Sermon Illustrations for Proper 11 | Ordinary Time 16 (2014)
Illustration
Object:
Genesis 28:10-19a
We climb the corporate ladder. We pull ourselves up and rise to the next level and strive in all things to go higher and higher. We soar to new heights. We rise to the occasion. We work our way up to the top of the world.
But Jacob doesn't climb his own ladder. He doesn't advance a single rung. And neither do we. We can't lift ourselves up to God. God comes down to us.
Scott B.
Genesis 28:10-19a
Jacob leaves Beersheba and sets out for Haran. In the process of the journey, he stops and receives a vision from God in the middle of the night. The vision gives Jacob an assurance that God was not just the God of Abraham and Isaac, but his God. He also promises Jacob descendents that will bless the earth's inhabitants. God gives Jacob the assurance that he will watch over him and will not forsake him. What a dream! What a vision!
The people of God who have made a difference in the world and turned it upside down are those who God has given a vision and a Bible in their hands.
Derl K.
Genesis 28:10-19a
Abraham's was a life of authority and decision, Isaac's life was one of submission, and now Jacob's life was one of trial and struggle. Each of us has a different calling. We are guided by the Holy Spirit, hopefully, but also by the encouragement of our pastor and congregation. Our church, for example, will confirm a call to the ministry or the mission field where we might find trial and struggle like Jacob. Jacob's call was confirmed by his mother first and then by his father after he had cheated his brother out of first place. Seems like an odd way for a great ancestor of our Lord to begin his assignment. Not a good example for us.
It is apparent that the Lord chose Jacob when he had that dream of the staircase to paradise. The Lord uses what he can get but his mysterious ways are past finding out. But Jacob does get the promise that continues for generations down to the birth of our Savior. Almost all or maybe we should say all of his descendants had moral flaws if we read their records in the Old Testament. Maybe it can be a comfort to us to know that no one is perfect -- except for our Lord. We can claim we are stuck with it. As some do, we can blame it on God -- he made me this way.
It was still God's plan that all the land where he was lying was going to be his for all the generations. They still have it today, but are cranky with anyone who wants to claim a part of it -- like the Canaanites or the Palestinians even if they owned it for many generations! How much more would someone complain if our claim came to us in a dream? Where is the paperwork? I suppose that today we could say that our Bible is the paperwork.
I have had strange dreams, and sometimes they were just dreams, but sometimes God was trying to get through to me. Some nights he has inspired me to write essays or sermons. It was later that I found out it was God who gave me those dreams. I know some whose dreams could not have come from God. Read the daily news or the TV and you will know what I mean. I feel certain that the terrorist's dreams were not from God! I know that a God of love does not give us evil dreams meant for us to hurt others.
Bob O.
Romans 8:12-25
A 2012 poll conducted by Politico indicates that 3 in 5 Americans are pessimistic about the future, fearing that their children will have things worse than they do in the present. Little wonder given other relevant statistics: Adjusted for inflation, real household income has declined 6% since 2000. Total home mortgage debt in the U.S. in five times larger than twenty years ago. And 77% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck at least for some months in 2012. We have this sense of hopelessness because we are tied up in the things of the flesh (the life of self-centeredness), not of the Spirit.
Famed modern theologian Karl Barth nicely described the dynamics of living according to the flesh: "... [it is] to live the unbroken life of the world of time and things of men, to take that life seriously and to treat it as the real life, to live naively as though we were satisfied with the possibilities of this world, to submerge ourselves in its lowest or to revel in its highest possibilities" (The Epistle to the Romans, p. 291).
About this sinful way to live Martin Luther added: "In everything it happens this way: What a man had, he despises; what he does not have, he loves" (Luther's Works, Vol. 27, p. 67). No wonder we are so pessimistic about life.
John Calvin well describes the remedy for all this as outlined in the lesson: "It seems to me, that there is here especially a consolation offered by which the faithful are strengthened, lest they should faint in their efforts after holiness through a consciousness of their own weakness" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XIX/2, pp. 232-233).
For experience shows that except we are supported by God's hands, we are soon overwhelmed by innumerable evils (Ibid., p. 311).
Life in the Spirit creates new options and gives us confidence and hope. It is as Martin Luther wrote: "But faith expands the heart, the emotions, and the voice, but fear tightens up all these things and restricts them..." (Luther's Works, Vol. 25, p. 358). Faith gives us options and hopes for the future we never knew we could have living in the flesh.
Mark E.
Romans 8:12-25
On April 19, 1854, at the age of 19, Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon was called to pastor New Park Chapel in London, one of the city's largest and oldest churches. Spurgeon went on to become one of the most renowned preachers in the history of the church, with his writings respected by pastors and lay persons through the generations.
Application: As Paul writes we truly are children of god led by the Holy Spirit.
Ron L.
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Bearded darnel (Lolium temulentum) is a weed that grows everywhere in the world where wheat grows. It so closely resembles wheat, that darnel is sometimes called "false wheat." It is only when the plants are nearly mature, and heads of grain start to develop, that subtle differences begin to appear. Until that time, it is nearly impossible to tell one from the other. If you attempt to weed out the darnel, you will almost certainly destroy some of the crop that you are trying to grow.
