Sermon Illustrations for All Saints Day (2011)
Illustration
Revelation 7:9-17
In Revelation 7, the angels, the elders, and the four living creatures begin to sing: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."
Eugene Peterson commenting on this passage writes: "... Christians sing. They sing in the desert, they sing at night, they sing in the storms. How they sing (Revelation 7:10, 12, 15-17). The songs of vision are the response to the statistics of evil. Any evil, no matter how fearsome, is exposed as weak and pedantic before such songs."
Peterson recalls an incident from Saint Francis' band of friars: "At Assisi once, when a theologian attacked Fra Edidio by the usual arrangement of syllogisms, the brother waited unto the conclusions were laid down, and then, taking out a flute from the folds of his robe, he played his answer in rustic melodies."
Richard H.
Revelation 7:9-17
One of my favorite parts of watching the Olympics is the parade of nations during the opening ceremonies. It is so amazing to see representatives from nations and cultures from all over the world coming together in a spirit of unity and common purpose. For a time, petty bickering and racial prejudices are set aside and athletes from every nation come together to test their skill and strength.
Imagine the sight when every nation, every language, every culture comes together to worship at Jesus' feet (vv. 9-10). That will create a bond of unity that would put the Olympics to shame!
Craig K.
1 John 3:1-3
Children show only a hint of what they will become. Behind round cheeks and chubby fingers perhaps there is a glint to the eye that might show that this one will be a prankster; perhaps there is the tiniest air of gravity that shows this one will be a leader. There is the smallest tilt to the nose or lift to the cheekbones that says this one will be beautiful. Tiny fingers are too small yet to show the capacity for deft work or great deeds; tiny lives are too new yet to show the scars of pain and growth. These fledgling people, what will they be? Doctors? Parents? Activists? Students? It has not yet been revealed. Only time and patience and a life full of living will tell.
Leah T.
1 John 3:1-3
Imagine you were raised by wolves. You can envision how different your behaviors would be. Maybe you would often crouch on all fours, bare your teeth, and hunt rabbits. Now imagine the identity crisis if suddenly you saw humans for the first time, how much more like you they are than the wolves yet how differently they behaved, walking upright and clothed. What if you somehow you knew inside these were your parents, though, and they took you home at last? You might see how it starts to feel more natural to act like them and mimic their sounds than to be a wolf. You would begin to realize that maybe you are one of these strange two-legged animals after all and even though you aren't sure exactly what it is to be a human, you adventurously take your first bath and put on some pants.
Brian H.
1 John 3:1-3
During prayer as all the other Anglicans in church knelt at their pews, George Washington would stand tall at his. An explanation was never offered for this action. It was wondered if Washington was imitating the early Christians who stood during prayer as a part of their Jewish heritage. Or, did he stand for that is how he did it as an officer when he served in the English army. In either case, it is certainly a declaration that Washington understood himself to be a "child of God."
Ron L.
Matthew 5:1-12
Many of the most powerful, influential documents in history have famous first lines. Take, for example, "Call me Ishmael." For many, these three words instantly conjure up images of sailing ships and obsessive captains chasing a white whale. Or how about "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"? Many people hearing this line would instantly think back to Charles' Dickens novel about the French Revolution. Almost every American would know the words, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union...."
Each of these opening lines sets the stage for the rest of the text. Today's lesson is no exception. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous texts in the Bible and it begins with six simple words, close to the heart of Christ: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (v. 3).
Craig K.
Matthew 5:1-12
Philip Yancey praises Monika Hellwig's 10 "advantages of the poor":
1. The poor know they are in urgent need of redemption.
2. The poor know not only their dependence on God and on powerful people but also their interdependence with one another.
3. The poor rest their security not on things but on people.
4. The poor have no exaggerated sense of their own importance and no exaggerated need of privacy.
5. The poor expect little from competition and much from cooperation.
6. The poor can distinguish between necessities and luxuries.
7. The poor can wait because they have acquired a kind of dogged patience born of acknowledged dependence.
8. The fears of the poor are more realistic and less exaggerated because they already know that one can survive great suffering and want.
9. When the poor have the gospel preached to them, it sounds like good news and not like a threat or a scolding.
10. The poor can respond to the call of the gospel with a certain abandonment and uncomplicated totality because they have so little to lose and are ready for anything.
