Sermon Illustrations for Easter 7 (2025)
Illustration
Acts 16:16-34
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth writes in her devotion about South African minister Andrew Murray. She notes, “In 1895, a South African pastor, teacher and writer named Andrew Murray was preaching at large Christian conferences in England. In physical pain from an injury sustained a few years earlier (thrown from a cart while traveling and ministering), and having just received some discouraging criticism from a well-known person, the exhausted Murray opted to stay in bed one Sunday morning. But rather than wallowing in discouragement, he decided to write some notes for his own encouragement.
He penned the words, “In time of trouble say…” Then he wrote four principles. I am here by God’s appointment. I am here in his keeping. I am here under his training, and I am here for his time. Murray’s point is clear. Worshipping God is not dependent on circumstances. Worshipping God is because of who he is and his sovereignty over every aspect of our lives.
Worshipping God is not dependent upon our circumstances. Paul and Silas understood this truth. In this text, they were cast in prison for freeing a woman from control of an evil spirit. They are beaten and stuck in the innermost prison in stocks. What do they do? They could complain about the injustice of it all. They could wonder where God is and why he is letting this happen. They don’t do either of these. What do they do? At midnight, they are praying and singing hymns to God. They are leading a midnight worship service that really shook things up. The outcome of this is the jailer and his family come to the Lord. What do we do when things are tough? Will we worship in the storm?
Bill T.
* * *
Acts 16:16-34
Recently, I had an opportunity to offer spiritual care to a man who was in jail. The place was well-maintained and I was able to meet him in a room that had some air and light, tables and chairs. Not such a bad location. Yet, for him, the cell wasn’t the same as our place for conversation. This man came to see me each month with a smile on his face, with joy in his heart and theological and faith questions to talk about. He also was a musician and yet, I can’t imagine that he, unlike Paul and Silas, was singing hymns in his cell.
He was released some months later, not through an earthquake or an act of God, but because he had completed his sentence. He sings and plays instruments in church now with the same joy on his face and the same joy in his heart. I wonder how Paul and Silas, in the innermost cells, kept their faith. They sang hymns and God’s answer to their faith was to open the doors and remove their chains. Perhaps the most important chains God removes is the chains of our heart that imprison us in doubt, fear, anger, and hate. Those chains we can all ask God to remove in song, in prayer, and in faith.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Acts 16:16-34
Paul and Silas were dragged before the authorities in Philippi for the heinous crime of interfering with business practices that relied on the exploitation of human beings. When Paul, because he was annoyed himself by the truth-telling of the female slave with a spirit of divination, cast out the demon that possessed her, her owners seized Paul and Silas and accused them of “disturbing the city, and…advocating customs that are not lawful for us.” (16:20-21) Without any semblance of legal process, the two were viciously beaten with rods and jailed.
Christians who advocate for those who are exploited, deprived of a living wage, trapped in conditions of near-slavery or blatant out-and-out slavery, may find themselves opposed by others who consider themselves Christians. They may be called naïve, unrealistic, impractical, and may even face arrest for attempting to intervene. They may be told that what they’re doing is just a drop in the bucket, as if that meant it was not worth doing. Certainly the apostle did not eliminate slavery or the sexual abuse of slaves in his lifetime, but he certainly changed one person’s life, hopefully for the better.
Frank R.
* * *
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
Sometimes the book of Revelation confuses me. This week’s reading does that. I truly understand that God and Jesus are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Then I get to the part about washing our robes and I get confused again. Is it doing laundry that makes me a part of the family of God? Yet, if we read verse 15, which is not a part of this reading, the meaning becomes clearer. Those who practice idolatry, are murderers, practice the pagan magic worship, are not welcome at the tree of life, are not cleansed of their sin. Now I believe that God can forgive all sins, but as I read this, I think of these mentioned in verse 15 as those who do not turn toward God, do not repent their sins. This begins to make a little more sense to me. It’s hard to be forgiven if you don’t want or seek forgiveness.
