Sermon Illustrations For Day Of Pentecost (2017)
Illustration
Acts 2:1-21
No one saw it coming. It was at a service in the Kansas City church I’d served for quite a while. We’d had special music in most services, so that was not unusual. He didn’t look too much different from any other freshman in high school. To hear him talk, he sounded like an ordinary young man. But when he stepped up the microphone, something happened. Out of his mouth came the most beautiful rendition of a song we’d heard numerous times before. His voice, regularly so normal, transformed into that of a mature and talented singer. When the song was over, there was not a dry eye. We’d been ushered into the presence of the Lord by a talent we never thought was there.
Sometimes the Lord surprises us. The apostles were told they would receive the Holy Spirit. He would give them power to do incredible things. Did they know what that meant? The text doesn’t say, and we are left to speculate. In just a short time, though, they experienced it. On the day of Pentecost, with crowds of Jews from all over gathered in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit came on the apostles. Tongues of fire appeared and rested on each one of them. They began to speak in languages they’d never known. All who were there that day heard them speak in his or her native tongue. They knew they were Galileans, and were stunned and surprised. Some sneered and had snide remarks, but many others were simply astonished. Peter then stood and explained what this extraordinary event was. God had poured out his Spirit, and big things were happening.
The Holy Spirit continues his work today. He empowers and emboldens people to do amazing things. Why should we be surprised?
Bill T.
Acts 2:1-21
A 2012 Pew Forum study found that nearly one in five Americans (18%) say they are “spiritual, but not religious.” There’s not much use or need for the Church in these circles, and the attitude is more prevalent among younger generations. A 2015 Pew Forum study found only 27% of the millennial generation attend religious services regularly. St. Augustine provides a helpful response to this skepticism about why we need the Church, a message demanded by this Sunday’s and this lesson’s story of the birth of Church. He claims that it is the mother who bears and begets all Christians (Ante-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 3, p. 417). We would not be born without our mothers, would not be who we are without Mom. And so a Christian without the Church is either no Christian at all or an ingrate and one who disrespects her/his heritage.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famed modern martyr for the Christian faith, grappled with challenges to the Church and its declining influence in his lifetime. In response he claimed that the Church must exist “in disguise,” for it no longer has a privileged place in society. It is not the place to be to enhance your reputation or your social standing. But the Church has a proper place, he argued. Its proper place is “the place of Christ present in the world.” It is the place “where God speaks with his community” -- and that means you will not find it just in a building or just with clergy (A Testament To Freedom, pp. 88-89).
Modern theologian George Lindbeck said more on this topic of where to find the Church and why we need it. All religions are like cultures that civilize you. Communities do that, not individuals alone. And so the Church is this culture, with its stories, rituals, and social interactions with Jesus and each other, that civilizes Christians (The Nature of Doctrine, especially pp.33-34). That’s why you can’t have a Christian spirituality without the Church.
Mark E.
Acts 2:1-21
Homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997, but it is still illegal for homosexual couples to marry. The first same-sex marriage case to appear in court there was Sun Wenlin, 27, and Hu Mingliang, 37. The judge ruled against the couple. Sun and Hu will continue to seek the right to marry, saying they wanted “to secure the equality for all people... to make gay people’s values heard.” Reflecting on the case, Xin Ying, the director of the Beijing LGBT Center, said: “But the fact that we have entered the era when we can ask for gay marriage, that is a big step.”
Application: Our lesson discusses the need to be prophetic and the need to establish unity.
Ron L.
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
Gifts are curious things. Sometimes we want to acknowledge that we have a gift, and sometimes we don’t. If someone called me an excellent painter as if that were my gift, I might laugh because truly I am awful! It would be false praise. I could refute it. When someone says I sing well, then I can accept that gift -- and I do call it a gift because the potential was given to me by God, even though I have honed the gift. Paul’s list of gifts is a little different.
Paul is writing about the Holy Spirit and the gifts given to us to speak wisdom or knowledge, to offer healing, to work miracles, to prophesy, and to speak in tongues or interpret tongues. I’m glad that all these gifts are listed. I am happier that Paul reminds us that we all don’t need or receive all these gifts. I can feel good then about my ability to learn, my ability to synthesize information, my ability to sing, and not worry too much about not being able to perform miracles or prophesy. But I am also called to use my gifts -- to use them for the good of the Church, the community, and the world. That’s the gift of the Holy Spirit as well. Praise be!
