Sermon Illustrations for Trinity Sunday (2013)
Illustration
Object:
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Our text is all about Wisdom and how we might understand the Son of God as the Wisdom of God. From a Christian perspective the Jewish Talmud sheds profound light on the Trinity. "The highest form of wisdom is kindness," we are taught. At the very heart of God, the Son of God, there is kindness. As the text teaches that God delights in Wisdom (v. 30b), so it seems we have a God who delights in kindness!
Mark E.
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Abraham Lincoln and his family often sought solace at the Soldier's Home in Washington DC. It was to this mansion that the president often retreated to escape the summer's heat and withdraw from the problems of the war. For a weekend excursion in 1864, the Lincolns invited Joshua Speed to be their guest. Shortly after sunrise, Speed entered the library unannounced. There he found the president sitting before an open window, enjoying the morning's light, intently reading his Bible. Speed complimented the president's faith, then reaffirmed his own skepticism regarding religion. Lincoln, rising from his chair, walked over to his companion, placed a hand gently upon the shoulder of his friend, and cautioned, "You are wrong, Speed. Take all of this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier man." Soon after this encounter Joshua Speed joined the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Ron L.
Romans 5:1-5
In the popular story The Hunger Games (which is like a futuristic Coliseum of gladiators), there is an arena of life and death where there is to be only one left alive of the original 24 contestants. The character of key individuals is developed by how they endure the suffering that is part of the annual games of Panem, a country that was once known as North America. Katniss, the heroine, befriends the diminutive Rue, who had been speared by another contestant and lay dying. Rue had befriended Katniss earlier when they were both caught up in the trees by a pack of bigger and stronger adversaries on the ground below. Now Katniss could only hold Rue in her arms and sing her a song, because that is the only thing Rue asked of her with her dying breath. Katniss reflects in the moment: "The words are easy and soothing, promising tomorrow will be more hopeful than this awful piece of time we call today."
Mark M.
Romans 5:1-5
Being justified is what faith is all about. If we are justified by what Jesus did, then our salvation is assured! That should give us peace! That should make us rejoice in the hope that he has given us. That should even take away our fear of death. One man's wife had died a few years before him, so when he passed the pearly gates, his wife was there to show him around. The beauty was fantastic! But he had a scowl on his face. When she asked him what was wrong, he said, "If you hadn't given me all those vitamins and all that healthy food, I would have been up here long ago!" That story should put our future into perspective. We can even rejoice in our suffering! I have talked with folks who have had an experience where they didn't know where their next meal was coming from. I grew up during the Depression, but some today are experiencing troubles also.
The lesson for all of us should be that God always provided and always will! We can see this if we look back on our past and wonder how we ever made it this far. The daughter of one of my confirmands had two experiences that proved to her how God was watching out for her. She and a friend had tickets for a movie but couldn't go at the last minute. That was the night a madman shot and killed several of those who attended. If that were not enough, an arson started a fire in her apartment. She lived on the fourth floor and the fire blocked her from taking the stairs down. The only option she had was to jump from that fourth-floor window. She broke a few bones and a lady pulled her away so the building would not fall on her. A month later she was home and back at work! God had saved her twice, and now she knew that whatever she might face in the future, she had a God who was watching out for her. Now God had built perseverance and character in her. She knew he would not disappoint her.
Hope will not disappoint us. God has poured out his love in our hearts. That love should move us to show love to others. But why does God have to put us through so many trying experiences? Why does he test us? It is because he wants us to grow strong in our faith. That will also make us an example for our family and for others. How many children I know who brag about their parents and what they have endured. God may be testing you, perhaps in nothing more than to have to sit in a hard wooden pew for an hour on Sunday! We dare not give up if we want the reward that is waiting for those who persevere. God will give us hope and peace if we endure.
Bob O.
John 16:12-15
All that the Father has is Christ's, and the Spirit will take what is Christ's and declare it (v. 15). Martin Luther finds a fresh insight about the Trinity from this text. He speaks of God in terms of an internal conversation, with the Father as speaker, the Son as the word, and the Spirit as the listener (Luther's Works, Vol. 24, pp. 364-365). We have a talkative God, and his word is one of love. The Trinity may be a mystery but there is no mystery that he loves to talk about how much he cares about us!
Mark E.
John 16:12-15
Bob Keeshan entertained children for years as the jovial Captain Kangaroo. In his autobiography Growing Up Happy, Keeshan shared the moment when he realized life would be marvelous. Shortly after World War II, Keeshan, an eighteen-year-old Marine, was on board the troopship Rockbridge Ranger sailing toward his last duty station in Hawaii. He enjoyed spending the dark nights standing in the forecastle, gazing at the starlit skies. The bow dipped into each succeeding wave and the heavens shone gloriously overhead. Reflecting on this experience, Keeshan wrote: "There was a rhythm to life I felt at those moments. I didn't know what was going to happen to me when I was discharged, but I would be nineteen and I was convinced that the world would be wonderful."
