Sermon Illustrations for Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 (2014)
Illustration
Object:
Genesis 21:8-21
We are still paying for Abraham's and Sarah's mistake with Hagar. The Arab nations that are descended from Hagar's son, Ishmael, have been fighting the sons of Isaac for thousands of years. They are still fighting each other today. Just as Adam blamed Eve, we like to blame Sarah for Abraham's goof up. She felt she was too old to have children so she suggested the next thing that came to her mind -- her maidservant! Hagar must have been much younger (and maybe better looking!) so Abraham foolishly went along with it.
That shows what the world had to pay for one seemingly small mistake -- for not taking God seriously when he said that Sarah was going to have a child. I know there can be problems with taking God too literally, so be careful.
To compound the error, Hagar was thrown out along with her son. That put enmity between them that has never been resolved. There is still disagreement about who the true heir of Abraham really is.
Even though God intended Isaac to be the top dog, he still heard the cry of the little son of Hagar who was thirsty. God cares about everyone. Yes he cares about Muslims, Jews, and Christians alike.
This also says something about racial prejudice. If your enemy, who happens to be different from you, is crying for water, give him water. It may lay the groundwork for healing. It may take generations for the message to get through, but it will. It is the foundation of most mission work.
It is true that even our good intentions can be taken wrongly. So if you do what is right or wrong, you may suffer and your descendants may pay for it -- or benefit from it. Stay close to God and to his church and read his word with prayer.
Bob O.
Genesis 21:8-21
Chuck Swindoll wrote about a young couple he counseled many years ago. During their premarital counseling sessions, Swindoll said that he detected a strong jealous streak in the man. As a counselor he felt impelled to bring this to light for discussion between the two of them. Both of them passed it off as not that important. Following the honeymoon and the first few months of marriage, they returned for some follow-up counseling. Swindoll wrote, "What a change!" The woman accused her now husband of being so jealous of her that he checked the odometer in the car before going to work and again arriving home from his job. He quizzed her if there were any extra miles on the car.
Dr. Swindoll observed, "Lacking trust and encouragement, she was dying slowly, sadly, angrily."
Sarah was that way with Hagar in today's text. She was jealous of everything Hagar represented in life. Her anger drove Hagar from Abraham's tent and life. The result has been a violent split between the sons of Hagar and the sons of Sarah to this day.
What results has jealousy caused in your life?
(Charles Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, p. 311)
Derl K.
Romans 6:1b-11
On April 14, 1902, J.C. Penney opened his first Golden Rule store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Penney referred to it as his Golden Rule store for that would be his and his associates' official policy toward all customers.
Application: J.C. Penney understood that we are not to sin for grace to abound, but instead we are to live a life of grace.
Ron L.
Romans 6:1b-11
Baptism makes living the Christian life easy. Americans do not want to believe that. Two 2013 polls by the Gallup organization revealed that most of us link religion and morality, so that as we have become less religious (more secular) we have become less moral. But this lesson makes clear that morality is just a happy by-product of faith and of being baptized. What we have here is as Martin Luther once wrote (quoting Augustine) "a complete description of the man who has been placed under grace..." (Luther's Works, Vol. 25, p. 308). This is the case because in baptism, according to John Wesley, we are engrafted into Christ, drawing new spiritual life from him (Commentary on the Bible, p. 500). Christ's inheritance has become ours. As he is a man who overcame death and rises from it to the glory of God, that is our inheritance in the new birth of baptism. Christians have a disposition to live this way, to "do Christ's thing." It is like some children are born with athletic or musical ability. It comes natural to them; they love these activities. They do them all the time. (Childhood practices of basketball stars Bill Bradley and Michael Jordan illustrate how this giftedness leads to passion and a desire to practice the game all the time.) So baptized Christians, people gifted to deny themselves for the sake of Christ and their neighbor, are inclined to practice such a lifestyle, joyfully, but not as a burden. Yes, Christians practice morality (like Bradley and Jordan spent lots of time on the court), but not as a burden. Doing things Christ's way is more like the joyful game Bradley and Jordan played. Baptism and hearing God's word gets us started.
Mark E.
Matthew 10:24-39
My exercise advisor mentioned that I needed to do core exercises... that middle section of the body which supports the rest of the body. He said that once the core is strong, the physical body can withstand most anything.
Matthew intimates that what is needed for the disciple of Christ is a good core workout to make the spiritual body strong. If we have a great core, then:
The core will give strength to overcome fear of anyone who can destroy the physical body (v. 28).