Bonnie B.
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
The Greek word sumpheron is translated as “common good” in the NRSV translation of 1 Corinthians 12:7: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Sumpheron suggests that a particular action or attitude is to everyone’s advantage, what we nowadays call a “win-win situation.” The word appears regularly in ordinary letters from ancient Egypt. In one ancient letter the use of the verb form of the word implies that coming together brings with it a wish for shared health. In other words, we’re better together! In another context, the good that results from working together is translated with an imperative -- “It is expedient!” At the very least, the word implies that with the common good the individual can expect “profit” or “advantage.”
Frank R.
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
If we hear adherents of any of the world’s religions cursing the name of Jesus in our country, they are not of the Lord. That doesn’t mean we should kill them, as many Muslims do to “non-believers” of their faith. They are not our brothers and sisters in Christ. We might have to accept them as fellow Americans, but we should not have fellowship with them. Yes, we have to communicate them for many reasons -- but that does not mean that we should take them as close friends.
We must be careful, because there are some who may say Jesus is Lord but who are not fellow Christians because of their false teaching about him. Paul’s letters mention some of them.
There are not just spiritual differences, as this text says. We also serve each other with the gifts God has given us. Some of us are farmers, some are doctors, some are teachers, some are translators, some are businesspeople who run stores, and of course some are undertakers! We each have a talent and a job. Who would heal us if we were all farmers? Where would we buy our groceries if we were all teachers? Some might be more important than others, but we need them all -- even janitors and bus drivers!
Each one of us also has “spiritual” gifts: some are pastors, some teach Sunday school, some take care of the offering, some are missionaries. We each have an assignment from the Lord, even if it is not a job in the church on Sunday. Our church can help us discover what our particular talent is. Some are more important than others, but all are needed -- yes, even a janitor. If we don’t know what our job is, we need to pray for God’s assignment and then ask our fellow members if they agree.
Every church I have served has had some teachers who were not real teachers -- even some pastors should not have been ordained as pastors. That may be evident when we hear them preach or teach a pastor’s class. It can also be apparent in the kind of life they live.
In our country we have some elected people who should have done something else -- yes, we’ve had some presidents who got the wrong job.
There are even some parents who should never have had children. We don’t always know that until it is too late. Then we need others who have been given the talent to do something about it.
It is worth much prayer to know what God wants us to do! You church should help you.
Bob O.
John 20:19-23
The world can be chaotic. As I write this, I am watching the funeral of Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura. Ventura was a 25-year-old pitcher for the Royals who helped lead them to two American League pennants and a World Series crown. He died much too suddenly in a car accident. The funeral is, as you would expect, sad. My hometown of Kansas City is in mourning, along with many people in the Dominican Republic. Heartache and confusion are how a lot of people in both the Dominican and Kansas City feel.
I am guessing that all of us have been in that same place. Living brings us into all kinds of challenging situations. We’ve all known tragedy. We’ve all wondered why things happen as they do. We’ve all been in that place of wrestling with what should have been and what is. The disciples, in today’s text, are in that place. Jesus has been killed. His body is in the tomb. Mary Magdalene is reporting some strange news. Peter and John have seen some things, but is it possible? The doors are locked. The Jews are still out there. The disciples mingle. Perhaps muted conversations address the implausible. Suddenly, Jesus is there. He is standing among them! What does he say to the amazed disciples? “Peace be with you.”
Did you catch that? In the middle of confusion, heartache, and struggle, Jesus offers peace. When you walk the difficult path, when things happen that seem to cut deeply, remember this scene in a locked room. What Jesus offered the disciples, he offers you too.
Bill T.
John 20:19-23
Liberated from Ravensbruck concentration camp on Christmas Day 1944, Miss Corrie ten Boom went forth on her mission. It was her calling to preach the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, knowing that only the Son of God could reconcile the estranged citizens of Europe. After several years of itinerance, the proclaimer of forgiveness learned that she still harbored hate within her soul.
Returning to Germany for the first time since her incarceration, the native of Holland spoke at a church service in Munich. There she encountered one of her captors, a jailer from Ravensbruck. Ten Boom once again found herself in the same room with the SS soldier who guarded the shower room door at the processing center; the man who ordered the lady to disrobe and then stood sneering at her nakedness.
