Sermon Illustrations for Advent 2 (2015)
Illustration
Malachi 3:1-4
When I was a boy, there was a large empty field near our house. This was not a grassy green meadow with beauty that invited neighborhood children to enter and play. Instead, we were encouraged to avoid this ugly place. The field was overgrown with thick weeds, thickets of scraggly trees, stands of allergy-inducing goldenrod, and snarled patches of jean-snagging brambles. That field had little to offer a child.
Late one summer’s night, a fire raged through that wasteland. No one knew how it started. Perhaps it was lightning. Perhaps one of the “knights of the road” from the not-too-distant railroad yard left a campfire untended. Perhaps one of the neighborhood kids deliberately set the fire. No one knew.
An alarm was sounded, but our local fire department was staffed only by volunteers. By the time a sufficient number could be aroused from their sleep, the fire had pretty well burned itself out.
By morning, the field had been reduced to black, smoldering ruins. As a small child I assumed that field would remain an ashen blight on the neighborhood. I was surprised when by the next spring tiny sprigs of green growth were beginning to pop through the blackened soil. The new growth continued until within a few years that big empty space began to slightly resemble a pleasant meadow. By the time I was an adolescent, children were playing in the field.
That was my initial life’s lesson on how fire not only destroys, it also purifies and refines.
R. Robert C.
Malachi 3:1-4
The text refers to the Lord’s refining fire, how he comes to purify us. Messed up as we are, we need a lot of purification. Commenting on this text, Martin Luther claimed that human reason, self-love, and one’s own wisdom and righteousness hinder our coming to the Lord (Luther’s Works, Vol. 18, p. 409). John Wesley well describes the futility of our sinful condition: “All our knowledge serves only to discover our miseries, but is utterly insufficient to remove them. It cannot rectify those disorders which are either in our own hearts and lives or in the men and things of the world” (Commentary on the Bible, p. 313).
In the same spirit, John Calvin claimed that humans are nothing but “smoke and vanity,” that their excellence is “deceitful and failing” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. VIII/1, p. 208). Statistics on the American economy make this clear: 58% of new American income goes to the top 1% of American wage-earners. The top tenth of this 1% of Americans have more wealth than the bottom 90% of American wage-earners. The wage gap is wider than at any point in history since 1928!
We indeed need purification. Martin Luther commented on what happens through such purification by the coming Christ (who is both our fire and soap): “The Kingdom of Christ is a mystical smelting furnace that purges out the impurity of the old Adam.... Christ is not only the purifier... but also the fire... also the soap.... He [Christ] is salvation itself and the laboratory of salvation. That is what Christians sense. They have less affection for wealth; they are less afraid of death; they disregard everything secular. The power to do this is the ‘fire’ and the ‘soap’ ” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 18, pp. 410-411).
Mark E.
Malachi 3:1-4
When Barack Obama first ran for president, he established a new format for campaigning. Relying on expensive television advertisements to reach a large audience is costly and not effective, because the percentages of viewers that will support the candidate are few. Instead, Obama introduced computer modeling. His campaign team would look at all registered voters and rate them from 0 to 100 as to how much support could be obtained from them. Then the campaign would send e-mails to those supporters with specific messages. This cost tens of thousands of dollars, compared to the millions needed for television. It also assured Obama that he would reach his target audience. Since then, most candidates have adopted this method of modeling.
Application: When Malachi says a messenger will be sent, in many ways we are that messenger. When we offer our testimony, we need to be sure we are speaking to individuals who will listen and understand what we are conveying. This is far more productive that just randomly speaking to everyone.
Ron L.
Philippians 1:3-11
How often do you give thanks for someone in your life? As Paul writes this letter to the church in Philippi he is grateful for their faithfulness, their adherence to the gospel, their love, and their support. Who in your life offers faithfulness, love, and support? Who encourages your faith and moves you into a place of gratitude? When was the last time you told someone what their love, support, and faithfulness means to you?
We can get all tied up in the everyday and miss what is important. We don’t have time, we say. We’ll take care of that later. But instead, right now while you are hearing or reading this message, take out your smartphone or your tablet or your laptop or a thank-you note and say thank you to someone whose presence in your life makes a difference. Right now, here in church, offer a prayer of thanksgiving and send a text, a tweet, an e-mail, or a note to someone without whom your life would be a less happy place. Celebrate the Good News of love!