Richard H.
In Revelation 7, the angels, the elders, and the four living creatures begin to sing: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."
Eugene Peterson commenting on this passage writes: "... Christians sing. They sing in the desert, they sing at night, they sing in the storms. How they sing (Revelation 7:10, 12, 15-17). The songs of vision are the response to the statistics of evil. Any evil, no matter how fearsome, is exposed as weak and pedantic before such songs."
Peterson recalls an incident from Saint Francis' band of friars: "At Assisi once, when a theologian attacked Fra Edidio by the usual arrangement of syllogisms, the brother waited unto the conclusions were laid down, and then, taking out a flute from the folds of his robe, he played his answer in rustic melodies."
Richard H.
Revelation 7:9-17
One of my favorite parts of watching the Olympics is the parade of nations during the opening ceremonies. It is so amazing to see representatives from nations and cultures from all over the world coming together in a spirit of unity and common purpose. For a time, petty bickering and racial prejudices are set aside and athletes from every nation come together to test their skill and strength.
Imagine the sight when every nation, every language, every culture comes together to worship at Jesus' feet (vv. 9-10). That will create a bond of unity that would put the Olympics to shame!
Craig K.
1 John 3:1-3
Children show only a hint of what they will become. Behind round cheeks and chubby fingers perhaps there is a glint to the eye that might show that this one will be a prankster; perhaps there is the tiniest air of gravity that shows this one will be a leader. There is the smallest tilt to the nose or lift to the cheekbones that says this one will be beautiful. Tiny fingers are too small yet to show the capacity for deft work or great deeds; tiny lives are too new yet to show the scars of pain and growth. These fledgling people, what will they be? Doctors? Parents? Activists? Students? It has not yet been revealed. Only time and patience and a life full of living will tell.
Leah T.
1 John 3:1-3
Imagine you were raised by wolves. You can envision how different your behaviors would be. Maybe you would often crouch on all fours, bare your teeth, and hunt rabbits. Now imagine the identity crisis if suddenly you saw humans for the first time, how much more like you they are than the wolves yet how differently they behaved, walking upright and clothed. What if you somehow you knew inside these were your parents, though, and they took you home at last? You might see how it starts to feel more natural to act like them and mimic their sounds than to be a wolf. You would begin to realize that maybe you are one of these strange two-legged animals after all and even though you aren't sure exactly what it is to be a human, you adventurously take your first bath and put on some pants.
Brian H.
1 John 3:1-3
During prayer as all the other Anglicans in church knelt at their pews, George Washington would stand tall at his. An explanation was never offered for this action. It was wondered if Washington was imitating the early Christians who stood during prayer as a part of their Jewish heritage. Or, did he stand for that is how he did it as an officer when he served in the English army. In either case, it is certainly a declaration that Washington understood himself to be a "child of God."
Ron L.
Matthew 5:1-12
Many of the most powerful, influential documents in history have famous first lines. Take, for example, "Call me Ishmael." For many, these three words instantly conjure up images of sailing ships and obsessive captains chasing a white whale. Or how about "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"? Many people hearing this line would instantly think back to Charles' Dickens novel about the French Revolution. Almost every American would know the words, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union...."
Each of these opening lines sets the stage for the rest of the text. Today's lesson is no exception. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous texts in the Bible and it begins with six simple words, close to the heart of Christ: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (v. 3).
Craig K.
Matthew 5:1-12
Philip Yancey praises Monika Hellwig's 10 "advantages of the poor":
1. The poor know they are in urgent need of redemption.
2. The poor know not only their dependence on God and on powerful people but also their interdependence with one another.
3. The poor rest their security not on things but on people.
4. The poor have no exaggerated sense of their own importance and no exaggerated need of privacy.
5. The poor expect little from competition and much from cooperation.
6. The poor can distinguish between necessities and luxuries.
7. The poor can wait because they have acquired a kind of dogged patience born of acknowledged dependence.
8. The fears of the poor are more realistic and less exaggerated because they already know that one can survive great suffering and want.
9. When the poor have the gospel preached to them, it sounds like good news and not like a threat or a scolding.
10. The poor can respond to the call of the gospel with a certain abandonment and uncomplicated totality because they have so little to lose and are ready for anything.
Richard H.
