Sermon Illustrations for New Year's Day (2014)
Illustration
Object:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
We like the good times, but we are not so sure about the bad times. We like to get our degree in college, but we are not always happy about the long time of hard work and stress that we have to endure for it. Then the suffering may go on while we are trying to find a job to pay for the cost! We wonder when these ups and downs will ever end. This passage tells us that they never will! There will always be good times and bad times.
It was suggested to me that I keep a diary. Then I could look at it when things were bad and see that I overcame them. When things were good, I could be warned to prepare myself for the struggles yet to come.
I had a group in one church write down the highs and lows of their lives. Then I asked them to mark the times they felt closest to the Lord. They all wrote that they felt closer to God when things were bad. They needed him, and they also knew that he would understand!
The burdens God has laid on us will bring us closer to him. We will know that everything beautiful will come in its good time! It can teach us that dreaded thing called patience!
I subscribe to a magazine called Reminisce. It is mainly for older folks who like to look back to their past. It emphasizes the good times, but it still brings back memories of all those other times that this passage points out.
There is a time to be born and a time to die. We don't mind the first, but why do things have to end? When we can't look ahead and see God's great reward for us it makes it hard to accept, but then we realize that when that time comes there will be no downsides! It will be unending joy! It will be totally different than life here with its ups and downs.
That list of ups and downs will give us something to meditate on for the rest of our lives. Some people living today can't remember a time when there was no war. We wonder when or if there will ever be a time of peace.
One thing that makes it hard is the television news where there seems to be a war somewhere in the world every day! We need to remember times when there was peace for the U.S. like between WWI and WWII and the next few wars. It is hard for some soldiers to remember, but it is important to remember the ups and downs and thank God for being with us in the downs and thank him for the ups!
Bob O.
Revelation 21:1-6a
Thomas Cook is a name that is unknown to most of us; but we each live with his innovative and entrepreneurial idea, if not monthly then surely yearly. With the second Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s, a new class of individuals was established -- the middle class. They were not the owners of corporations nor were they the common laborers, but they consisted of the middle management that was required to keep the operations going and tend to the accompanying paperwork. They also became the class of people who had disposable income. Cook, realizing this, was the first individual to establish the tourism business.
Application: When we speak of seeing a new heaven and a new earth, the experience can be one that catapults us to a new environment and a new understanding.
Ron L.
Revelation 21:1-6a
Suffering is not something that we seek, but it does come to all people at times in life. Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins. The thorns, the nails, the stripes on his back, the ridicule were all a part of the suffering he endured because of his love for us. Down through the ages, those who became his disciples understood that their allegiance to him meant suffering would be a part of their lives. Not just the natural cycle of life's suffering, but suffering because of their belief in Jesus as Lord of life.
The Christian understands that there is a time when this suffering will end and the tears will dry up and the heartache will pass. When will that be? It will be when Jesus returns! This is God's promise!
Derl K.
Revelation 21:1-6a
This text promises a fresh start. That is so appropriate for the New Year celebration. The future orientation is not only in line with the Christian message; it is also good for our health and happiness and can contribute to keeping us young. Neurobiological research has demonstrated that when undertaking new tasks, living with openness to the future, the brain forges new neural (brain-cell) connections. When that happens the front part of the brain (the prefrontal cortex) is bathed in natural dope (dopamine), which gives feelings of pleasure and happiness (Sherwin Newland, The Art of Aging: A Doctor's Prescription for Well-Being). Believing in the new thing God is doing and having it orient how we navigate our lives keeps our minds healthy and makes life happier. The African-American community's wonderful celebration of midnight on January 1 as "Watch Night," remembering that it was on January 1 (1863) that the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, is a model for us all. It is a night in the black community not so much for drinking as for meeting to make plans for the new year in light of the word of freedom. May we spend New Year's Eve and January as a whole making plans for 2014 in light of the new thing, the new reality, God has created for the cosmos and for our lives.
Mark E.
Matthew 25:31-46
We like the glory part. It's the judgment part that may give us a little concern. As we go over the list, we can see that we might have to confess to a few times when we are asked "When did you see me?"
It can also be a message that it is not too late to become the sheep on Jesus' right side. As simple a thing as your weekly offering may be one sign that you are on the sheep side knowing that some of that money is going to help the suffering ones in this world.
But Jesus makes it more specific:
1. Who are the hungry around us? Maybe we can help the food kitchen at the Salvation Army. It may mean contributing to those in need in a specific country that we have read about. There were great outpourings when the Haitian earthquake hit. It may be something as simple as inviting our neighbor to lunch if they lost a job. You must be blind not to see the needs around us! If they are thirsty it might mean helping our government find sources of water for dry areas. I hear solutions being put forward -- if the government can find the money. What can you do?
2. This next one reminds us of our immigrants. We have to remember their needs -- especially if there are no government programs to assist them. It can also be an individual call to find people who have just moved into your neighborhood. I see Mormons going with trays of cookies to make some new neighbors feel welcome. Keep your eyes open for such "opportunities"!
3. I get mailings inviting me to put used clothing out for some charity. I read about a shopper who saw a child with holes in his shoes and bought him a new pair. My grandparents invited the homeless in during the Depression and gave them some of Grandpa's old funeral outfits. It made some laugh to see them in a formal suit with a derby hat. They were also invited in for a meal.
4. There is a program called Doctors Without Borders, and when we were in Nepal we knew many nurses who were missionaries serving from the medical mission house in which we lived. You can support medical programs in Africa, for those who need inoculations for diseases.
5. The last may be the hardest. We have been helping a girl in jail complete her degree, so she will able to find a job when she comes out. This one may be difficult for some who want to continue to "teach them a lesson," which may only send them on the road back to the state's free board and room at our expense.
Just look around and you will see need all over. You should see Jesus in those needs!