After the benediction the man came up to ten Boom, beaming and bowing, thrusting forth his hand in welcome, acknowledging how grateful he was for the message of forgiveness. The one who lectured on forgiveness kept her hand to her side. Angry, vengeful thoughts boiled within her; before her stood a person she could not forgive. Ten Boom prayed, but even in prayer she could not raise her hand in response. She felt neither warmth nor charity toward this criminal.
She prayed a second time, “Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness.” This time she was able to touch the man’s extended hand, and an incredible thing happened -- ten Boom described a current of overwhelming love for this man passed from her heart, through her fingers, to his soul. Corrie ten Boom reflected: “And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on [God’s]. When he tells us to love our enemies, he gives, along with the command, the love itself.”
Application: Our lesson discusses the importance of practicing forgiveness.
Ron L.
John 20:19-23
This story of Jesus’ resurrection appearance to the faithful includes his charge that by the Spirit the faithful are given the power to forgive sins (v. 23). Martin Luther has noted that “forgiveness of sins is what the Church is all about“ (The Book of Concord [2000 edition], p. 356). This is why this theme is so relevant for Pentecost.
In a May 2014 entry in the Huffington Post, physicist Frank Heile made a profound point: “Forgiving is hard because the human consciousness has a hard time living in the present moment.” Forgiving is easier than forgetting. Psychiatrists Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman have noted how lack of forgiveness and anger are unhappy ways to live. In those states we are not engaged in the frontal lobe activities that control impulses, and these impulses lead us to think in narrow, superficial ways (Why We Believe What We Believe, pp. 188-189). The Good News is that forgiveness comes easy when you are filled with the Holy Spirit (another Pentecost theme). Forgiveness comes easy, not because God takes away the hurts. It is as Luther once said in a sermon: “But when Christ comes, he does not change the outward unpleasant conditions, but strengthens the person, and makes out of a timid, a fearless heart, a bold heart” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 1/2, p. 381).
When you have this boldness, then the mandate to forgive is not oppressive but freeing. Martin Luther again provides a valuable insight on how in the Church forgiveness is just a way of life: “Not that good works are commanded us by the Word; for where faith in the heart is right, there is no need of much commanding good works to be done; they follow of themselves” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 1/2, pp. 374-375).
Mark E.
No one saw it coming. It was at a service in the Kansas City church I’d served for quite a while. We’d had special music in most services, so that was not unusual. He didn’t look too much different from any other freshman in high school. To hear him talk, he sounded like an ordinary young man. But when he stepped up the microphone, something happened. Out of his mouth came the most beautiful rendition of a song we’d heard numerous times before. His voice, regularly so normal, transformed into that of a mature and talented singer. When the song was over, there was not a dry eye. We’d been ushered into the presence of the Lord by a talent we never thought was there.
Sometimes the Lord surprises us. The apostles were told they would receive the Holy Spirit. He would give them power to do incredible things. Did they know what that meant? The text doesn’t say, and we are left to speculate. In just a short time, though, they experienced it. On the day of Pentecost, with crowds of Jews from all over gathered in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit came on the apostles. Tongues of fire appeared and rested on each one of them. They began to speak in languages they’d never known. All who were there that day heard them speak in his or her native tongue. They knew they were Galileans, and were stunned and surprised. Some sneered and had snide remarks, but many others were simply astonished. Peter then stood and explained what this extraordinary event was. God had poured out his Spirit, and big things were happening.
The Holy Spirit continues his work today. He empowers and emboldens people to do amazing things. Why should we be surprised?
Bill T.
Acts 2:1-21
A 2012 Pew Forum study found that nearly one in five Americans (18%) say they are “spiritual, but not religious.” There’s not much use or need for the Church in these circles, and the attitude is more prevalent among younger generations. A 2015 Pew Forum study found only 27% of the millennial generation attend religious services regularly. St. Augustine provides a helpful response to this skepticism about why we need the Church, a message demanded by this Sunday’s and this lesson’s story of the birth of Church. He claims that it is the mother who bears and begets all Christians (Ante-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 3, p. 417). We would not be born without our mothers, would not be who we are without Mom. And so a Christian without the Church is either no Christian at all or an ingrate and one who disrespects her/his heritage.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famed modern martyr for the Christian faith, grappled with challenges to the Church and its declining influence in his lifetime. In response he claimed that the Church must exist “in disguise,” for it no longer has a privileged place in society. It is not the place to be to enhance your reputation or your social standing. But the Church has a proper place, he argued. Its proper place is “the place of Christ present in the world.” It is the place “where God speaks with his community” -- and that means you will not find it just in a building or just with clergy (A Testament To Freedom, pp. 88-89).