The core will give strength to understand our true worth (v. 31).
The core will give strength to own up to whom we belong (v. 33).
The core will give strength to take up the cross and follow Jesus (v. 38).
The core will give strength to discover real life (v. 39).
Derl K.
Matthew 10:24-39
Jesus' life could shame us all. We might not stoop to wash anyone's feet. Even though Jesus was the master, he was still humble. The more we read of Jesus' life, the more we feel we are hardly worthy to be a student or even a slave.
Beelzebub means "lord of flies." Flies are always a big nuisance. God's main job was keeping away the flies from his worshipers. How much more will our Lord protect us from the little nuisances of life, which may be far worse than flies? It also means "lord of dung or crap." It is the name given to Satan by our Lord.
If there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, we could know it all in our entire lifetime. I'm sure my brain couldn't hold it all. I'm sure some parts will be revealed to many people, so if we want to know more than he has given us, we will have to seek others. That is one reason we have a church. Each one knows a bit more and we can share it with each other. That is the only way we can grow in our faith!
We are called to spread the light! When we hear it from God we are ordered to pass it on. Our first job is to pass it on to our family -- to our children. Then we may have the uncomfortable job of telling others. I say uncomfortable because if you are not careful, others may label you as a religious fanatic. At least it would show we are not ashamed of our Lord, which he tells us is dangerous if we hope to spend eternity with him.
We could go even further, even if it means death, we should be faithful. That goes a long way beyond just embarrassed. Compared to much of the world, we have it easy. We need to be more afraid of whatever or whoever can destroy our souls.
Why do we worry if God even takes care of the little sparrows? He even counts the hairs on our head. God covers every detail in our life. The only thing we should worry about is making sure we keep close to him, to learn more about him, to care more about him, and avoid that other guy who only keeps away the flies.
The next verses can cause us to think. If Jesus did not come to bring peace, maybe some will settle for that fly killer -- temporarily at least.
I don't like the verse that warns us about the members of our own household. That would make a hard choice for some. One of my former members turned against God because he allowed her little dog to be killed. If that could hurt her faith then how much more would she suffer if it were her daughter?
Think what only these few verses can give us. Can we hold it all? Our life may depend on it.
Bob O.
We are still paying for Abraham's and Sarah's mistake with Hagar. The Arab nations that are descended from Hagar's son, Ishmael, have been fighting the sons of Isaac for thousands of years. They are still fighting each other today. Just as Adam blamed Eve, we like to blame Sarah for Abraham's goof up. She felt she was too old to have children so she suggested the next thing that came to her mind -- her maidservant! Hagar must have been much younger (and maybe better looking!) so Abraham foolishly went along with it.
That shows what the world had to pay for one seemingly small mistake -- for not taking God seriously when he said that Sarah was going to have a child. I know there can be problems with taking God too literally, so be careful.
To compound the error, Hagar was thrown out along with her son. That put enmity between them that has never been resolved. There is still disagreement about who the true heir of Abraham really is.
Even though God intended Isaac to be the top dog, he still heard the cry of the little son of Hagar who was thirsty. God cares about everyone. Yes he cares about Muslims, Jews, and Christians alike.
This also says something about racial prejudice. If your enemy, who happens to be different from you, is crying for water, give him water. It may lay the groundwork for healing. It may take generations for the message to get through, but it will. It is the foundation of most mission work.
It is true that even our good intentions can be taken wrongly. So if you do what is right or wrong, you may suffer and your descendants may pay for it -- or benefit from it. Stay close to God and to his church and read his word with prayer.
Bob O.
Genesis 21:8-21
Chuck Swindoll wrote about a young couple he counseled many years ago. During their premarital counseling sessions, Swindoll said that he detected a strong jealous streak in the man. As a counselor he felt impelled to bring this to light for discussion between the two of them. Both of them passed it off as not that important. Following the honeymoon and the first few months of marriage, they returned for some follow-up counseling. Swindoll wrote, "What a change!" The woman accused her now husband of being so jealous of her that he checked the odometer in the car before going to work and again arriving home from his job. He quizzed her if there were any extra miles on the car.
Dr. Swindoll observed, "Lacking trust and encouragement, she was dying slowly, sadly, angrily."
Sarah was that way with Hagar in today's text. She was jealous of everything Hagar represented in life. Her anger drove Hagar from Abraham's tent and life. The result has been a violent split between the sons of Hagar and the sons of Sarah to this day.
