Sermon illustrations for Day of Pentecost (2022)
Illustration
Acts 2:1-21
In his book, The Dangerous Act of Worship, pastor and president of Fuller Seminary Mark Labberton, shares a powerful story of how the Holy Spirit transforms people. Labberton wrote:
Ben was a very successful man. His professional life flourished. His family life was challenging, as a parent of several teenagers. For him, Christian faith was a distant and disconnected reality. But he began to have conversations about it with his wife and later with me.
One Sunday I was surprised but pleased to see him in the worship service. As he approached me at the door afterward, his eyes began to fill with tears. He explained that while visiting Washington, D.C, for a professional conference, he had gone to visit the National Cathedral. He slipped into an empty side chapel and sat down for some quiet time and reflection. There, unexpected and unsought, God’s Spirit simply came upon him. Ben became a new person. The awe and wonder of grace and truth beyond his own mind, his own questions, his own needs, simply met him and changed him. It was as though his life was utterly redefined, and it has been ever since.
On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to transform people. On that day, thousands of people heard the life-changing message of Jesus in their own language! The Holy Spirit changes lives. How? I think Michael Haykin may have the answer. Haykin writes in his book, The God Who Draw Near: An Introduction to Biblical Spirituality, “The work and ministry of the Holy Spirit has this one indispensable genuine mark then: it is Christ-centered—it is designed to exalt Christ and glorify him in the minds and hearts of men and women and boys and girls.”
By directing people to Jesus, the Holy Spirit changes lives. He did it then and he does it today.
Bill T.
* * *
Genesis 11:1-9
I don’t know if you have access to The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary produced by Robert Alter, but both his translation and notes provide plenty of food for thought. With regards to the story of the Tower of Babel, he suggests that building “a tower with its top in the heavens” is hyperbole, the kind of boast made about many tall buildings in the ancient world. Instead, the real targets of this story were the growth of cities and the misuse of technology.
The sundering of languages which is the end result of the pride that led humanity to put its trust in the creation of its hands is undone with Pentecost, where the pilgrims from across the Roman Empire who have come to Jerusalem each hear the apostle Peter speaking in their own language. If the Tower of Babel is a warning against the building of cities, then the irony is that the early Christian faith was an urban religion. The early inroads occurred in cities. The apostles visited cities. Indeed, the word pagan seems to have derived from the Latin term paison, which meant country yokel.
Frank R.
* * *
Romans 8:14-17
John Calvin offers a thoughtful way of describing the Trinity as like a fountain, like an eternal Old Faithful which is always gushing. He claims that the Father is the fountain, the son is wisdom always gushing from the fountain (the divine fountain gushes wisdom, not water), and the Spirit is the power (the force with which the water/wisdom gushes from the fountain) (Institutes of the Christian Religion, I.XIII.18,26). The Spirit is the power of God! In all the activities God calls us to undertake (in faith and in acts of love), we have the power of God to do them. For the Holy Spirit gives you and me the power to do good and to have faith. We need this power, as Martin Luther wrote:
I believe that by my own strength or reason I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith. (The Book of Concord [Tappert, ed.], p.345)
Mark E.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Martin Luther once elaborated on the benefits of the Pentecost message:
The Pentecost message should remove all terror of sin and death. The more joyful you are and the more certain and surer the faith in your heart is, the nearer the Holy Spirit is to you and the more you benefit from the new Pentecost. (Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p.160)
St. Augustine also nicely offers thoughtful insights on why miracles like the experience of tongues no longer transpires among most Christians. They have not continued, he contends, lest the mind seek visible signs and the human race grow cold by becoming accustomed to these faith-kindling experiences (The Library of Christian Classics, Vol. 6, p.248).
Mark E.
* * *
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
J.I. Packer, in his book Your Father Loves You, uses an interesting metaphor for the work of the Holy Spirit. Packer wrote:
I remember walking to church one winter evening to preach… and seeing the building floodlit as I turned a corner and realizing that this was exactly the illustration my message needed. When floodlighting is well done, the floodlights are placed so that you do not see them; in fact, you are not supposed to see where the light is coming from; what you are meant to see is just the building on which the floodlights are trained. The intended effect is to make it visible when otherwise it would not be seen for the darkness, and to maximize its dignity by throwing all its details into relief so that you can see it properly. This perfectly illustrated the Spirit's new covenant role. He is, so to speak, the hidden floodlight shining on the Savior.
Jesus told the disciples, “But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” The Holy Spirit will point the disciples back to Jesus, to what he said and what he did. He will shine the light on Jesus.
Bill T.
* * *
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
In his extremely influential translation of the New Testament, William Tyndale chose the word “comforter” to translate the Greek parakletos in John 14:26, which the even more influential King James followed. The word, however, seems to have a multitude of meanings and this has led to a number of different translations: “companion” (Common English Bible), “helper” (Good News Translation), “…the one who is coming to stand by you…” (Phillips), “counselor” (Revised Standard Version), “friend” (The Message), “Holy Spirit” (Contemporary English Version), and in one case, the Douay-Rheims, no translation was attempted. The word was transliterated “paraclete.”
While there is something to be said about all these attempts, I think both the New Revised Standard Version and the New International Version made a good choice when they chose “advocate.” When you sit down and study the word, it’s obvious that this translation is helpful because in common usage at the time it referred to someone who is qualified to stand up as a reference for someone else in court. The advocate’s testimony could save someone from underserved punishment. (Taken from my StoryShare for this week).
