Sermon Illustrations for Proper 15 | OT 20 (2015)
Illustration
Object:
1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
David slept with his fathers. Was that heaven, or did he have to wait until our Lord came to forgive all sins, including David’s (which were many)? Did Jesus find David there when he preached to the souls in hell?
Solomon started out great like the Lord wanted. He did not ask for great wealth, nor did he ask that God would destroy all his enemies, who were numerous. So the Lord was pleased and gave him not only what he asked for, but all the other things that he did not ask for. We won’t go into what happened to his wisdom later in his reign when there were many temptations. He started out as God wanted him to. He was a good son to his father David, though he was not the firstborn. David had made a promise to Solomon’s mother and would not break it, though it caused much trouble for him and the country.
Notice how humble Solomon was. He only claimed to be a little child before the Lord. Being humble can go a long way to improving your status with God as well as your spiritual growth. But it must be genuine and not like the little boy who is kind to his mother just so she will give him a goody she is making.
We have to be careful about our motivations. They should be genuine, and not just in hopes of getting what we want.
My wife once baked a beautiful cake for a group, but I went out of my way to help her clean up and I hugged her in hopes of getting a piece of that cake. We get the feeling that Solomon was genuine. Even the Lord could sense his genuine spirit, or I doubt he would have given him anything. God can look in our hearts.
When we make our pledge or put our bit in the plate, do we want to make sure that everyone sees how generous we are?
When I became a missionary to Nepal, I asked the Lord to give me wisdom and a good spirit over there. In the back of my mind I was also thinking of the adventure there and the praise I would get back home. Even though my motivation was not totally pure, the Lord blessed me beyond anything I could imagine. I still think of that mission as the high point of my life. I still love the ones he gave me to serve over there, and we still communicate constantly.
Our Lord promised “Ask and you shall receive.” We are only human, we have failings; but if we ask the Lord to purify our spirits and humble ourselves before him before we ask for our needs, he will answer. I can tell you from personal experience that he gives generously even to us sinners. Try him out!
Bob O.
1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
A dream -- not a vain dream, wherewith men are commonly deluded; but a divine dream, assuring him of the thing: which he knew, by a divine impression after he was awakened: and by the vast alteration which he presently found within himself in point of wisdom and knowledge.
(John Wesley, Wesley’s Notes on the Old and New Testaments)
Frank R.
Ephesians 5:15-20
Thomas Jefferson once warned: “Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today.” William Penn said: “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” And Irish actor/playwright Dion Boucicault made a tragically similar observation, observing that “Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.” John Wesley claims that this text implies that we are to save all the time we can for the best purposes (Commentary on the Bible, p. 558). Famed preacher of the early centuries John Chrysostom reminds us that time is not our own (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 13, p. 137). And great Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards highlighted how precious time is, claiming it is short, we are uncertain of its continuance, and when it is past it cannot be recovered (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 2, pp. 233-235). Late medieval mystic Julian of Norwich provides insight about the urgency and proper use of time to which the love of God calls us: “Because of his [God’s] precious love, he never allows us to lose time” (The Revelation of Divine Love, p. 172).
Mark E.
Ephesians 5:15-20
Get what you can get before the clock runs out. That’s good advice, especially for a game like “Pop-A-Shot.” What’s that, you ask? It’s a basketball shooting game that can be found in arcades and many other places with video and interactive games. The idea of the game is simple -- the balls roll out from the top of the machine, and you have one minute to make as many shots as you can. You score points for the shots you make, and in the last 30 seconds the baskets are worth more. If you watch people play the game, you’ll notice some consistencies. At the beginning of the game the players tend to take time to aim at the basket. But as the clock winds down, though, they begin to throw up random shots as fast as they can in a desperate attempt to make as many as possible before the time is up. That’s Pop-A-Shot. That can also describe what Paul might be explaining to the Christians of Asia Minor and today.