Bonnie B.
Philippians 1:3-11
This could be your pastor writing to you. I’m sure all of the members are in his prayers. I hope that most of his prayers will be in joy for how the members are growing in faith! If he is like me, when I had a church there were always a few who were a pain to me -- who never seemed to grow.
Wherever Paul was at the time, he still had many in the group in Philippi that he converted whom he cared for deeply.
I have children living all over in the U.S. and Canada, and I write to them faithfully to let them know that I think about them and love them. I pray that they will grow in their faith and that they will bring up their children to be faithful believers also.
I like that key word “love.” That is at the center of scripture and should be at the center of every Christian’s heart.
One of the greatest blessings of being a Christian is to know that we are loved. The greatest thing that we can do is to show our love for our family and friends, but also for those who don’t deserve it -- even our enemies. Don’t just hide your love in your heart. Let those whom you love know it!
In my present church, I feel the love of my fellow members. They brought food to me when I was laid up. They pick me up for church events when I am handicapped. They send cards and always ask how I am doing. They care! Our love is not just an emotion, it is made visible in actions.
Bob O.
Philippians 1:3-11
Finish what you start -- that’s advice many kids heard growing up. It may be a bit of “old school” parenting, but there was a time when parents insisted that their kids finish whatever they started. Whether it was a sports team, a club, or a project, the rule was “if you start it, finish it.” The idea of quitting something was just not acceptable.
I don’t know if that edict is necessarily right in every circumstance, but the goal behind it is to create in young people a character trait that will go with them into adulthood. You don’t want to be a quitter. Stay with things. Don’t give up. If you say you’re going to do something, then do it. Finish it. There is a lot right with that kind of thinking and living.
In our text today, we see that God is one who likes to finish what he starts. Paul observes, as he commends the Philippians for their faith, “The one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” God will finish what he started in the lives of the Philippian Christians. The work he’s doing in them in connection with his Son is going to continue. Paul’s prayer echoes that. God is going to finish what he’s started in Philippi. He’ll finish what he’s started in you too.
Bill T.
Philippians 1:3-11
It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel (Philippians 1:7).
Paul is in prison as this letter to the dear folks in Philippi is written. He is not scratching lines on the wall to mark the days he has served and indicate how many days he has left. Bear in mind, Paul is not serving a sentence. Roman imprisonment meant being confined while waiting for your trial and your punishment, which might include physical suffering -- beatings, torture, scarring -- or might mean death in any number of painful ways.
But if you have a mental picture of Paul alone in a cell writing this letter on papyrus by the light of a solitary candle, you are wrong as well. Paul didn’t write this letter. He is dictating it to a scribe who is writing it down on his behalf. And Paul can boast that not only the Roman churches but also the imperial court have been drawn closer to Jesus because of his imprisonment. People are visiting him. People are hearing him in open court.
And the fellowships of Rome are united with the fellowships of Philippi, including the entrepreneur Lydia, a jailer who once confined Paul in the deepest cell of his privately run jail, and the women who gathered at the river to pray because there were not ten believers to provide a quorum.
Paul may be facing execution, but he is not alone. There are bonds of prayer and concern stretching in both directions.
Frank R.
Luke 3:1-6
Ralph was a repeat customer at the area drug and alcohol detoxification units. His wife was a church member, and at her invitation Ralph and I had visited often over the years. Our conversations were usually not particularly fruitful. Ralph liked to limit our chats to the weather, the current price of gasoline, and the plight of local sports teams. This time it was different. He wanted to push the conversation deeper.
For the first time he admitted: “Alcoholics Anonymous has never worked for me. I try on occasion, but always quit going to meetings after a few months. AA only helps me stay dry until I start drinking again. My pattern is to drink more and more until my life spirals out of control. Eventually I end up in the hospital or some treatment center. While there I start going to AA meetings and repeat the process all over again.
“This time, I think I finally understand why AA doesn’t work for me. I have never admitted that I am powerless over alcohol or that I need to trust in a ‘Higher Power.’ Deep down, I have always assumed that I could handle it on my own. Now I realize it doesn’t work that way. Unless I admit that I cannot control my drinking and that I need to open myself to God, I will never stop drinking.”