Bob O.
We like the good times, but we are not so sure about the bad times. We like to get our degree in college, but we are not always happy about the long time of hard work and stress that we have to endure for it. Then the suffering may go on while we are trying to find a job to pay for the cost! We wonder when these ups and downs will ever end. This passage tells us that they never will! There will always be good times and bad times.
It was suggested to me that I keep a diary. Then I could look at it when things were bad and see that I overcame them. When things were good, I could be warned to prepare myself for the struggles yet to come.
I had a group in one church write down the highs and lows of their lives. Then I asked them to mark the times they felt closest to the Lord. They all wrote that they felt closer to God when things were bad. They needed him, and they also knew that he would understand!
The burdens God has laid on us will bring us closer to him. We will know that everything beautiful will come in its good time! It can teach us that dreaded thing called patience!
I subscribe to a magazine called Reminisce. It is mainly for older folks who like to look back to their past. It emphasizes the good times, but it still brings back memories of all those other times that this passage points out.
There is a time to be born and a time to die. We don't mind the first, but why do things have to end? When we can't look ahead and see God's great reward for us it makes it hard to accept, but then we realize that when that time comes there will be no downsides! It will be unending joy! It will be totally different than life here with its ups and downs.
That list of ups and downs will give us something to meditate on for the rest of our lives. Some people living today can't remember a time when there was no war. We wonder when or if there will ever be a time of peace.
One thing that makes it hard is the television news where there seems to be a war somewhere in the world every day! We need to remember times when there was peace for the U.S. like between WWI and WWII and the next few wars. It is hard for some soldiers to remember, but it is important to remember the ups and downs and thank God for being with us in the downs and thank him for the ups!
Bob O.
Revelation 21:1-6a
Thomas Cook is a name that is unknown to most of us; but we each live with his innovative and entrepreneurial idea, if not monthly then surely yearly. With the second Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s, a new class of individuals was established -- the middle class. They were not the owners of corporations nor were they the common laborers, but they consisted of the middle management that was required to keep the operations going and tend to the accompanying paperwork. They also became the class of people who had disposable income. Cook, realizing this, was the first individual to establish the tourism business.
Application: When we speak of seeing a new heaven and a new earth, the experience can be one that catapults us to a new environment and a new understanding.
Ron L.
Revelation 21:1-6a
Suffering is not something that we seek, but it does come to all people at times in life. Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins. The thorns, the nails, the stripes on his back, the ridicule were all a part of the suffering he endured because of his love for us. Down through the ages, those who became his disciples understood that their allegiance to him meant suffering would be a part of their lives. Not just the natural cycle of life's suffering, but suffering because of their belief in Jesus as Lord of life.
The Christian understands that there is a time when this suffering will end and the tears will dry up and the heartache will pass. When will that be? It will be when Jesus returns! This is God's promise!
Derl K.
Revelation 21:1-6a
This text promises a fresh start. That is so appropriate for the New Year celebration. The future orientation is not only in line with the Christian message; it is also good for our health and happiness and can contribute to keeping us young. Neurobiological research has demonstrated that when undertaking new tasks, living with openness to the future, the brain forges new neural (brain-cell) connections. When that happens the front part of the brain (the prefrontal cortex) is bathed in natural dope (dopamine), which gives feelings of pleasure and happiness (Sherwin Newland, The Art of Aging: A Doctor's Prescription for Well-Being). Believing in the new thing God is doing and having it orient how we navigate our lives keeps our minds healthy and makes life happier. The African-American community's wonderful celebration of midnight on January 1 as "Watch Night," remembering that it was on January 1 (1863) that the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, is a model for us all. It is a night in the black community not so much for drinking as for meeting to make plans for the new year in light of the word of freedom. May we spend New Year's Eve and January as a whole making plans for 2014 in light of the new thing, the new reality, God has created for the cosmos and for our lives.
Mark E.
Matthew 25:31-46
We like the glory part. It's the judgment part that may give us a little concern. As we go over the list, we can see that we might have to confess to a few times when we are asked "When did you see me?"
It can also be a message that it is not too late to become the sheep on Jesus' right side. As simple a thing as your weekly offering may be one sign that you are on the sheep side knowing that some of that money is going to help the suffering ones in this world.
But Jesus makes it more specific:
1. Who are the hungry around us? Maybe we can help the food kitchen at the Salvation Army. It may mean contributing to those in need in a specific country that we have read about. There were great outpourings when the Haitian earthquake hit. It may be something as simple as inviting our neighbor to lunch if they lost a job. You must be blind not to see the needs around us! If they are thirsty it might mean helping our government find sources of water for dry areas. I hear solutions being put forward -- if the government can find the money. What can you do?
2. This next one reminds us of our immigrants. We have to remember their needs -- especially if there are no government programs to assist them. It can also be an individual call to find people who have just moved into your neighborhood. I see Mormons going with trays of cookies to make some new neighbors feel welcome. Keep your eyes open for such "opportunities"!
3. I get mailings inviting me to put used clothing out for some charity. I read about a shopper who saw a child with holes in his shoes and bought him a new pair. My grandparents invited the homeless in during the Depression and gave them some of Grandpa's old funeral outfits. It made some laugh to see them in a formal suit with a derby hat. They were also invited in for a meal.
4. There is a program called Doctors Without Borders, and when we were in Nepal we knew many nurses who were missionaries serving from the medical mission house in which we lived. You can support medical programs in Africa, for those who need inoculations for diseases.
5. The last may be the hardest. We have been helping a girl in jail complete her degree, so she will able to find a job when she comes out. This one may be difficult for some who want to continue to "teach them a lesson," which may only send them on the road back to the state's free board and room at our expense.
Just look around and you will see need all over. You should see Jesus in those needs!
Bob O.