The water of life is offered to those who come. Jesus blesses those who follow him. Grace is offered to all those who are in relationship with Jesus. We are blessed not because we do our laundry, although that may be important, but because we come to God in repentance, in faith, seeking relationship, forgiveness, and grace. That I understand.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20-21
This is a text for getting the faithful to look ahead to the future. Famed German theologian Jurgen Moltmann thinks that such a future-orientation is the essence of Christianity. As he put it:
“Christianity”: has its essence and its goal not in itself and not in its own existence, but lives from something and exists for something that reaches far beyond itself… If we would fathom its essence then we must enquire into that future on which it sets its hopes and expectations. (Theology of Hope, p.325)
There is neurobiological data indicating that there are benefits for living life open to the future. When undertaking new tasks, the brain forges new neural (brain-cell connections). And when that happens the front part of the brain (the prefrontal cortex) is bathed in the brain chemical dopamine, which gives feelings of pleasure and happiness (Sherwin Nuland, The Art of Aging: A Doctor’s Prescription for Well-Being). We do well to follow the advice of the inventor of the electric starter and the electric cash register Charles Kettering. As he put it: “My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there.”
Mark E.
* * *
John 17:20-26
In the midst of all the talk about our polarization in American society and how even Christians are demonizing each other over our different views on the last presidential election, it is good to be reminded that the church is our common mother (Luther’s Works, Vol.51, p.166). And if we have a common mother, we must be brothers and sisters. There are all sorts of salubrious side-effects which result from living out Jesus’ prayer for unity. Ancient Greek writer Aesop said it well: “In union there is strength.” To be completely immersed in a project bigger than ourselves (to experience something as “us”, rather than just “me’) leads to the secretion of the pleasurable brain chemical dopamine and so results in happiness (Daniel Amen, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life).
If you prefer to focus on Jesus’ call to evangelism in the prayer (v.23), Martin Luther offers a nice word of encouragement. As he put it:
The noblest and greatest work and most important service we can perform for God on earth is bringing other people, and especially those who are entrusted to us, to the knowledge of God by the holy gospel. (What Luther Says, p.958)
Mark E.
* * *
John 17:20-26
John MacArthur once wrote, “Believers all belong to the same Lord, and are thus one with each other. Therefore, anything that denies our oneness with each other denies our oneness with him.” Unity in purpose and action among the members of the Body of Christ is important. Sometimes, though, we don’t quite reach that. I found this story that illustrates this.
The story is told of two men riding a tandem bicycle up a steep hill. After much effort, they finally made it to the top of the hill. The front rider said, “That was a tough ride.” To which the second rider replied, “Sure was, and if I hadn’t kept the brake on, we might have slipped backwards.”
That’s a funny story, but it can sting a little. Jesus prayed in the garden, “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (vs. 20-21). The reason for our unity is that it affects our ability to share Jesus with the lost world. When Christians are united with one another, it strengthens their ability to effectively share the faith with the world around them. Will we be one and with one voice proclaim the truth of Jesus?
Bill T.
* * *
John 17:20-26
As clergy we are probably used to praying for others, especially in their presence before surgery, or in times of trial, or in the wake of someone’s passing. Have you ever experienced a moment when you were prayed for? I remember occasions when I have dutifully prayed with someone before a medical procedure, for instance, at the end of which the person I had prayed for immediately began to pray for me. In this passage the disciples, at the end of the longest discourse in scripture, hear themselves prayed for and in the process hear prayers for those who were not there yet, but who shared in the prayers in the future. Our unity is cemented with every disciple who was, who is, and who will be. It’s a reminder that prayer is not something that happens in a moment, but has its roots in past prayers and will blossom and leaf in future prayers. I encourage yourself as you read this scripture to hear Jesus praying not only for those present, but for you in the present as well, and for us to pray with and for the communion of saints in all times and in all places. Prayer is not a lonely activity occurring in a moment, but the activity of the Spirit all times and places, before creation, and after the fulfillment of history.