It is interesting to note that John the Baptist’s ministry sends a similar message. John prepared the way for the coming of the Christ by calling people to repent. That is to say, he called people to admit they were powerless to be absolutely in control of their own lives and that they needed the power of saving grace.
R. Robert C.
Luke 3:1-6
John the Baptist comes to prepare his followers and us for Christ. What is the nature of being prepared for Christ, for Christmas? Martin Luther sheds light on this: “To prepare the way of the Lord means to prepare ourselves for the Lord’s activity in us, so that God may help us and our life may be the life of Christ.... To prepare is to clear out of the way whatever will be an obstruction. This preparation is nothing else than our humbling ourselves from our arrogance and glory” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 17, p. 9).
Humility is not much in vogue today in our society. What eminent social commentator Christopher Lasch wrote about American life over 35 years ago is still pertinent: “In a society in which the dress of success has been drained of any meaning beyond itself, men have nothing against which to measure their achievements except the achievements of others. Self-approval depends on public recognition.... Today men seek the kind of approval that applauds not their actions but their personal attributes, they wish to be not so much esteemed and admired. They crave not fame but the glamour and excitement. They want to be envied rather than respected” (The Culture of Narcissism, pp. 116-117).
We can address some of this self-seeking in the Church when we realize (as John did) that even the preparation done to get ready for Christ’s coming is not our own work but something God does for us. Famed Reformed theologian Karl Barth made this point well: “Christians... are those who waken up. As they awake they look up, and rise, thus making the counter-movement to the downward drag of their sinfully slothful being. They are those who waken up, however, because they are awakened. They do not wake of themselves and get up. They are roused and they are thus caused to get up and sit in this counter-movement” (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/4, p. 581).
Mark E.
Luke 3:1-6
The Roman Catholic archbishop of St. Louis and Minneapolis, John C. Nienstedt, apologized in July 2014 for the sexual abuse that went on in his dioceses. Many may question the sincerity of his words, dismissing his confession that he was not aware of what was taking place. He said he was too trusting of the internal process, so he did not have a hands-om approach. Nienstedt did say in his apology: “It is very clear that we did not handle all complaints the way we should have in the past.” With that statement Nienstedt outlined new procedures for investigating complaints.
Application: We do need many John the Baptists in the world today who will call us to make straight the crooked.
Ron L.
When I was a boy, there was a large empty field near our house. This was not a grassy green meadow with beauty that invited neighborhood children to enter and play. Instead, we were encouraged to avoid this ugly place. The field was overgrown with thick weeds, thickets of scraggly trees, stands of allergy-inducing goldenrod, and snarled patches of jean-snagging brambles. That field had little to offer a child.
Late one summer’s night, a fire raged through that wasteland. No one knew how it started. Perhaps it was lightning. Perhaps one of the “knights of the road” from the not-too-distant railroad yard left a campfire untended. Perhaps one of the neighborhood kids deliberately set the fire. No one knew.
An alarm was sounded, but our local fire department was staffed only by volunteers. By the time a sufficient number could be aroused from their sleep, the fire had pretty well burned itself out.
By morning, the field had been reduced to black, smoldering ruins. As a small child I assumed that field would remain an ashen blight on the neighborhood. I was surprised when by the next spring tiny sprigs of green growth were beginning to pop through the blackened soil. The new growth continued until within a few years that big empty space began to slightly resemble a pleasant meadow. By the time I was an adolescent, children were playing in the field.
That was my initial life’s lesson on how fire not only destroys, it also purifies and refines.
R. Robert C.
Malachi 3:1-4
The text refers to the Lord’s refining fire, how he comes to purify us. Messed up as we are, we need a lot of purification. Commenting on this text, Martin Luther claimed that human reason, self-love, and one’s own wisdom and righteousness hinder our coming to the Lord (Luther’s Works, Vol. 18, p. 409). John Wesley well describes the futility of our sinful condition: “All our knowledge serves only to discover our miseries, but is utterly insufficient to remove them. It cannot rectify those disorders which are either in our own hearts and lives or in the men and things of the world” (Commentary on the Bible, p. 313).
In the same spirit, John Calvin claimed that humans are nothing but “smoke and vanity,” that their excellence is “deceitful and failing” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. VIII/1, p. 208). Statistics on the American economy make this clear: 58% of new American income goes to the top 1% of American wage-earners. The top tenth of this 1% of Americans have more wealth than the bottom 90% of American wage-earners. The wage gap is wider than at any point in history since 1928!