Time is running out to make a difference for Christ. The days are evil. (How much more true can that statement be now as compared to the first century?) What are we doing as God’s clock winds down? The contrasts in this passage are direct and stark. Are we wasting time and being foolish, or are we wise and seeking the will of the Lord? The clock is ticking.
Bill T.
John 6:50-58
Is this a communion passage? It sure sounds like it! But it also gives one the hint that there is something more than just that morsel we eat on Sundays.
Then the question is: Should we be looking for the power of God working in us? Should we feel an emotional experience? Has this bread and wine really become body and blood? Is it only an accident that it tastes like bread and wine?
It may only taste and look like bread and wine, but when Jesus’ body and blood are in us, are we different? Do we feel the gift of eternity?
We like symbols. Does our flag symbolize democracy? Freedom? Opportunity? And does it symbolize for some the sacrifice of many lives for our country?
There are many other symbols, like a Christmas tree, a Thanksgiving dinner, and a candle on the altar. Another symbol, which is or should be very important to many of us, is a wedding ring. It means a lot more than just a gold circle. We can’t even put into words what that ring means. It means that we are bound together as one flesh.
Eating the Body of Christ cannot be interpreted as cannibalism or we miss the point, as some did in our text. It means that when we eat the bread and drink the wine Christ is becoming part of us. His mission is encased in his love. This is what guarantees our eternal life. Through the sacrifice of his body, Christ cleanses us and makes us one with him.
The manna that the people of God ate in the wilderness was just manna. It was just bread to keep the people alive physically. The bread of our Lord keeps us alive spiritually in this world and the next.
Think of the vital importance of this verse as you commune. It should change us every time we take it. All we can do is take it, thank the Lord for his sacrifice for our forgiveness, and serve him with a renewed spirit.
Bob O.
John 6:51-58
“My flesh is true meat.” This verse is decisive against all explaining away or metaphorizing the passage. Food and drink are not here mere metaphors -- rather are our common material food and drink mere shadows and imperfect types of this only real reception of refreshment and nourishment into the being.
(Henry Alford, The Greek Testament: The Four Gospels,pp. 768)
Frank R.
David slept with his fathers. Was that heaven, or did he have to wait until our Lord came to forgive all sins, including David’s (which were many)? Did Jesus find David there when he preached to the souls in hell?
Solomon started out great like the Lord wanted. He did not ask for great wealth, nor did he ask that God would destroy all his enemies, who were numerous. So the Lord was pleased and gave him not only what he asked for, but all the other things that he did not ask for. We won’t go into what happened to his wisdom later in his reign when there were many temptations. He started out as God wanted him to. He was a good son to his father David, though he was not the firstborn. David had made a promise to Solomon’s mother and would not break it, though it caused much trouble for him and the country.
Notice how humble Solomon was. He only claimed to be a little child before the Lord. Being humble can go a long way to improving your status with God as well as your spiritual growth. But it must be genuine and not like the little boy who is kind to his mother just so she will give him a goody she is making.
We have to be careful about our motivations. They should be genuine, and not just in hopes of getting what we want.
My wife once baked a beautiful cake for a group, but I went out of my way to help her clean up and I hugged her in hopes of getting a piece of that cake. We get the feeling that Solomon was genuine. Even the Lord could sense his genuine spirit, or I doubt he would have given him anything. God can look in our hearts.
When we make our pledge or put our bit in the plate, do we want to make sure that everyone sees how generous we are?
When I became a missionary to Nepal, I asked the Lord to give me wisdom and a good spirit over there. In the back of my mind I was also thinking of the adventure there and the praise I would get back home. Even though my motivation was not totally pure, the Lord blessed me beyond anything I could imagine. I still think of that mission as the high point of my life. I still love the ones he gave me to serve over there, and we still communicate constantly.
Our Lord promised “Ask and you shall receive.” We are only human, we have failings; but if we ask the Lord to purify our spirits and humble ourselves before him before we ask for our needs, he will answer. I can tell you from personal experience that he gives generously even to us sinners. Try him out!
Bob O.
