Sermon Illustrations for Ash Wednesday (2014)
Illustration
Object:
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
We come together for birthday parties, weddings and funerals, and retirement celebrations. We come together with our families and friends and those dearest to us. They are the world to us in miniature. We can come together as larger groups with people we might not know all that well if there is something else to draw us together: a class reunion, a business convention, school assemblies, trade conventions, and seminars. We can even gather by the tens of thousands with total strangers for a concert or a sporting event. What we gather for shows who we are. We gather together for the things that matter to us most.
Scott B.
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Anthony Campolo, a college sociology professor who writes extensively on theology, offered a cure for pride: "It seems to me that one of the most important dimensions of salvation through Christ is deliverance from the dishonesty that stems from pride. When you come to an awareness of how important you are to Jesus, you see your boasting as hollow and meaningless. If you view yourself as so special to God that he would have sent his Son to die just for you, you find that playing games to establish a sense of importance becomes unnecessary."
Application: We can return to the Lord when we are willing to see our foolish ways of living for ourselves, and with that "render our hearts" unto the Lord.
Ron L.
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Dr. Ed Young tells the story of Dr. Clovis Chappell as a college student. Chappell went to Harvard, while a close friend attended Yale.
The two were returning home for Christmas by train. Chappell had his ticket in his back pocket, but it was sticking out. For a prank his friend pulled the ticket out of his pocket and then stuck it in his own pocket. They got on the train and were seated next to each other. As the conductor was coming to check their tickets, Chappell reached for his only to discover it wasn't there. In a panic he asked his friend what he should do. His Yale buddy said he should hide from the conductor. The prankster said, "Crawl under the seat and I'll put my raincoat over you, and maybe he won't notice you." Chappell did!
The conductor called for the ticket, and Clovis' friend reached in his pocket and got out both his ticket and Chappell's ticket and handed them to the conductor. The conductor said, "Fine, but where is your seatmate? You have a second ticket." And the fellow from Yale said, "Why, he's down under the seat there." And the conductor looked at him and said, "That's sort of strange, isn't it?" And he said, "No, you see, he is a student at Harvard and he likes to ride in trains that way."
Funny story, but a lot of people go through life "under the seat." God wants us out walking in the beauty of his love and holiness, but like the Israelites in Joel's day they are uncomfortable. They would rather hide "under the seat" than acknowledge, repent, and follow God.
(www.sermonsearch.com)
Derl K.
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Ash Wednesday is a time for repentance, for turning around. The lesson and the commemoration urge us to do this fast, to turn around our lives right now. But when it comes to changing bad things about ourselves, we are prone to procrastination. Famed modern theologian Karl Barth believes that such procrastination is a function of our imprisonment by anxiety, our sense of hopelessness about the future (Church Dogmatics, Vol. IV/2, pp. 471-472). But "now is no time for taking rest," John Calvin claims (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XIV/1, p. 44). God will not let us do that to ourselves, he adds: "We are at first torpid when God invites us, except he applies his many goads..." (Ibid., p. 62).
Hence the prophet now represents God as propitious and merciful, that he might kindly allure the people to repentance (Ibid., p. 55).
With his love, God gently goads or allures us to turning this around. With that warning we can spend our time affirming with Calvin that: "This should lead us to remark that we ought not to place our safety in anything else than in the presence of God; for if he be absent, we shall either shudder with fear, or become stupid or run headlong like drunkards" (Ibid., Vol. VIII/1, pp. 323-324).
Mark E.
2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10
When I was in Nepal as a missionary it was illegal to be a Christian until 1992; I met the first Christian in Nepal, old pastor Tir! He was 86 when I met him where he still served as pastor of a church in Baktapur. He told me that when he was a Christian before it became legal, he was often arrested and put in jail. There was a six-year prison sentence if convicted. But when he was in jail he showed such love, even when he was beaten, that he converted so many jail guards that they let him go! He was hit so hard in the head by a rifle butt when he was in prison once that he had to have an operation, but he still smiled and prayed for the ones who were hurting him! Nothing won them faster than love. They couldn't get over why this fellow they were torturing could still smile and forgive them! He followed Jesus' command to love your enemies!
That list in the lesson sounds like life in the Near East! Some are destroying Christian churches and hurting Christians. When I am watching the evening news, I see all the tragedies going on in the world. Maybe all we can do is pray for those who are suffering, but maybe we can make sure we are not a stumbling block. Maybe we can see opportunities for helping our struggling brothers and sisters even if only to "send money."