We indeed need purification. Martin Luther commented on what happens through such purification by the coming Christ (who is both our fire and soap): “The Kingdom of Christ is a mystical smelting furnace that purges out the impurity of the old Adam.... Christ is not only the purifier... but also the fire... also the soap.... He [Christ] is salvation itself and the laboratory of salvation. That is what Christians sense. They have less affection for wealth; they are less afraid of death; they disregard everything secular. The power to do this is the ‘fire’ and the ‘soap’ ” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 18, pp. 410-411).
Mark E.
Malachi 3:1-4
When Barack Obama first ran for president, he established a new format for campaigning. Relying on expensive television advertisements to reach a large audience is costly and not effective, because the percentages of viewers that will support the candidate are few. Instead, Obama introduced computer modeling. His campaign team would look at all registered voters and rate them from 0 to 100 as to how much support could be obtained from them. Then the campaign would send e-mails to those supporters with specific messages. This cost tens of thousands of dollars, compared to the millions needed for television. It also assured Obama that he would reach his target audience. Since then, most candidates have adopted this method of modeling.
Application: When Malachi says a messenger will be sent, in many ways we are that messenger. When we offer our testimony, we need to be sure we are speaking to individuals who will listen and understand what we are conveying. This is far more productive that just randomly speaking to everyone.
Ron L.
Philippians 1:3-11
How often do you give thanks for someone in your life? As Paul writes this letter to the church in Philippi he is grateful for their faithfulness, their adherence to the gospel, their love, and their support. Who in your life offers faithfulness, love, and support? Who encourages your faith and moves you into a place of gratitude? When was the last time you told someone what their love, support, and faithfulness means to you?
We can get all tied up in the everyday and miss what is important. We don’t have time, we say. We’ll take care of that later. But instead, right now while you are hearing or reading this message, take out your smartphone or your tablet or your laptop or a thank-you note and say thank you to someone whose presence in your life makes a difference. Right now, here in church, offer a prayer of thanksgiving and send a text, a tweet, an e-mail, or a note to someone without whom your life would be a less happy place. Celebrate the Good News of love!
Bonnie B.
Philippians 1:3-11
This could be your pastor writing to you. I’m sure all of the members are in his prayers. I hope that most of his prayers will be in joy for how the members are growing in faith! If he is like me, when I had a church there were always a few who were a pain to me -- who never seemed to grow.
Wherever Paul was at the time, he still had many in the group in Philippi that he converted whom he cared for deeply.
I have children living all over in the U.S. and Canada, and I write to them faithfully to let them know that I think about them and love them. I pray that they will grow in their faith and that they will bring up their children to be faithful believers also.
I like that key word “love.” That is at the center of scripture and should be at the center of every Christian’s heart.
One of the greatest blessings of being a Christian is to know that we are loved. The greatest thing that we can do is to show our love for our family and friends, but also for those who don’t deserve it -- even our enemies. Don’t just hide your love in your heart. Let those whom you love know it!
In my present church, I feel the love of my fellow members. They brought food to me when I was laid up. They pick me up for church events when I am handicapped. They send cards and always ask how I am doing. They care! Our love is not just an emotion, it is made visible in actions.
Bob O.
Philippians 1:3-11
Finish what you start -- that’s advice many kids heard growing up. It may be a bit of “old school” parenting, but there was a time when parents insisted that their kids finish whatever they started. Whether it was a sports team, a club, or a project, the rule was “if you start it, finish it.” The idea of quitting something was just not acceptable.
I don’t know if that edict is necessarily right in every circumstance, but the goal behind it is to create in young people a character trait that will go with them into adulthood. You don’t want to be a quitter. Stay with things. Don’t give up. If you say you’re going to do something, then do it. Finish it. There is a lot right with that kind of thinking and living.
In our text today, we see that God is one who likes to finish what he starts. Paul observes, as he commends the Philippians for their faith, “The one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” God will finish what he started in the lives of the Philippian Christians. The work he’s doing in them in connection with his Son is going to continue. Paul’s prayer echoes that. God is going to finish what he’s started in Philippi. He’ll finish what he’s started in you too.
Bill T.
Philippians 1:3-11
It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel (Philippians 1:7).