Modern theologian George Lindbeck said more on this topic of where to find the Church and why we need it. All religions are like cultures that civilize you. Communities do that, not individuals alone. And so the Church is this culture, with its stories, rituals, and social interactions with Jesus and each other, that civilizes Christians (The Nature of Doctrine, especially pp.33-34). That’s why you can’t have a Christian spirituality without the Church.
Mark E.
Acts 2:1-21
Homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997, but it is still illegal for homosexual couples to marry. The first same-sex marriage case to appear in court there was Sun Wenlin, 27, and Hu Mingliang, 37. The judge ruled against the couple. Sun and Hu will continue to seek the right to marry, saying they wanted “to secure the equality for all people... to make gay people’s values heard.” Reflecting on the case, Xin Ying, the director of the Beijing LGBT Center, said: “But the fact that we have entered the era when we can ask for gay marriage, that is a big step.”
Application: Our lesson discusses the need to be prophetic and the need to establish unity.
Ron L.
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
Gifts are curious things. Sometimes we want to acknowledge that we have a gift, and sometimes we don’t. If someone called me an excellent painter as if that were my gift, I might laugh because truly I am awful! It would be false praise. I could refute it. When someone says I sing well, then I can accept that gift -- and I do call it a gift because the potential was given to me by God, even though I have honed the gift. Paul’s list of gifts is a little different.
Paul is writing about the Holy Spirit and the gifts given to us to speak wisdom or knowledge, to offer healing, to work miracles, to prophesy, and to speak in tongues or interpret tongues. I’m glad that all these gifts are listed. I am happier that Paul reminds us that we all don’t need or receive all these gifts. I can feel good then about my ability to learn, my ability to synthesize information, my ability to sing, and not worry too much about not being able to perform miracles or prophesy. But I am also called to use my gifts -- to use them for the good of the Church, the community, and the world. That’s the gift of the Holy Spirit as well. Praise be!
Bonnie B.
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
The Greek word sumpheron is translated as “common good” in the NRSV translation of 1 Corinthians 12:7: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Sumpheron suggests that a particular action or attitude is to everyone’s advantage, what we nowadays call a “win-win situation.” The word appears regularly in ordinary letters from ancient Egypt. In one ancient letter the use of the verb form of the word implies that coming together brings with it a wish for shared health. In other words, we’re better together! In another context, the good that results from working together is translated with an imperative -- “It is expedient!” At the very least, the word implies that with the common good the individual can expect “profit” or “advantage.”
Frank R.
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
If we hear adherents of any of the world’s religions cursing the name of Jesus in our country, they are not of the Lord. That doesn’t mean we should kill them, as many Muslims do to “non-believers” of their faith. They are not our brothers and sisters in Christ. We might have to accept them as fellow Americans, but we should not have fellowship with them. Yes, we have to communicate them for many reasons -- but that does not mean that we should take them as close friends.
We must be careful, because there are some who may say Jesus is Lord but who are not fellow Christians because of their false teaching about him. Paul’s letters mention some of them.
There are not just spiritual differences, as this text says. We also serve each other with the gifts God has given us. Some of us are farmers, some are doctors, some are teachers, some are translators, some are businesspeople who run stores, and of course some are undertakers! We each have a talent and a job. Who would heal us if we were all farmers? Where would we buy our groceries if we were all teachers? Some might be more important than others, but we need them all -- even janitors and bus drivers!
Each one of us also has “spiritual” gifts: some are pastors, some teach Sunday school, some take care of the offering, some are missionaries. We each have an assignment from the Lord, even if it is not a job in the church on Sunday. Our church can help us discover what our particular talent is. Some are more important than others, but all are needed -- yes, even a janitor. If we don’t know what our job is, we need to pray for God’s assignment and then ask our fellow members if they agree.
Every church I have served has had some teachers who were not real teachers -- even some pastors should not have been ordained as pastors. That may be evident when we hear them preach or teach a pastor’s class. It can also be apparent in the kind of life they live.
In our country we have some elected people who should have done something else -- yes, we’ve had some presidents who got the wrong job.
