Sermon Illustrations for Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 (2014)
Illustration
Object:
Joshua 3:7-17
Twentieth-century English actor Norman Wisdom speaks for many of us when he once said, "I like consistency... you want some things you can rely on to stay the same." What basketball star Isaiah Thomas said about the NBA is true about the league of life: "Most players in this league... want consistency." In this lesson we see another testimony to the consistency. It is as John Calvin claims: In this lesson we have an assurance that God finishes what he starts (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. IV/1, p. 62). We live in times not characterized by loyalty and long-term commitments. This is evidenced in the divorce rates in America and in Europe (between 40% and 50% of marriages ending in divorce). And federal labor statistics also reveal that the days of forty-year careers at one job are times of the past. We need more than ever the consistent God of our lesson, who, as John Wesley reminds us, is "your God, in covenant with you, having a tender care and effect [feelings] for you" (Commentary on the Bible, p. 153).
Mark E.
Joshua 3:7-17
As a nation we celebrate Independence Day by recognizing the deposing of the tyranny endured under King George III. Having been subjugated, Congress recognized everyone's "unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration of Independence's 1,320 words do not constitute a religious manuscript but a political statement. But latent within the parchment is the recognition that we are a Christian nation. In the manifesto such phrases as "God entitle them," "endowed by their Creator," and "appealing to the supreme judge of the world," are not superfluous but an intentional assertion that we are a God-oriented nation. This can be attested because all 56 signers were affiliated with a Christian church.
Application: The Israelites were oppressed under the tyranny of the Canaanites. Guided by the faith of Joshua they were able to secure a land of freedom. Under Joshua they were able to make their declaration of independence.
Ron L.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
I have a Baptist pastor friend who is so proud of the fact that he has a job on the side and gets no salary from his members. He feels that he is like Saint Paul.
I was also proud to serve as a missionary to Nepal, supported by my retirement pension. I couldn't live on what a Nepali pastor makes over there -- about $30 a month which has to cover not only his parsonage and food and clothing for himself and his family, but also the rent of the church and the cost of furnishings, Bibles, and hymnals, and so on. A few have a job on the side, but most survive on the donations from outside their country.
Yes the missionaries that are paid to go to the mission countries get their income from the churches back home. We support them through our offerings.
There are temptations on the field. Those temptations are seldom temptations to make us money. They are most often the temptations to accomplish our goals and make life easier for ourselves in the field by paying bribes to the local government officials.
I talked with an American businessman in Nepal, and he said that you just had to accept the demand for bribes as a normal business practice. We did not go along with that, and as a result we suffered the lack of some things we needed to accomplish our goals for the Lord. On the plus side, those who wanted the bribes were very impressed by our honesty. They began to learn that we Christians would not stoop to anything illegal.
We tried to be examples to the people for them to follow. We wanted to be proud of those who accepted the Lord we came to proclaim.
We won more people by the lives we lived there than by the doctrines we preached. Those doctrines are important, but only followed their conversion. Our children have to know us before they are willing to obey us.
They were not just accepting our word. We knew they were accepting the word of God since they were still strong in their faith after we left -- and are bringing others into the fold.
There are always a few who make you think you are god and that they can't survive without you and your support. Our job is to help them grow up. They are still children until they take God's word and follow it and not just ours.
Your pastors are also teaching members to grow up and listen to God speak and not just the words of men.
Bob O.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Paul writes to the Thessalonians that he has been a messenger of encouragement to them and, in essence, that they ought to be the same to others.
Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a famous artist who was commissioned to paint a picture of a dying church. It was expected that he would paint a poor, small, struggling congregation in a dilapidated building with only a few senior adults in attendance. He surprised those who commissioned him by instead depicting a large, impressive building with beautiful stained glass and expensive accessories. The artist then placed strategically an offering box at the entrance of the church with the word "MISSIONS" emboldened on it. The slot, however, had cobwebs covering it.
Unfortunately it is not just money that blocks the slots of mission boxes, but the loss of compassion, love, encouragement, and comfort to a world in desperate need of hope. Like Paul, we have the opportunity to bring the good news to our world.