What results has jealousy caused in your life?
(Charles Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, p. 311)
Derl K.
Romans 6:1b-11
On April 14, 1902, J.C. Penney opened his first Golden Rule store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Penney referred to it as his Golden Rule store for that would be his and his associates' official policy toward all customers.
Application: J.C. Penney understood that we are not to sin for grace to abound, but instead we are to live a life of grace.
Ron L.
Romans 6:1b-11
Baptism makes living the Christian life easy. Americans do not want to believe that. Two 2013 polls by the Gallup organization revealed that most of us link religion and morality, so that as we have become less religious (more secular) we have become less moral. But this lesson makes clear that morality is just a happy by-product of faith and of being baptized. What we have here is as Martin Luther once wrote (quoting Augustine) "a complete description of the man who has been placed under grace..." (Luther's Works, Vol. 25, p. 308). This is the case because in baptism, according to John Wesley, we are engrafted into Christ, drawing new spiritual life from him (Commentary on the Bible, p. 500). Christ's inheritance has become ours. As he is a man who overcame death and rises from it to the glory of God, that is our inheritance in the new birth of baptism. Christians have a disposition to live this way, to "do Christ's thing." It is like some children are born with athletic or musical ability. It comes natural to them; they love these activities. They do them all the time. (Childhood practices of basketball stars Bill Bradley and Michael Jordan illustrate how this giftedness leads to passion and a desire to practice the game all the time.) So baptized Christians, people gifted to deny themselves for the sake of Christ and their neighbor, are inclined to practice such a lifestyle, joyfully, but not as a burden. Yes, Christians practice morality (like Bradley and Jordan spent lots of time on the court), but not as a burden. Doing things Christ's way is more like the joyful game Bradley and Jordan played. Baptism and hearing God's word gets us started.
Mark E.
Matthew 10:24-39
My exercise advisor mentioned that I needed to do core exercises... that middle section of the body which supports the rest of the body. He said that once the core is strong, the physical body can withstand most anything.
Matthew intimates that what is needed for the disciple of Christ is a good core workout to make the spiritual body strong. If we have a great core, then:
The core will give strength to overcome fear of anyone who can destroy the physical body (v. 28).
The core will give strength to understand our true worth (v. 31).
The core will give strength to own up to whom we belong (v. 33).
The core will give strength to take up the cross and follow Jesus (v. 38).
The core will give strength to discover real life (v. 39).
Derl K.
Matthew 10:24-39
Jesus' life could shame us all. We might not stoop to wash anyone's feet. Even though Jesus was the master, he was still humble. The more we read of Jesus' life, the more we feel we are hardly worthy to be a student or even a slave.
Beelzebub means "lord of flies." Flies are always a big nuisance. God's main job was keeping away the flies from his worshipers. How much more will our Lord protect us from the little nuisances of life, which may be far worse than flies? It also means "lord of dung or crap." It is the name given to Satan by our Lord.
If there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, we could know it all in our entire lifetime. I'm sure my brain couldn't hold it all. I'm sure some parts will be revealed to many people, so if we want to know more than he has given us, we will have to seek others. That is one reason we have a church. Each one knows a bit more and we can share it with each other. That is the only way we can grow in our faith!
We are called to spread the light! When we hear it from God we are ordered to pass it on. Our first job is to pass it on to our family -- to our children. Then we may have the uncomfortable job of telling others. I say uncomfortable because if you are not careful, others may label you as a religious fanatic. At least it would show we are not ashamed of our Lord, which he tells us is dangerous if we hope to spend eternity with him.
We could go even further, even if it means death, we should be faithful. That goes a long way beyond just embarrassed. Compared to much of the world, we have it easy. We need to be more afraid of whatever or whoever can destroy our souls.
Why do we worry if God even takes care of the little sparrows? He even counts the hairs on our head. God covers every detail in our life. The only thing we should worry about is making sure we keep close to him, to learn more about him, to care more about him, and avoid that other guy who only keeps away the flies.
The next verses can cause us to think. If Jesus did not come to bring peace, maybe some will settle for that fly killer -- temporarily at least.
I don't like the verse that warns us about the members of our own household. That would make a hard choice for some. One of my former members turned against God because he allowed her little dog to be killed. If that could hurt her faith then how much more would she suffer if it were her daughter?
Think what only these few verses can give us. Can we hold it all? Our life may depend on it.
Bob O.