1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
A dream -- not a vain dream, wherewith men are commonly deluded; but a divine dream, assuring him of the thing: which he knew, by a divine impression after he was awakened: and by the vast alteration which he presently found within himself in point of wisdom and knowledge.
(John Wesley, Wesley’s Notes on the Old and New Testaments)
Frank R.
Ephesians 5:15-20
Thomas Jefferson once warned: “Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today.” William Penn said: “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” And Irish actor/playwright Dion Boucicault made a tragically similar observation, observing that “Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.” John Wesley claims that this text implies that we are to save all the time we can for the best purposes (Commentary on the Bible, p. 558). Famed preacher of the early centuries John Chrysostom reminds us that time is not our own (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 13, p. 137). And great Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards highlighted how precious time is, claiming it is short, we are uncertain of its continuance, and when it is past it cannot be recovered (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 2, pp. 233-235). Late medieval mystic Julian of Norwich provides insight about the urgency and proper use of time to which the love of God calls us: “Because of his [God’s] precious love, he never allows us to lose time” (The Revelation of Divine Love, p. 172).
Mark E.
Ephesians 5:15-20
Get what you can get before the clock runs out. That’s good advice, especially for a game like “Pop-A-Shot.” What’s that, you ask? It’s a basketball shooting game that can be found in arcades and many other places with video and interactive games. The idea of the game is simple -- the balls roll out from the top of the machine, and you have one minute to make as many shots as you can. You score points for the shots you make, and in the last 30 seconds the baskets are worth more. If you watch people play the game, you’ll notice some consistencies. At the beginning of the game the players tend to take time to aim at the basket. But as the clock winds down, though, they begin to throw up random shots as fast as they can in a desperate attempt to make as many as possible before the time is up. That’s Pop-A-Shot. That can also describe what Paul might be explaining to the Christians of Asia Minor and today.
Time is running out to make a difference for Christ. The days are evil. (How much more true can that statement be now as compared to the first century?) What are we doing as God’s clock winds down? The contrasts in this passage are direct and stark. Are we wasting time and being foolish, or are we wise and seeking the will of the Lord? The clock is ticking.
Bill T.
John 6:50-58
Is this a communion passage? It sure sounds like it! But it also gives one the hint that there is something more than just that morsel we eat on Sundays.
Then the question is: Should we be looking for the power of God working in us? Should we feel an emotional experience? Has this bread and wine really become body and blood? Is it only an accident that it tastes like bread and wine?
It may only taste and look like bread and wine, but when Jesus’ body and blood are in us, are we different? Do we feel the gift of eternity?
We like symbols. Does our flag symbolize democracy? Freedom? Opportunity? And does it symbolize for some the sacrifice of many lives for our country?
There are many other symbols, like a Christmas tree, a Thanksgiving dinner, and a candle on the altar. Another symbol, which is or should be very important to many of us, is a wedding ring. It means a lot more than just a gold circle. We can’t even put into words what that ring means. It means that we are bound together as one flesh.
Eating the Body of Christ cannot be interpreted as cannibalism or we miss the point, as some did in our text. It means that when we eat the bread and drink the wine Christ is becoming part of us. His mission is encased in his love. This is what guarantees our eternal life. Through the sacrifice of his body, Christ cleanses us and makes us one with him.
The manna that the people of God ate in the wilderness was just manna. It was just bread to keep the people alive physically. The bread of our Lord keeps us alive spiritually in this world and the next.
Think of the vital importance of this verse as you commune. It should change us every time we take it. All we can do is take it, thank the Lord for his sacrifice for our forgiveness, and serve him with a renewed spirit.
Bob O.
John 6:51-58
“My flesh is true meat.” This verse is decisive against all explaining away or metaphorizing the passage. Food and drink are not here mere metaphors -- rather are our common material food and drink mere shadows and imperfect types of this only real reception of refreshment and nourishment into the being.
(Henry Alford, The Greek Testament: The Four Gospels,pp. 768)
Frank R.