Scott B.
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Parables are much better than scholarly dissertations! When I taught in the seminary in Nepal, there was a language and cultural barrier, which made academic instruction difficult, but parables can get across in almost any language. Only a few were difficult like marriage which was handled differently in Nepal, though it was much the same in Old Testament books when parents often selected a mate for their children. We had much more fun and it was more interesting to the students in class with parables and they got the point.
Many of my students came from farming communities and understood this parable. One had an enemy of their father who put some bad seed in one corner of his field and they knew how they felt about it. They also knew that they had to wait until the harvest neared to see the weeds begin to sprout. Then they knew an enemy had done this.
Some of us get impatient when God does not punish the wicked immediately, but this parable hints that we must wait until we see the fruits of their hurtful attempt. Only then should we pull them out and let God burn them. If we didn't wait, we might accidentally harvest some good plants and burn them. The fruits of evil don't always surface immediately, but it is obvious when they do. Only then can we separate the good crops from the weeds.
Jesus says this will happen at the end of the age. Does that mean when he comes again -- the second coming? We can sure see weeds blooming today. Are we supposed to wait and let God's angels do the harvest? It is not up to us. Be patient! In the meantime let the law courts handle it.
Offhand I can think of one way we can get rid of the weeds, and that is at election time. We can see good seed rise when we get praise for our good work in our job and maybe get a raise. I got a letter from a former member in another church telling me how much I had helped them in their marriage, for one.
Sometimes we need to have parables explained to us when we don't quite get the point. That is one reason we come to church to hear good sermons and good teachers in a Sunday school class.
Someday maybe you will be the one to explain a parable to your children. Then you can pray that the good seed will sprout.
Bob O.
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
After sharing a parable concerning the wheat and the weeds in the fields with a multitude of people, Jesus takes time alone with his intimate disciples to explain it clearly to them. The keys that unlock the meaning to the parable are sevenfold as blueprinted in verses 37-39. 1) The sower is the Son of Man. 2) The field is the world. 3) The good seed represents the children of God. 4) The weeds are the sons of the wicked one. 5) The enemy is Satan. 6) The harvest is the end of the age. 7) The reapers are the angels.
When Christ came into the world, he introduced the kingdom of God into the world, but the evil and sinful powers will do whatever it takes to resist God, his Son, and the kingdom. The good news is that they will fail. Read the end of the book.
Derl K.
We climb the corporate ladder. We pull ourselves up and rise to the next level and strive in all things to go higher and higher. We soar to new heights. We rise to the occasion. We work our way up to the top of the world.
But Jacob doesn't climb his own ladder. He doesn't advance a single rung. And neither do we. We can't lift ourselves up to God. God comes down to us.
Scott B.
Genesis 28:10-19a
Jacob leaves Beersheba and sets out for Haran. In the process of the journey, he stops and receives a vision from God in the middle of the night. The vision gives Jacob an assurance that God was not just the God of Abraham and Isaac, but his God. He also promises Jacob descendents that will bless the earth's inhabitants. God gives Jacob the assurance that he will watch over him and will not forsake him. What a dream! What a vision!
The people of God who have made a difference in the world and turned it upside down are those who God has given a vision and a Bible in their hands.
Derl K.
Genesis 28:10-19a
Abraham's was a life of authority and decision, Isaac's life was one of submission, and now Jacob's life was one of trial and struggle. Each of us has a different calling. We are guided by the Holy Spirit, hopefully, but also by the encouragement of our pastor and congregation. Our church, for example, will confirm a call to the ministry or the mission field where we might find trial and struggle like Jacob. Jacob's call was confirmed by his mother first and then by his father after he had cheated his brother out of first place. Seems like an odd way for a great ancestor of our Lord to begin his assignment. Not a good example for us.
It is apparent that the Lord chose Jacob when he had that dream of the staircase to paradise. The Lord uses what he can get but his mysterious ways are past finding out. But Jacob does get the promise that continues for generations down to the birth of our Savior. Almost all or maybe we should say all of his descendants had moral flaws if we read their records in the Old Testament. Maybe it can be a comfort to us to know that no one is perfect -- except for our Lord. We can claim we are stuck with it. As some do, we can blame it on God -- he made me this way.
It was still God's plan that all the land where he was lying was going to be his for all the generations. They still have it today, but are cranky with anyone who wants to claim a part of it -- like the Canaanites or the Palestinians even if they owned it for many generations! How much more would someone complain if our claim came to us in a dream? Where is the paperwork? I suppose that today we could say that our Bible is the paperwork.
I have had strange dreams, and sometimes they were just dreams, but sometimes God was trying to get through to me. Some nights he has inspired me to write essays or sermons. It was later that I found out it was God who gave me those dreams. I know some whose dreams could not have come from God. Read the daily news or the TV and you will know what I mean. I feel certain that the terrorist's dreams were not from God! I know that a God of love does not give us evil dreams meant for us to hurt others.