Frank R.
In his book, The Dangerous Act of Worship, pastor and president of Fuller Seminary Mark Labberton, shares a powerful story of how the Holy Spirit transforms people. Labberton wrote:
Ben was a very successful man. His professional life flourished. His family life was challenging, as a parent of several teenagers. For him, Christian faith was a distant and disconnected reality. But he began to have conversations about it with his wife and later with me.
One Sunday I was surprised but pleased to see him in the worship service. As he approached me at the door afterward, his eyes began to fill with tears. He explained that while visiting Washington, D.C, for a professional conference, he had gone to visit the National Cathedral. He slipped into an empty side chapel and sat down for some quiet time and reflection. There, unexpected and unsought, God’s Spirit simply came upon him. Ben became a new person. The awe and wonder of grace and truth beyond his own mind, his own questions, his own needs, simply met him and changed him. It was as though his life was utterly redefined, and it has been ever since.
On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to transform people. On that day, thousands of people heard the life-changing message of Jesus in their own language! The Holy Spirit changes lives. How? I think Michael Haykin may have the answer. Haykin writes in his book, The God Who Draw Near: An Introduction to Biblical Spirituality, “The work and ministry of the Holy Spirit has this one indispensable genuine mark then: it is Christ-centered—it is designed to exalt Christ and glorify him in the minds and hearts of men and women and boys and girls.”
By directing people to Jesus, the Holy Spirit changes lives. He did it then and he does it today.
Bill T.
* * *
Genesis 11:1-9
I don’t know if you have access to The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary produced by Robert Alter, but both his translation and notes provide plenty of food for thought. With regards to the story of the Tower of Babel, he suggests that building “a tower with its top in the heavens” is hyperbole, the kind of boast made about many tall buildings in the ancient world. Instead, the real targets of this story were the growth of cities and the misuse of technology.
The sundering of languages which is the end result of the pride that led humanity to put its trust in the creation of its hands is undone with Pentecost, where the pilgrims from across the Roman Empire who have come to Jerusalem each hear the apostle Peter speaking in their own language. If the Tower of Babel is a warning against the building of cities, then the irony is that the early Christian faith was an urban religion. The early inroads occurred in cities. The apostles visited cities. Indeed, the word pagan seems to have derived from the Latin term paison, which meant country yokel.
Frank R.
* * *
Romans 8:14-17
John Calvin offers a thoughtful way of describing the Trinity as like a fountain, like an eternal Old Faithful which is always gushing. He claims that the Father is the fountain, the son is wisdom always gushing from the fountain (the divine fountain gushes wisdom, not water), and the Spirit is the power (the force with which the water/wisdom gushes from the fountain) (Institutes of the Christian Religion, I.XIII.18,26). The Spirit is the power of God! In all the activities God calls us to undertake (in faith and in acts of love), we have the power of God to do them. For the Holy Spirit gives you and me the power to do good and to have faith. We need this power, as Martin Luther wrote:
I believe that by my own strength or reason I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith. (The Book of Concord [Tappert, ed.], p.345)
Mark E.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Martin Luther once elaborated on the benefits of the Pentecost message:
The Pentecost message should remove all terror of sin and death. The more joyful you are and the more certain and surer the faith in your heart is, the nearer the Holy Spirit is to you and the more you benefit from the new Pentecost. (Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p.160)
St. Augustine also nicely offers thoughtful insights on why miracles like the experience of tongues no longer transpires among most Christians. They have not continued, he contends, lest the mind seek visible signs and the human race grow cold by becoming accustomed to these faith-kindling experiences (The Library of Christian Classics, Vol. 6, p.248).
Mark E.
* * *
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
J.I. Packer, in his book Your Father Loves You, uses an interesting metaphor for the work of the Holy Spirit. Packer wrote:
I remember walking to church one winter evening to preach… and seeing the building floodlit as I turned a corner and realizing that this was exactly the illustration my message needed. When floodlighting is well done, the floodlights are placed so that you do not see them; in fact, you are not supposed to see where the light is coming from; what you are meant to see is just the building on which the floodlights are trained. The intended effect is to make it visible when otherwise it would not be seen for the darkness, and to maximize its dignity by throwing all its details into relief so that you can see it properly. This perfectly illustrated the Spirit's new covenant role. He is, so to speak, the hidden floodlight shining on the Savior.
Jesus told the disciples, “But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” The Holy Spirit will point the disciples back to Jesus, to what he said and what he did. He will shine the light on Jesus.
Bill T.
* * *
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
In his extremely influential translation of the New Testament, William Tyndale chose the word “comforter” to translate the Greek parakletos in John 14:26, which the even more influential King James followed. The word, however, seems to have a multitude of meanings and this has led to a number of different translations: “companion” (Common English Bible), “helper” (Good News Translation), “…the one who is coming to stand by you…” (Phillips), “counselor” (Revised Standard Version), “friend” (The Message), “Holy Spirit” (Contemporary English Version), and in one case, the Douay-Rheims, no translation was attempted. The word was transliterated “paraclete.”
While there is something to be said about all these attempts, I think both the New Revised Standard Version and the New International Version made a good choice when they chose “advocate.” When you sit down and study the word, it’s obvious that this translation is helpful because in common usage at the time it referred to someone who is qualified to stand up as a reference for someone else in court. The advocate’s testimony could save someone from underserved punishment. (Taken from my StoryShare for this week).
Frank R.