Frank R.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth writes in her devotion about South African minister Andrew Murray. She notes, “In 1895, a South African pastor, teacher and writer named Andrew Murray was preaching at large Christian conferences in England. In physical pain from an injury sustained a few years earlier (thrown from a cart while traveling and ministering), and having just received some discouraging criticism from a well-known person, the exhausted Murray opted to stay in bed one Sunday morning. But rather than wallowing in discouragement, he decided to write some notes for his own encouragement.
He penned the words, “In time of trouble say…” Then he wrote four principles. I am here by God’s appointment. I am here in his keeping. I am here under his training, and I am here for his time. Murray’s point is clear. Worshipping God is not dependent on circumstances. Worshipping God is because of who he is and his sovereignty over every aspect of our lives.
Worshipping God is not dependent upon our circumstances. Paul and Silas understood this truth. In this text, they were cast in prison for freeing a woman from control of an evil spirit. They are beaten and stuck in the innermost prison in stocks. What do they do? They could complain about the injustice of it all. They could wonder where God is and why he is letting this happen. They don’t do either of these. What do they do? At midnight, they are praying and singing hymns to God. They are leading a midnight worship service that really shook things up. The outcome of this is the jailer and his family come to the Lord. What do we do when things are tough? Will we worship in the storm?
Bill T.
* * *
Acts 16:16-34
Recently, I had an opportunity to offer spiritual care to a man who was in jail. The place was well-maintained and I was able to meet him in a room that had some air and light, tables and chairs. Not such a bad location. Yet, for him, the cell wasn’t the same as our place for conversation. This man came to see me each month with a smile on his face, with joy in his heart and theological and faith questions to talk about. He also was a musician and yet, I can’t imagine that he, unlike Paul and Silas, was singing hymns in his cell.
He was released some months later, not through an earthquake or an act of God, but because he had completed his sentence. He sings and plays instruments in church now with the same joy on his face and the same joy in his heart. I wonder how Paul and Silas, in the innermost cells, kept their faith. They sang hymns and God’s answer to their faith was to open the doors and remove their chains. Perhaps the most important chains God removes is the chains of our heart that imprison us in doubt, fear, anger, and hate. Those chains we can all ask God to remove in song, in prayer, and in faith.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Acts 16:16-34
Paul and Silas were dragged before the authorities in Philippi for the heinous crime of interfering with business practices that relied on the exploitation of human beings. When Paul, because he was annoyed himself by the truth-telling of the female slave with a spirit of divination, cast out the demon that possessed her, her owners seized Paul and Silas and accused them of “disturbing the city, and…advocating customs that are not lawful for us.” (16:20-21) Without any semblance of legal process, the two were viciously beaten with rods and jailed.
Christians who advocate for those who are exploited, deprived of a living wage, trapped in conditions of near-slavery or blatant out-and-out slavery, may find themselves opposed by others who consider themselves Christians. They may be called naïve, unrealistic, impractical, and may even face arrest for attempting to intervene. They may be told that what they’re doing is just a drop in the bucket, as if that meant it was not worth doing. Certainly the apostle did not eliminate slavery or the sexual abuse of slaves in his lifetime, but he certainly changed one person’s life, hopefully for the better.
Frank R.
* * *
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
Sometimes the book of Revelation confuses me. This week’s reading does that. I truly understand that God and Jesus are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Then I get to the part about washing our robes and I get confused again. Is it doing laundry that makes me a part of the family of God? Yet, if we read verse 15, which is not a part of this reading, the meaning becomes clearer. Those who practice idolatry, are murderers, practice the pagan magic worship, are not welcome at the tree of life, are not cleansed of their sin. Now I believe that God can forgive all sins, but as I read this, I think of these mentioned in verse 15 as those who do not turn toward God, do not repent their sins. This begins to make a little more sense to me. It’s hard to be forgiven if you don’t want or seek forgiveness.