(Chuck Swindoll, The Tardy Oxcart, p. 378 found in Preaching Magazine, April, 2014, p. 63, preaching.com)
Derl K.
Matthew 23:1-12
To the Seven Deadly Sins we ought to add an eighth. The new temptation would be "fame." In the New York Times on November 11, 2009, Alessandra Stanley wrote, "Fame has a spellbinding power in American society, the one thing that can trump wealth, talent, breeding, and even elected office. Reality shows and social websites like Facebook long ago knocked down barriers that kept ordinary people trapped in obscurity." For this reason, Stanley wrote, "some people take huge risks for the freedom to be someone else -- a celebrity." She lifted up as examples the Salahis, a couple who crashed a White House state dinner; the Heenes, a family who pretended a child was trapped in a runaway balloon; and the Gosselins, parents who showcased their eight children, all desiring to share the limelight of a reality television show. May we pray that we are not led into the temptation of seeking celebrity status as our lasting "fame," the kingdom to which we choose to affiliate. Seeking notoriety as our dwelling place may highlight us in the tabloids of this day and even permanently record us on page B2 in the local newspaper. But wasn't this the kingdom Satan desired Jesus to preside over?
Application: There is a new sin, and it is not practicing what we preach since we preach ourselves.
Ron L.
Matthew 23:1-12
John Calvin well captures the main point of Jesus' teachings in the gospel: "For those who fear God... are more severe toward themselves than toward others, they are not so rigid in exacting obedience, and being conscious of their own weakness, kindly forgive the weak" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 76).
People humbled by a sense of their own inadequacies and sin are less judgmental of others and easier to get along with. Famed twentieth-century American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr made that clear: "A sense of sin means that we transcend our own actions, so that we can say to ourselves, 'I haven't really done as well as I ought to' " (Justice & Mercy, p. 107).
An awareness of sin gets us to see ourselves for what we really are, not any better than anyone else. And with this awareness we can proceed to say with Niebuhr that: "Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love."
Mark E.
Twentieth-century English actor Norman Wisdom speaks for many of us when he once said, "I like consistency... you want some things you can rely on to stay the same." What basketball star Isaiah Thomas said about the NBA is true about the league of life: "Most players in this league... want consistency." In this lesson we see another testimony to the consistency. It is as John Calvin claims: In this lesson we have an assurance that God finishes what he starts (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. IV/1, p. 62). We live in times not characterized by loyalty and long-term commitments. This is evidenced in the divorce rates in America and in Europe (between 40% and 50% of marriages ending in divorce). And federal labor statistics also reveal that the days of forty-year careers at one job are times of the past. We need more than ever the consistent God of our lesson, who, as John Wesley reminds us, is "your God, in covenant with you, having a tender care and effect [feelings] for you" (Commentary on the Bible, p. 153).
Mark E.
Joshua 3:7-17
As a nation we celebrate Independence Day by recognizing the deposing of the tyranny endured under King George III. Having been subjugated, Congress recognized everyone's "unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration of Independence's 1,320 words do not constitute a religious manuscript but a political statement. But latent within the parchment is the recognition that we are a Christian nation. In the manifesto such phrases as "God entitle them," "endowed by their Creator," and "appealing to the supreme judge of the world," are not superfluous but an intentional assertion that we are a God-oriented nation. This can be attested because all 56 signers were affiliated with a Christian church.
Application: The Israelites were oppressed under the tyranny of the Canaanites. Guided by the faith of Joshua they were able to secure a land of freedom. Under Joshua they were able to make their declaration of independence.
Ron L.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
I have a Baptist pastor friend who is so proud of the fact that he has a job on the side and gets no salary from his members. He feels that he is like Saint Paul.
I was also proud to serve as a missionary to Nepal, supported by my retirement pension. I couldn't live on what a Nepali pastor makes over there -- about $30 a month which has to cover not only his parsonage and food and clothing for himself and his family, but also the rent of the church and the cost of furnishings, Bibles, and hymnals, and so on. A few have a job on the side, but most survive on the donations from outside their country.