Ron L.
Our text is all about Wisdom and how we might understand the Son of God as the Wisdom of God. From a Christian perspective the Jewish Talmud sheds profound light on the Trinity. "The highest form of wisdom is kindness," we are taught. At the very heart of God, the Son of God, there is kindness. As the text teaches that God delights in Wisdom (v. 30b), so it seems we have a God who delights in kindness!
Mark E.
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Abraham Lincoln and his family often sought solace at the Soldier's Home in Washington DC. It was to this mansion that the president often retreated to escape the summer's heat and withdraw from the problems of the war. For a weekend excursion in 1864, the Lincolns invited Joshua Speed to be their guest. Shortly after sunrise, Speed entered the library unannounced. There he found the president sitting before an open window, enjoying the morning's light, intently reading his Bible. Speed complimented the president's faith, then reaffirmed his own skepticism regarding religion. Lincoln, rising from his chair, walked over to his companion, placed a hand gently upon the shoulder of his friend, and cautioned, "You are wrong, Speed. Take all of this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier man." Soon after this encounter Joshua Speed joined the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Ron L.
Romans 5:1-5
In the popular story The Hunger Games (which is like a futuristic Coliseum of gladiators), there is an arena of life and death where there is to be only one left alive of the original 24 contestants. The character of key individuals is developed by how they endure the suffering that is part of the annual games of Panem, a country that was once known as North America. Katniss, the heroine, befriends the diminutive Rue, who had been speared by another contestant and lay dying. Rue had befriended Katniss earlier when they were both caught up in the trees by a pack of bigger and stronger adversaries on the ground below. Now Katniss could only hold Rue in her arms and sing her a song, because that is the only thing Rue asked of her with her dying breath. Katniss reflects in the moment: "The words are easy and soothing, promising tomorrow will be more hopeful than this awful piece of time we call today."
Mark M.
Romans 5:1-5
Being justified is what faith is all about. If we are justified by what Jesus did, then our salvation is assured! That should give us peace! That should make us rejoice in the hope that he has given us. That should even take away our fear of death. One man's wife had died a few years before him, so when he passed the pearly gates, his wife was there to show him around. The beauty was fantastic! But he had a scowl on his face. When she asked him what was wrong, he said, "If you hadn't given me all those vitamins and all that healthy food, I would have been up here long ago!" That story should put our future into perspective. We can even rejoice in our suffering! I have talked with folks who have had an experience where they didn't know where their next meal was coming from. I grew up during the Depression, but some today are experiencing troubles also.
The lesson for all of us should be that God always provided and always will! We can see this if we look back on our past and wonder how we ever made it this far. The daughter of one of my confirmands had two experiences that proved to her how God was watching out for her. She and a friend had tickets for a movie but couldn't go at the last minute. That was the night a madman shot and killed several of those who attended. If that were not enough, an arson started a fire in her apartment. She lived on the fourth floor and the fire blocked her from taking the stairs down. The only option she had was to jump from that fourth-floor window. She broke a few bones and a lady pulled her away so the building would not fall on her. A month later she was home and back at work! God had saved her twice, and now she knew that whatever she might face in the future, she had a God who was watching out for her. Now God had built perseverance and character in her. She knew he would not disappoint her.
Hope will not disappoint us. God has poured out his love in our hearts. That love should move us to show love to others. But why does God have to put us through so many trying experiences? Why does he test us? It is because he wants us to grow strong in our faith. That will also make us an example for our family and for others. How many children I know who brag about their parents and what they have endured. God may be testing you, perhaps in nothing more than to have to sit in a hard wooden pew for an hour on Sunday! We dare not give up if we want the reward that is waiting for those who persevere. God will give us hope and peace if we endure.
Bob O.
John 16:12-15
All that the Father has is Christ's, and the Spirit will take what is Christ's and declare it (v. 15). Martin Luther finds a fresh insight about the Trinity from this text. He speaks of God in terms of an internal conversation, with the Father as speaker, the Son as the word, and the Spirit as the listener (Luther's Works, Vol. 24, pp. 364-365). We have a talkative God, and his word is one of love. The Trinity may be a mystery but there is no mystery that he loves to talk about how much he cares about us!
Mark E.
John 16:12-15
Bob Keeshan entertained children for years as the jovial Captain Kangaroo. In his autobiography Growing Up Happy, Keeshan shared the moment when he realized life would be marvelous. Shortly after World War II, Keeshan, an eighteen-year-old Marine, was on board the troopship Rockbridge Ranger sailing toward his last duty station in Hawaii. He enjoyed spending the dark nights standing in the forecastle, gazing at the starlit skies. The bow dipped into each succeeding wave and the heavens shone gloriously overhead. Reflecting on this experience, Keeshan wrote: "There was a rhythm to life I felt at those moments. I didn't know what was going to happen to me when I was discharged, but I would be nineteen and I was convinced that the world would be wonderful."
Ron L.