The water of life is offered to those who come. Jesus blesses those who follow him. Grace is offered to all those who are in relationship with Jesus. We are blessed not because we do our laundry, although that may be important, but because we come to God in repentance, in faith, seeking relationship, forgiveness, and grace. That I understand.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20-21
This is a text for getting the faithful to look ahead to the future. Famed German theologian Jurgen Moltmann thinks that such a future-orientation is the essence of Christianity. As he put it:
“Christianity”: has its essence and its goal not in itself and not in its own existence, but lives from something and exists for something that reaches far beyond itself… If we would fathom its essence then we must enquire into that future on which it sets its hopes and expectations. (Theology of Hope, p.325)
There is neurobiological data indicating that there are benefits for living life open to the future. When undertaking new tasks, the brain forges new neural (brain-cell connections). And when that happens the front part of the brain (the prefrontal cortex) is bathed in the brain chemical dopamine, which gives feelings of pleasure and happiness (Sherwin Nuland, The Art of Aging: A Doctor’s Prescription for Well-Being). We do well to follow the advice of the inventor of the electric starter and the electric cash register Charles Kettering. As he put it: “My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there.”
Mark E.
* * *
John 17:20-26
In the midst of all the talk about our polarization in American society and how even Christians are demonizing each other over our different views on the last presidential election, it is good to be reminded that the church is our common mother (Luther’s Works, Vol.51, p.166). And if we have a common mother, we must be brothers and sisters. There are all sorts of salubrious side-effects which result from living out Jesus’ prayer for unity. Ancient Greek writer Aesop said it well: “In union there is strength.” To be completely immersed in a project bigger than ourselves (to experience something as “us”, rather than just “me’) leads to the secretion of the pleasurable brain chemical dopamine and so results in happiness (Daniel Amen, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life).
If you prefer to focus on Jesus’ call to evangelism in the prayer (v.23), Martin Luther offers a nice word of encouragement. As he put it:
The noblest and greatest work and most important service we can perform for God on earth is bringing other people, and especially those who are entrusted to us, to the knowledge of God by the holy gospel. (What Luther Says, p.958)
Mark E.
* * *
John 17:20-26
John MacArthur once wrote, “Believers all belong to the same Lord, and are thus one with each other. Therefore, anything that denies our oneness with each other denies our oneness with him.” Unity in purpose and action among the members of the Body of Christ is important. Sometimes, though, we don’t quite reach that. I found this story that illustrates this.
The story is told of two men riding a tandem bicycle up a steep hill. After much effort, they finally made it to the top of the hill. The front rider said, “That was a tough ride.” To which the second rider replied, “Sure was, and if I hadn’t kept the brake on, we might have slipped backwards.”
That’s a funny story, but it can sting a little. Jesus prayed in the garden, “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (vs. 20-21). The reason for our unity is that it affects our ability to share Jesus with the lost world. When Christians are united with one another, it strengthens their ability to effectively share the faith with the world around them. Will we be one and with one voice proclaim the truth of Jesus?
Bill T.
* * *
John 17:20-26
As clergy we are probably used to praying for others, especially in their presence before surgery, or in times of trial, or in the wake of someone’s passing. Have you ever experienced a moment when you were prayed for? I remember occasions when I have dutifully prayed with someone before a medical procedure, for instance, at the end of which the person I had prayed for immediately began to pray for me. In this passage the disciples, at the end of the longest discourse in scripture, hear themselves prayed for and in the process hear prayers for those who were not there yet, but who shared in the prayers in the future. Our unity is cemented with every disciple who was, who is, and who will be. It’s a reminder that prayer is not something that happens in a moment, but has its roots in past prayers and will blossom and leaf in future prayers. I encourage yourself as you read this scripture to hear Jesus praying not only for those present, but for you in the present as well, and for us to pray with and for the communion of saints in all times and in all places. Prayer is not a lonely activity occurring in a moment, but the activity of the Spirit all times and places, before creation, and after the fulfillment of history.
Frank R.
