Sermon Illustrations for the Fourth Sunday after Easter (2012)
Illustration
Object:
Acts 4:5-12
Peter proclaims in his sermon that Jesus is the "cornerstone" on which the church is built. As such, Jesus is the cornerstone of our lives. Jesus is our foundation and our inspiration.
As members of the church, we are to be the cornerstone for others. We are to be their foundation and encourager in times of difficulties, problems, and sorrows. By our faith and witness we are to be an inspiration onto others.
Jorge Posada retired this year from the New York Yankees. He spent his entire career with a single team as their catcher. But age and injury finally forced him onto the disabled list and retirement.
Posada was inspired to play baseball by a former Yankee catcher Thurman Munson whom he idolized. As a seven-year-old boy, he was grieved when Munson died in a plane crash in 1979.
Early in Posada's career he was lifting in the weight room at Fenway Park when he saw on the wall a photograph of Munson with a written comment about catching. It read, "Look, I like hitting fourth and I like the good batting average. But what I do every day behind the plate is a lot more important because it touches so many more people and so many more aspects of the game." Posada asked for a copy of the picture and quote, and he tapped it to the inside of his locker.
We can be an inspiration to others. We, living in the spirit of Jesus, can be a cornerstone onto others.
Ron L.
1 John 3:16-24
Debra Farrington calls our attention to a children's book written by Kenneth Grahame titled Wind in the Willows. The book is about four animals, and one day Little Portly, the baby otter is missing. Rat and Mole show concern and wonder what to do. The following dialogue explains their dilemma: "Rat," said the Mole, "I simply can't go and turn in, and go to sleep, and do nothing, even though there doesn't seem to be anything to be done. We'll get the boat out and paddle upstream. The moon will be up in an hour or so, and then we will search as well as we can -- anyhow, it will be better than going to bed and doing nothing."
Love is something you do. Our text explains it best of all, especially in the following words: "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?" (1 John 3:17).
Richard H.
1 John 3:16-24
It is so easy for us to look at our bank accounts and think that we're not making a lot of money. "Look at that celebrity in Hollywood" or even "Look at my boss' salary at work." By those standards, we could easily say we don't have a lot of money. But consider this: Research has shown that more than 80% of the world's population live in nations where the gross domestic product per capita is less than $10,000 (http://www.potashcorp.com/slideshow/172/#slide7620 ). Even working a part-time job at less than $9.00 per hour, a person can make over $10,000 a year.
Yet, with all our wealth, how much do we give, really? GivingUSA.org reported that the total charitable giving in the US in 2008 was $307.65 billion (http://www.givingusa.org/press_releases/gusa/GivingReaches300billion.pdf). That is an enormous amount of money, to be sure, but consider that the total population of the US in 2008 was about 305 million people. Taking those two numbers together that means that the average giving by every American was just over $1,000 for the year. When the median US income was $52,029 (http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/acsbr08-2.pdf) that means the average American gave less than 2% of their income that year to charity. How does that math stand up against this passage?
Craig K.
John 10:11-18
When Melinda Gates returned from Bangladesh, she shared what she learned about the humanitarian work being performed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Melinda said, "The one thing that touched me the most when I travel is the fact that so many women I meet don't have a voice -- not in their government, often not even in their own household." In order to empower these women, Melinda said those living in the developed world "can use our voices." We can give the oppressed women a voice in their future until social justice allows them to speak on their own.
The reason why Jesus was the good shepherd is because the sheep knew his voice. They knew his voice could be trusted for it was one of guidance and protection.
For those suffering the injustices of society, let us be sure that for them we are the voice of the good shepherd.
Ron L.
Peter proclaims in his sermon that Jesus is the "cornerstone" on which the church is built. As such, Jesus is the cornerstone of our lives. Jesus is our foundation and our inspiration.
As members of the church, we are to be the cornerstone for others. We are to be their foundation and encourager in times of difficulties, problems, and sorrows. By our faith and witness we are to be an inspiration onto others.
Jorge Posada retired this year from the New York Yankees. He spent his entire career with a single team as their catcher. But age and injury finally forced him onto the disabled list and retirement.
Posada was inspired to play baseball by a former Yankee catcher Thurman Munson whom he idolized. As a seven-year-old boy, he was grieved when Munson died in a plane crash in 1979.
Early in Posada's career he was lifting in the weight room at Fenway Park when he saw on the wall a photograph of Munson with a written comment about catching. It read, "Look, I like hitting fourth and I like the good batting average. But what I do every day behind the plate is a lot more important because it touches so many more people and so many more aspects of the game." Posada asked for a copy of the picture and quote, and he tapped it to the inside of his locker.
We can be an inspiration to others. We, living in the spirit of Jesus, can be a cornerstone onto others.
Ron L.
1 John 3:16-24
Debra Farrington calls our attention to a children's book written by Kenneth Grahame titled Wind in the Willows. The book is about four animals, and one day Little Portly, the baby otter is missing. Rat and Mole show concern and wonder what to do. The following dialogue explains their dilemma: "Rat," said the Mole, "I simply can't go and turn in, and go to sleep, and do nothing, even though there doesn't seem to be anything to be done. We'll get the boat out and paddle upstream. The moon will be up in an hour or so, and then we will search as well as we can -- anyhow, it will be better than going to bed and doing nothing."
Love is something you do. Our text explains it best of all, especially in the following words: "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?" (1 John 3:17).
Richard H.
1 John 3:16-24
It is so easy for us to look at our bank accounts and think that we're not making a lot of money. "Look at that celebrity in Hollywood" or even "Look at my boss' salary at work." By those standards, we could easily say we don't have a lot of money. But consider this: Research has shown that more than 80% of the world's population live in nations where the gross domestic product per capita is less than $10,000 (http://www.potashcorp.com/slideshow/172/#slide7620 ). Even working a part-time job at less than $9.00 per hour, a person can make over $10,000 a year.
Yet, with all our wealth, how much do we give, really? GivingUSA.org reported that the total charitable giving in the US in 2008 was $307.65 billion (http://www.givingusa.org/press_releases/gusa/GivingReaches300billion.pdf). That is an enormous amount of money, to be sure, but consider that the total population of the US in 2008 was about 305 million people. Taking those two numbers together that means that the average giving by every American was just over $1,000 for the year. When the median US income was $52,029 (http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/acsbr08-2.pdf) that means the average American gave less than 2% of their income that year to charity. How does that math stand up against this passage?
Craig K.
John 10:11-18
When Melinda Gates returned from Bangladesh, she shared what she learned about the humanitarian work being performed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Melinda said, "The one thing that touched me the most when I travel is the fact that so many women I meet don't have a voice -- not in their government, often not even in their own household." In order to empower these women, Melinda said those living in the developed world "can use our voices." We can give the oppressed women a voice in their future until social justice allows them to speak on their own.
The reason why Jesus was the good shepherd is because the sheep knew his voice. They knew his voice could be trusted for it was one of guidance and protection.
For those suffering the injustices of society, let us be sure that for them we are the voice of the good shepherd.
Ron L.
