the first time, much less the 77th time. About forgiveness, one could say, "It's Simple. It's Just Not Easy."
Ron L.
Matthew 18:21-35
When we look at someone else's wrongs or shortcomings, it's easy to miss our own since we frequently use ourselves as the measuring stick. In holding a grudge, how often do we forget all that we have done that people could hold against us? Yet we expect there to be a double standard. I should be forgiven, but not them. There is a lesson we can take from Alcoholics Anonymous: Speaking of the problem of resentment, The Big Book of AA says, "We realized that the people who wronged us were perhaps spiritually sick. Though we did not like the symptoms and the way these disturbed us, they, like ourselves, were sick too" (66-67). When we see that we are all spiritually ill, that we are all deeply debtors, forgiveness becomes easier -- especially since we need it as desperately as others and others as desperately as us.
Brian H.
Matthew 18:21-35
Jennifer's mom gave her $5 to buy some fries at the fair. "Keep the change," her mom said. So Jennifer bought her fries and pocketed the extra two dollars and fifty cents, strutting down the midway and feeling rich. Her little brother Peter found her next to Skee Ball. "Hey Jen, can I borrow a dollar?" "Okay, Pete. But you'd better pay me back." The next day their mother found Pete and Jennifer in a wrestling match on the living room floor. "Give me back my money!" screamed Jen. Mom pulled them apart and managed to get the story out of them. She looked disapprovingly at Jen. "What did I do?" Jen said. "He's the one who owes me!" "Is that how it is?" Mom said. She held out her hand. "In that case, you owe me."
Leah T.
Imagine you're in middle school, sitting in detention when another student whispers to you, "I have a plan. Follow my lead." Through cunning, he leads you out of the room and out of the building, dodging teachers and hall-monitors, but shortly after you get outside, you find you're not the only one who skipped; the school bully sees you. As he begins chasing you, your friend promises again to lead you to safety, so you follow for several blocks -- but just when you both have almost lost him, you find you've been lead into a fenced cul-de-sac. Some friend! Some leader! It would have been better to stay in detention than to get beat up! But there's a rattle beside one of the houses: a latch. A fence swings open and your friend's dad hurries you in and locks the gate. Trust put to the test is not trust misplaced.
Brian H.
Exodus 14:19-31
Things just worked out for Gloria. She was a bright student. She got along with her parents. She excelled at school and earned a college degree with flying colors. It was like God just put out his hand and opened all the doors she needed open. But then, there she was. She'd crossed the threshold of education. She was in the real world now. She had defeated all the worrying demons of anxiety and bad grades and come through victorious. Now what? The real world felt like a desert -- a desert she was suddenly adrift in. She thought she'd left all the challenges behind in school -- that once she got into the real world, things would be different. Easy. Better. But maybe she wasn't quite right about that.
Leah T.
Exodus 14:19-31
During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington knew how important it was to be a God-fearing man with a God-fearing army. Washington realized that only "Divine Providence," the words he used to reference God's actions in human affairs, would lead his army to victory and America to independence. This is why Washington required that every military unit have a chaplain and also insisted that his soldiers attend Sunday worship. Further, after every battlefield victory, Washington held a worship service of Thanksgiving.
As the Egyptians could say as the sea was rushing in upon them that the "Lord is fighting for Israelites against Egypt," perhaps the British felt the same when Washington pulled off military victories against some astonishing odds.
Ron L.
Romans 14:1-12
Many churches recite a creed as part of their liturgy, either the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed. The purpose of these declarations is to state firmly where the church stands and acknowledge the core beliefs of our faith. While many in both Western and Eastern Christianity hold to these same beliefs, there are so many different denominations of churches that it can be hard to believe that they all could have anything in common. What's even sadder is that there is even some animosity at times between various denominations in the church. Perhaps we should consider these things when we hear Paul's words: "Or you, why do you despise your brother?" (v. 10).
Craig K.
Romans 14:1-12
The lack of civility in our churches and in our nation as a whole is a mark of our time. How quick we are to judge one another, despite the apostle Paul's cautionary words, "Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God..." (Romans 14:10).
No one challenged more this tendency to pass judgment on others than did Abraham Lincoln. His memorable second inaugural address spoke of "with malice toward none." He asked his fellow citizens not to judge one another and yet he did believe in the righteous judgments of God. He noted that both sides, North as well as the South, prospered because of the dehumanizing slave trade.
During the Civil War when feelings of hatred were intense in the North against the South, Lincoln was accosted by a woman who told him point-blank that she thought he should destroy his enemies. Lincoln replied, "Madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"
Richard H.
Matthew 18:21-35
There is a company in Florence, South Carolina, that has been making bricks for 125 years. Even now with $8 million dollars of processing equipment, they still cannot improve on the efficiency percentage of when they first established the company. Only 60% of the finished product can be sent to market; the other bricks have enough imperfections that they must be ground up and recycled. The process of making a brick is not that difficult and even with the improvements in technology the process has changed very little; yet, even with technological advances, only 60% of the completed product is eligible for sale, the same as in 1885. This is why the company's motto is: "It's Simple. It's Just Not Easy." The process of making a brick is easy; it's just not that simple.
Jesus instructed that we forgive "77 times." It means our attitude toward forgiving another person is virtually unlimited; yet, how hard it is for us to forgive someone just once, the first time, much less the 77th time. About forgiveness, one could say, "It's Simple. It's Just Not Easy."
Ron L.
Matthew 18:21-35
When we look at someone else's wrongs or shortcomings, it's easy to miss our own since we frequently use ourselves as the measuring stick. In holding a grudge, how often do we forget all that we have done that people could hold against us? Yet we expect there to be a double standard. I should be forgiven, but not them. There is a lesson we can take from Alcoholics Anonymous: Speaking of the problem of resentment, The Big Book of AA says, "We realized that the people who wronged us were perhaps spiritually sick. Though we did not like the symptoms and the way these disturbed us, they, like ourselves, were sick too" (66-67). When we see that we are all spiritually ill, that we are all deeply debtors, forgiveness becomes easier -- especially since we need it as desperately as others and others as desperately as us.
Brian H.
Matthew 18:21-35
Jennifer's mom gave her $5 to buy some fries at the fair. "Keep the change," her mom said. So Jennifer bought her fries and pocketed the extra two dollars and fifty cents, strutting down the midway and feeling rich. Her little brother Peter found her next to Skee Ball. "Hey Jen, can I borrow a dollar?" "Okay, Pete. But you'd better pay me back." The next day their mother found Pete and Jennifer in a wrestling match on the living room floor. "Give me back my money!" screamed Jen. Mom pulled them apart and managed to get the story out of them. She looked disapprovingly at Jen. "What did I do?" Jen said. "He's the one who owes me!" "Is that how it is?" Mom said. She held out her hand. "In that case, you owe me."
Leah T.