Paul is in prison as this letter to the dear folks in Philippi is written. He is not scratching lines on the wall to mark the days he has served and indicate how many days he has left. Bear in mind, Paul is not serving a sentence. Roman imprisonment meant being confined while waiting for your trial and your punishment, which might include physical suffering -- beatings, torture, scarring -- or might mean death in any number of painful ways.
But if you have a mental picture of Paul alone in a cell writing this letter on papyrus by the light of a solitary candle, you are wrong as well. Paul didn’t write this letter. He is dictating it to a scribe who is writing it down on his behalf. And Paul can boast that not only the Roman churches but also the imperial court have been drawn closer to Jesus because of his imprisonment. People are visiting him. People are hearing him in open court.
And the fellowships of Rome are united with the fellowships of Philippi, including the entrepreneur Lydia, a jailer who once confined Paul in the deepest cell of his privately run jail, and the women who gathered at the river to pray because there were not ten believers to provide a quorum.
Paul may be facing execution, but he is not alone. There are bonds of prayer and concern stretching in both directions.
Frank R.
Luke 3:1-6
Ralph was a repeat customer at the area drug and alcohol detoxification units. His wife was a church member, and at her invitation Ralph and I had visited often over the years. Our conversations were usually not particularly fruitful. Ralph liked to limit our chats to the weather, the current price of gasoline, and the plight of local sports teams. This time it was different. He wanted to push the conversation deeper.
For the first time he admitted: “Alcoholics Anonymous has never worked for me. I try on occasion, but always quit going to meetings after a few months. AA only helps me stay dry until I start drinking again. My pattern is to drink more and more until my life spirals out of control. Eventually I end up in the hospital or some treatment center. While there I start going to AA meetings and repeat the process all over again.
“This time, I think I finally understand why AA doesn’t work for me. I have never admitted that I am powerless over alcohol or that I need to trust in a ‘Higher Power.’ Deep down, I have always assumed that I could handle it on my own. Now I realize it doesn’t work that way. Unless I admit that I cannot control my drinking and that I need to open myself to God, I will never stop drinking.”
It is interesting to note that John the Baptist’s ministry sends a similar message. John prepared the way for the coming of the Christ by calling people to repent. That is to say, he called people to admit they were powerless to be absolutely in control of their own lives and that they needed the power of saving grace.
R. Robert C.
Luke 3:1-6
John the Baptist comes to prepare his followers and us for Christ. What is the nature of being prepared for Christ, for Christmas? Martin Luther sheds light on this: “To prepare the way of the Lord means to prepare ourselves for the Lord’s activity in us, so that God may help us and our life may be the life of Christ.... To prepare is to clear out of the way whatever will be an obstruction. This preparation is nothing else than our humbling ourselves from our arrogance and glory” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 17, p. 9).
Humility is not much in vogue today in our society. What eminent social commentator Christopher Lasch wrote about American life over 35 years ago is still pertinent: “In a society in which the dress of success has been drained of any meaning beyond itself, men have nothing against which to measure their achievements except the achievements of others. Self-approval depends on public recognition.... Today men seek the kind of approval that applauds not their actions but their personal attributes, they wish to be not so much esteemed and admired. They crave not fame but the glamour and excitement. They want to be envied rather than respected” (The Culture of Narcissism, pp. 116-117).
We can address some of this self-seeking in the Church when we realize (as John did) that even the preparation done to get ready for Christ’s coming is not our own work but something God does for us. Famed Reformed theologian Karl Barth made this point well: “Christians... are those who waken up. As they awake they look up, and rise, thus making the counter-movement to the downward drag of their sinfully slothful being. They are those who waken up, however, because they are awakened. They do not wake of themselves and get up. They are roused and they are thus caused to get up and sit in this counter-movement” (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/4, p. 581).
Mark E.
Luke 3:1-6
The Roman Catholic archbishop of St. Louis and Minneapolis, John C. Nienstedt, apologized in July 2014 for the sexual abuse that went on in his dioceses. Many may question the sincerity of his words, dismissing his confession that he was not aware of what was taking place. He said he was too trusting of the internal process, so he did not have a hands-om approach. Nienstedt did say in his apology: “It is very clear that we did not handle all complaints the way we should have in the past.” With that statement Nienstedt outlined new procedures for investigating complaints.
Application: We do need many John the Baptists in the world today who will call us to make straight the crooked.
Ron L.