It will never end while we live on this earth; now is the time to memorize those verses and prepare yourself. Even in our country we get dishonored because we openly proclaim our faith -- as God commanded! Can we be patient and kind even to those who condemn us for being faithful and "prejudiced against others"?
Our text says that now is the time! We have a tendency to either look back or ahead. But now is the hour! There is no time for nostalgia or for trying to look ahead in the crystal ball to see what tomorrow might bring. When I am driving in our city, I am looking ahead to my destination or thinking back about how relaxing it was to be in my easy chair. I find myself cursing the driver ahead of me who is creeping along at the speed limit while I am in a hurry to finish what I have to do so I can go back to my easy chair. I should be praying for the driver ahead of me and for the children who were crossing the street and for their parents. I should be praying for the friend I am to meet, that he would arrive safely. How hard it is to live in the now!
At 86, my life could end at any time, so that is why I am not planning to be with my maker now and praying for those who will be left behind. May the ashes you receive tonight remind you.
Bob O.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
We are full of pride and hypocrisy. Martin Luther described our state so well, how even our good deeds are soiled by ego and sin: "It is incredible how common this blasphemy and vice is in the world... how few people there are who do good works without seeking the honor or favor of the world this way" (Luther's Works, Vol. 21, p. 132).
As the Reformer notes in reference to verse 3's comment about not letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing, the left hand should not be informed lest it try to take more than the right hand gave (Ibid., p. 21). We are lost causes, according to eighteenth-century French intellectual Blaise Pascal: "Man is nothing but a subject full of natural error that cannot be eradicated except through grace" (Pensees, p. 45).
Only by God's grace, not by our worthiness, can life be turned around. Luther offers us a most comforting image in that connection: "Therefore sinners are attractive because they are loved; they are not loved because they are attractive" (Luther's Works, Vol. 31, p. 57).
Mark E.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
As a child coming home from school one afternoon, I heard my mother talking to someone. There were no cars in the driveway, so I assumed it was a neighbor. I didn't say anything so that I would not interrupt their conversation. As I turned the corner to go into the kitchen, there was my mother washing dishes and crying while talking out loud. I paused to listen and realized that she was in conversation... with God. My mother prayed for my siblings, my dad, me, the church, missionaries, and a lot of other people. I listened for quite a while before she realized that someone was in the kitchen along with her and God.
I learned a lesson that has carried me throughout my life. No matter where you are, you can always have a conversation with God. I believe that is what Jesus is communicating to his disciples in Matthew's gospel.
Derl K.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
In the 1970s Karl Menninger wrote a book that was widely read, studied, and discussed. Menninger was a Harvard-educated psychiatrist who established the Menninger Sanitarium in 1925 in Topeka, Kansas. As a psychiatrist he believed that mental health is dependent upon physical, social, cultural, and moral (spiritual) health. A significant aspect of spiritual health is to be unencumbered by the ramifications of sin. Therefore his book, penned by a medical doctor, was titled Whatever Became of Sin? The following paragraph is the one that is most often quoted:
The very word "sin," which seems to have disappeared, was a proud word. It was once a strong word, an ominous and serious word. It described a central point in every civilized human being's life plan and lifestyle. But the word went away. It has almost disappeared -- the word, along with the notion. Why? Doesn't anyone sin anymore? Doesn't anyone believe in sin?
Application: Has the word sin gone out of your vocabulary, or is it just reserved for the other person? Has sin gone out of your life, but lives abundant in your neighbors? Has sin avoided your church pew, but inhabits that which is behind, in front, and of course across the aisle? If sin is not to be found in your life, then where is it? Sin will remain a part of us until we refocus our attention "on the treasures of heaven."
Ron L.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
The old saying goes that if you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig.
Batman has a secret identity, and so does Robin. So does Spiderman. The Flash's real name is Barry Allen, though no one seems to be quick enough to figure that out. Even Wonder Woman went to great lengths to hide herself away as Diana Prince. The funny thing about these "secret identities" is that they are actually more public than their heroic alter-egos. Peter Parker never wears a mask. People know where he lives. Bruce Wayne's car is legally registered. Batman's is not. The persona you present to the world may not be who you really are. God, who sees in secret, knows the real you.