Bob O.
Romans 8:12-25
A 2012 poll conducted by Politico indicates that 3 in 5 Americans are pessimistic about the future, fearing that their children will have things worse than they do in the present. Little wonder given other relevant statistics: Adjusted for inflation, real household income has declined 6% since 2000. Total home mortgage debt in the U.S. in five times larger than twenty years ago. And 77% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck at least for some months in 2012. We have this sense of hopelessness because we are tied up in the things of the flesh (the life of self-centeredness), not of the Spirit.
Famed modern theologian Karl Barth nicely described the dynamics of living according to the flesh: "... [it is] to live the unbroken life of the world of time and things of men, to take that life seriously and to treat it as the real life, to live naively as though we were satisfied with the possibilities of this world, to submerge ourselves in its lowest or to revel in its highest possibilities" (The Epistle to the Romans, p. 291).
About this sinful way to live Martin Luther added: "In everything it happens this way: What a man had, he despises; what he does not have, he loves" (Luther's Works, Vol. 27, p. 67). No wonder we are so pessimistic about life.
John Calvin well describes the remedy for all this as outlined in the lesson: "It seems to me, that there is here especially a consolation offered by which the faithful are strengthened, lest they should faint in their efforts after holiness through a consciousness of their own weakness" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XIX/2, pp. 232-233).
For experience shows that except we are supported by God's hands, we are soon overwhelmed by innumerable evils (Ibid., p. 311).
Life in the Spirit creates new options and gives us confidence and hope. It is as Martin Luther wrote: "But faith expands the heart, the emotions, and the voice, but fear tightens up all these things and restricts them..." (Luther's Works, Vol. 25, p. 358). Faith gives us options and hopes for the future we never knew we could have living in the flesh.
Mark E.
Romans 8:12-25
On April 19, 1854, at the age of 19, Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon was called to pastor New Park Chapel in London, one of the city's largest and oldest churches. Spurgeon went on to become one of the most renowned preachers in the history of the church, with his writings respected by pastors and lay persons through the generations.
Application: As Paul writes we truly are children of god led by the Holy Spirit.
Ron L.
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Bearded darnel (Lolium temulentum) is a weed that grows everywhere in the world where wheat grows. It so closely resembles wheat, that darnel is sometimes called "false wheat." It is only when the plants are nearly mature, and heads of grain start to develop, that subtle differences begin to appear. Until that time, it is nearly impossible to tell one from the other. If you attempt to weed out the darnel, you will almost certainly destroy some of the crop that you are trying to grow.
Scott B.
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Parables are much better than scholarly dissertations! When I taught in the seminary in Nepal, there was a language and cultural barrier, which made academic instruction difficult, but parables can get across in almost any language. Only a few were difficult like marriage which was handled differently in Nepal, though it was much the same in Old Testament books when parents often selected a mate for their children. We had much more fun and it was more interesting to the students in class with parables and they got the point.
Many of my students came from farming communities and understood this parable. One had an enemy of their father who put some bad seed in one corner of his field and they knew how they felt about it. They also knew that they had to wait until the harvest neared to see the weeds begin to sprout. Then they knew an enemy had done this.
Some of us get impatient when God does not punish the wicked immediately, but this parable hints that we must wait until we see the fruits of their hurtful attempt. Only then should we pull them out and let God burn them. If we didn't wait, we might accidentally harvest some good plants and burn them. The fruits of evil don't always surface immediately, but it is obvious when they do. Only then can we separate the good crops from the weeds.
Jesus says this will happen at the end of the age. Does that mean when he comes again -- the second coming? We can sure see weeds blooming today. Are we supposed to wait and let God's angels do the harvest? It is not up to us. Be patient! In the meantime let the law courts handle it.
Offhand I can think of one way we can get rid of the weeds, and that is at election time. We can see good seed rise when we get praise for our good work in our job and maybe get a raise. I got a letter from a former member in another church telling me how much I had helped them in their marriage, for one.
Sometimes we need to have parables explained to us when we don't quite get the point. That is one reason we come to church to hear good sermons and good teachers in a Sunday school class.
Someday maybe you will be the one to explain a parable to your children. Then you can pray that the good seed will sprout.
Bob O.
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
After sharing a parable concerning the wheat and the weeds in the fields with a multitude of people, Jesus takes time alone with his intimate disciples to explain it clearly to them. The keys that unlock the meaning to the parable are sevenfold as blueprinted in verses 37-39. 1) The sower is the Son of Man. 2) The field is the world. 3) The good seed represents the children of God. 4) The weeds are the sons of the wicked one. 5) The enemy is Satan. 6) The harvest is the end of the age. 7) The reapers are the angels.
When Christ came into the world, he introduced the kingdom of God into the world, but the evil and sinful powers will do whatever it takes to resist God, his Son, and the kingdom. The good news is that they will fail. Read the end of the book.
Derl K.