Yes the missionaries that are paid to go to the mission countries get their income from the churches back home. We support them through our offerings.
There are temptations on the field. Those temptations are seldom temptations to make us money. They are most often the temptations to accomplish our goals and make life easier for ourselves in the field by paying bribes to the local government officials.
I talked with an American businessman in Nepal, and he said that you just had to accept the demand for bribes as a normal business practice. We did not go along with that, and as a result we suffered the lack of some things we needed to accomplish our goals for the Lord. On the plus side, those who wanted the bribes were very impressed by our honesty. They began to learn that we Christians would not stoop to anything illegal.
We tried to be examples to the people for them to follow. We wanted to be proud of those who accepted the Lord we came to proclaim.
We won more people by the lives we lived there than by the doctrines we preached. Those doctrines are important, but only followed their conversion. Our children have to know us before they are willing to obey us.
They were not just accepting our word. We knew they were accepting the word of God since they were still strong in their faith after we left -- and are bringing others into the fold.
There are always a few who make you think you are god and that they can't survive without you and your support. Our job is to help them grow up. They are still children until they take God's word and follow it and not just ours.
Your pastors are also teaching members to grow up and listen to God speak and not just the words of men.
Bob O.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Paul writes to the Thessalonians that he has been a messenger of encouragement to them and, in essence, that they ought to be the same to others.
Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a famous artist who was commissioned to paint a picture of a dying church. It was expected that he would paint a poor, small, struggling congregation in a dilapidated building with only a few senior adults in attendance. He surprised those who commissioned him by instead depicting a large, impressive building with beautiful stained glass and expensive accessories. The artist then placed strategically an offering box at the entrance of the church with the word "MISSIONS" emboldened on it. The slot, however, had cobwebs covering it.
Unfortunately it is not just money that blocks the slots of mission boxes, but the loss of compassion, love, encouragement, and comfort to a world in desperate need of hope. Like Paul, we have the opportunity to bring the good news to our world.
(Chuck Swindoll, The Tardy Oxcart, p. 378 found in Preaching Magazine, April, 2014, p. 63, preaching.com)
Derl K.
Matthew 23:1-12
To the Seven Deadly Sins we ought to add an eighth. The new temptation would be "fame." In the New York Times on November 11, 2009, Alessandra Stanley wrote, "Fame has a spellbinding power in American society, the one thing that can trump wealth, talent, breeding, and even elected office. Reality shows and social websites like Facebook long ago knocked down barriers that kept ordinary people trapped in obscurity." For this reason, Stanley wrote, "some people take huge risks for the freedom to be someone else -- a celebrity." She lifted up as examples the Salahis, a couple who crashed a White House state dinner; the Heenes, a family who pretended a child was trapped in a runaway balloon; and the Gosselins, parents who showcased their eight children, all desiring to share the limelight of a reality television show. May we pray that we are not led into the temptation of seeking celebrity status as our lasting "fame," the kingdom to which we choose to affiliate. Seeking notoriety as our dwelling place may highlight us in the tabloids of this day and even permanently record us on page B2 in the local newspaper. But wasn't this the kingdom Satan desired Jesus to preside over?
Application: There is a new sin, and it is not practicing what we preach since we preach ourselves.
Ron L.
Matthew 23:1-12
John Calvin well captures the main point of Jesus' teachings in the gospel: "For those who fear God... are more severe toward themselves than toward others, they are not so rigid in exacting obedience, and being conscious of their own weakness, kindly forgive the weak" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 76).
People humbled by a sense of their own inadequacies and sin are less judgmental of others and easier to get along with. Famed twentieth-century American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr made that clear: "A sense of sin means that we transcend our own actions, so that we can say to ourselves, 'I haven't really done as well as I ought to' " (Justice & Mercy, p. 107).
An awareness of sin gets us to see ourselves for what we really are, not any better than anyone else. And with this awareness we can proceed to say with Niebuhr that: "Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love."
Mark E.