Scott B.
We come together for birthday parties, weddings and funerals, and retirement celebrations. We come together with our families and friends and those dearest to us. They are the world to us in miniature. We can come together as larger groups with people we might not know all that well if there is something else to draw us together: a class reunion, a business convention, school assemblies, trade conventions, and seminars. We can even gather by the tens of thousands with total strangers for a concert or a sporting event. What we gather for shows who we are. We gather together for the things that matter to us most.
Scott B.
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Anthony Campolo, a college sociology professor who writes extensively on theology, offered a cure for pride: "It seems to me that one of the most important dimensions of salvation through Christ is deliverance from the dishonesty that stems from pride. When you come to an awareness of how important you are to Jesus, you see your boasting as hollow and meaningless. If you view yourself as so special to God that he would have sent his Son to die just for you, you find that playing games to establish a sense of importance becomes unnecessary."
Application: We can return to the Lord when we are willing to see our foolish ways of living for ourselves, and with that "render our hearts" unto the Lord.
Ron L.
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Dr. Ed Young tells the story of Dr. Clovis Chappell as a college student. Chappell went to Harvard, while a close friend attended Yale.
The two were returning home for Christmas by train. Chappell had his ticket in his back pocket, but it was sticking out. For a prank his friend pulled the ticket out of his pocket and then stuck it in his own pocket. They got on the train and were seated next to each other. As the conductor was coming to check their tickets, Chappell reached for his only to discover it wasn't there. In a panic he asked his friend what he should do. His Yale buddy said he should hide from the conductor. The prankster said, "Crawl under the seat and I'll put my raincoat over you, and maybe he won't notice you." Chappell did!
The conductor called for the ticket, and Clovis' friend reached in his pocket and got out both his ticket and Chappell's ticket and handed them to the conductor. The conductor said, "Fine, but where is your seatmate? You have a second ticket." And the fellow from Yale said, "Why, he's down under the seat there." And the conductor looked at him and said, "That's sort of strange, isn't it?" And he said, "No, you see, he is a student at Harvard and he likes to ride in trains that way."
Funny story, but a lot of people go through life "under the seat." God wants us out walking in the beauty of his love and holiness, but like the Israelites in Joel's day they are uncomfortable. They would rather hide "under the seat" than acknowledge, repent, and follow God.
(www.sermonsearch.com)
Derl K.
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Ash Wednesday is a time for repentance, for turning around. The lesson and the commemoration urge us to do this fast, to turn around our lives right now. But when it comes to changing bad things about ourselves, we are prone to procrastination. Famed modern theologian Karl Barth believes that such procrastination is a function of our imprisonment by anxiety, our sense of hopelessness about the future (Church Dogmatics, Vol. IV/2, pp. 471-472). But "now is no time for taking rest," John Calvin claims (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XIV/1, p. 44). God will not let us do that to ourselves, he adds: "We are at first torpid when God invites us, except he applies his many goads..." (Ibid., p. 62).
Hence the prophet now represents God as propitious and merciful, that he might kindly allure the people to repentance (Ibid., p. 55).
With his love, God gently goads or allures us to turning this around. With that warning we can spend our time affirming with Calvin that: "This should lead us to remark that we ought not to place our safety in anything else than in the presence of God; for if he be absent, we shall either shudder with fear, or become stupid or run headlong like drunkards" (Ibid., Vol. VIII/1, pp. 323-324).
Mark E.
2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10
When I was in Nepal as a missionary it was illegal to be a Christian until 1992; I met the first Christian in Nepal, old pastor Tir! He was 86 when I met him where he still served as pastor of a church in Baktapur. He told me that when he was a Christian before it became legal, he was often arrested and put in jail. There was a six-year prison sentence if convicted. But when he was in jail he showed such love, even when he was beaten, that he converted so many jail guards that they let him go! He was hit so hard in the head by a rifle butt when he was in prison once that he had to have an operation, but he still smiled and prayed for the ones who were hurting him! Nothing won them faster than love. They couldn't get over why this fellow they were torturing could still smile and forgive them! He followed Jesus' command to love your enemies!
That list in the lesson sounds like life in the Near East! Some are destroying Christian churches and hurting Christians. When I am watching the evening news, I see all the tragedies going on in the world. Maybe all we can do is pray for those who are suffering, but maybe we can make sure we are not a stumbling block. Maybe we can see opportunities for helping our struggling brothers and sisters even if only to "send money."