There are even some parents who should never have had children. We don’t always know that until it is too late. Then we need others who have been given the talent to do something about it.
It is worth much prayer to know what God wants us to do! You church should help you.
Bob O.
John 20:19-23
The world can be chaotic. As I write this, I am watching the funeral of Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura. Ventura was a 25-year-old pitcher for the Royals who helped lead them to two American League pennants and a World Series crown. He died much too suddenly in a car accident. The funeral is, as you would expect, sad. My hometown of Kansas City is in mourning, along with many people in the Dominican Republic. Heartache and confusion are how a lot of people in both the Dominican and Kansas City feel.
I am guessing that all of us have been in that same place. Living brings us into all kinds of challenging situations. We’ve all known tragedy. We’ve all wondered why things happen as they do. We’ve all been in that place of wrestling with what should have been and what is. The disciples, in today’s text, are in that place. Jesus has been killed. His body is in the tomb. Mary Magdalene is reporting some strange news. Peter and John have seen some things, but is it possible? The doors are locked. The Jews are still out there. The disciples mingle. Perhaps muted conversations address the implausible. Suddenly, Jesus is there. He is standing among them! What does he say to the amazed disciples? “Peace be with you.”
Did you catch that? In the middle of confusion, heartache, and struggle, Jesus offers peace. When you walk the difficult path, when things happen that seem to cut deeply, remember this scene in a locked room. What Jesus offered the disciples, he offers you too.
Bill T.
John 20:19-23
Liberated from Ravensbruck concentration camp on Christmas Day 1944, Miss Corrie ten Boom went forth on her mission. It was her calling to preach the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, knowing that only the Son of God could reconcile the estranged citizens of Europe. After several years of itinerance, the proclaimer of forgiveness learned that she still harbored hate within her soul.
Returning to Germany for the first time since her incarceration, the native of Holland spoke at a church service in Munich. There she encountered one of her captors, a jailer from Ravensbruck. Ten Boom once again found herself in the same room with the SS soldier who guarded the shower room door at the processing center; the man who ordered the lady to disrobe and then stood sneering at her nakedness.
After the benediction the man came up to ten Boom, beaming and bowing, thrusting forth his hand in welcome, acknowledging how grateful he was for the message of forgiveness. The one who lectured on forgiveness kept her hand to her side. Angry, vengeful thoughts boiled within her; before her stood a person she could not forgive. Ten Boom prayed, but even in prayer she could not raise her hand in response. She felt neither warmth nor charity toward this criminal.
She prayed a second time, “Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness.” This time she was able to touch the man’s extended hand, and an incredible thing happened -- ten Boom described a current of overwhelming love for this man passed from her heart, through her fingers, to his soul. Corrie ten Boom reflected: “And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on [God’s]. When he tells us to love our enemies, he gives, along with the command, the love itself.”
Application: Our lesson discusses the importance of practicing forgiveness.
Ron L.
John 20:19-23
This story of Jesus’ resurrection appearance to the faithful includes his charge that by the Spirit the faithful are given the power to forgive sins (v. 23). Martin Luther has noted that “forgiveness of sins is what the Church is all about“ (The Book of Concord [2000 edition], p. 356). This is why this theme is so relevant for Pentecost.
In a May 2014 entry in the Huffington Post, physicist Frank Heile made a profound point: “Forgiving is hard because the human consciousness has a hard time living in the present moment.” Forgiving is easier than forgetting. Psychiatrists Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman have noted how lack of forgiveness and anger are unhappy ways to live. In those states we are not engaged in the frontal lobe activities that control impulses, and these impulses lead us to think in narrow, superficial ways (Why We Believe What We Believe, pp. 188-189). The Good News is that forgiveness comes easy when you are filled with the Holy Spirit (another Pentecost theme). Forgiveness comes easy, not because God takes away the hurts. It is as Luther once said in a sermon: “But when Christ comes, he does not change the outward unpleasant conditions, but strengthens the person, and makes out of a timid, a fearless heart, a bold heart” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 1/2, p. 381).
When you have this boldness, then the mandate to forgive is not oppressive but freeing. Martin Luther again provides a valuable insight on how in the Church forgiveness is just a way of life: “Not that good works are commanded us by the Word; for where faith in the heart is right, there is no need of much commanding good works to be done; they follow of themselves” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 1/2, pp. 374-375).
Mark E.