It will never end while we live on this earth; now is the time to memorize those verses and prepare yourself. Even in our country we get dishonored because we openly proclaim our faith -- as God commanded! Can we be patient and kind even to those who condemn us for being faithful and "prejudiced against others"?
Our text says that now is the time! We have a tendency to either look back or ahead. But now is the hour! There is no time for nostalgia or for trying to look ahead in the crystal ball to see what tomorrow might bring. When I am driving in our city, I am looking ahead to my destination or thinking back about how relaxing it was to be in my easy chair. I find myself cursing the driver ahead of me who is creeping along at the speed limit while I am in a hurry to finish what I have to do so I can go back to my easy chair. I should be praying for the driver ahead of me and for the children who were crossing the street and for their parents. I should be praying for the friend I am to meet, that he would arrive safely. How hard it is to live in the now!
At 86, my life could end at any time, so that is why I am not planning to be with my maker now and praying for those who will be left behind. May the ashes you receive tonight remind you.
Bob O.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
We are full of pride and hypocrisy. Martin Luther described our state so well, how even our good deeds are soiled by ego and sin: "It is incredible how common this blasphemy and vice is in the world... how few people there are who do good works without seeking the honor or favor of the world this way" (Luther's Works, Vol. 21, p. 132).
As the Reformer notes in reference to verse 3's comment about not letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing, the left hand should not be informed lest it try to take more than the right hand gave (Ibid., p. 21). We are lost causes, according to eighteenth-century French intellectual Blaise Pascal: "Man is nothing but a subject full of natural error that cannot be eradicated except through grace" (Pensees, p. 45).
Only by God's grace, not by our worthiness, can life be turned around. Luther offers us a most comforting image in that connection: "Therefore sinners are attractive because they are loved; they are not loved because they are attractive" (Luther's Works, Vol. 31, p. 57).
Mark E.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
As a child coming home from school one afternoon, I heard my mother talking to someone. There were no cars in the driveway, so I assumed it was a neighbor. I didn't say anything so that I would not interrupt their conversation. As I turned the corner to go into the kitchen, there was my mother washing dishes and crying while talking out loud. I paused to listen and realized that she was in conversation... with God. My mother prayed for my siblings, my dad, me, the church, missionaries, and a lot of other people. I listened for quite a while before she realized that someone was in the kitchen along with her and God.
I learned a lesson that has carried me throughout my life. No matter where you are, you can always have a conversation with God. I believe that is what Jesus is communicating to his disciples in Matthew's gospel.
Derl K.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
In the 1970s Karl Menninger wrote a book that was widely read, studied, and discussed. Menninger was a Harvard-educated psychiatrist who established the Menninger Sanitarium in 1925 in Topeka, Kansas. As a psychiatrist he believed that mental health is dependent upon physical, social, cultural, and moral (spiritual) health. A significant aspect of spiritual health is to be unencumbered by the ramifications of sin. Therefore his book, penned by a medical doctor, was titled Whatever Became of Sin? The following paragraph is the one that is most often quoted:
The very word "sin," which seems to have disappeared, was a proud word. It was once a strong word, an ominous and serious word. It described a central point in every civilized human being's life plan and lifestyle. But the word went away. It has almost disappeared -- the word, along with the notion. Why? Doesn't anyone sin anymore? Doesn't anyone believe in sin?
Application: Has the word sin gone out of your vocabulary, or is it just reserved for the other person? Has sin gone out of your life, but lives abundant in your neighbors? Has sin avoided your church pew, but inhabits that which is behind, in front, and of course across the aisle? If sin is not to be found in your life, then where is it? Sin will remain a part of us until we refocus our attention "on the treasures of heaven."
Ron L.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
The old saying goes that if you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig.
Batman has a secret identity, and so does Robin. So does Spiderman. The Flash's real name is Barry Allen, though no one seems to be quick enough to figure that out. Even Wonder Woman went to great lengths to hide herself away as Diana Prince. The funny thing about these "secret identities" is that they are actually more public than their heroic alter-egos. Peter Parker never wears a mask. People know where he lives. Bruce Wayne's car is legally registered. Batman's is not. The persona you present to the world may not be who you really are. God, who sees in secret, knows the real you.
Scott B.
