Sermon Illustrations for Lent 3 (2012)
Illustration
Exodus 20:1-17
One week a picture of a Harvard University president appeared on the cover of Newsweek magazine with a one-word banner headline: "EXHAUSTED." What had happened was that Harvard president Neil Rudenstine had overslept one morning in November 1994 in the midst of a million-dollar-a-day fund-raising campaign. For this perfectionist it was a wake-up call. He simply had collapsed. He went to see his doctor who prescribed a three-month sabbatical during which he left his administrative duties and spent time with his wife relaxing on a Caribbean beach.
Wayne Muller in his book, Sabbath contends that when something like this happens to us we "have forgotten the Sabbath." He goes on to explain what he means: "Sabbath is more than the absence of work: it is not just a day off, when we catch up on television or errands. It is the presence of something that arises when we consecrate a period of time to listen to what is most deeply beautiful, nourishing, or true. It is time consecrated with our attention, our mindfulness, and honoring those quiet forces of grace or spirit that sustain and heal us."
Richard H.
Exodus 20:1-17
When my nephew was very young, I tried teaching him how to play checkers. We started playing a bit, then he kept wanting to break the rules and play in such a way that it guaranteed he would win. "Well, let's play it with my rules," he said. The problem was that as the game progressed, the rules kept changing, to the point where it was no fun for either of us. Without the rules to guide the game, there was no way to enjoy it.
Many times we can see rules out of the Bible -- the Ten Commandments, in particular -- as being restrictive. We could enjoy so much freedom without them. However, like any parent, God our Father has given us rules to live by so that we can play the game of life (metaphorically speaking, not the actual game) the way it was meant to be played.
Craig K.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Billy Graham in his book Angels: God's Secret Agents affirms the existence of these servants of the Lord. Graham confirms in his book "that God has countless angels at his command. Furthermore, God has commissioned these angels to aid his children in their struggles against Satan. I am convinced that these heavenly beings exist and that they provide aid on our behalf." As we confront the evils of society, when we are overcome by the trials and tribulation in life and unnerved by despair and weakened by a sense of hopelessness, it is comforting to know that God's angels will empower us and prayer will sustain us. This is bestowed upon us by "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
Ron L.
John 2:13-22
Garret Keizer tells the story of three women in the 1970s who entered a store that sold pornography, whips, and metal-studded dildos and splashed the merchandise with blood. "They were splashing nothing less than the Constitution, says the scribes and Pharisees. They were splashing the law. Their actions were completely 'over the top.' Yet I have found myself thinking of these women every Palm Sunday when we read the account of Christ cleansing the temple. Wasn't their point that a woman's body is also a temple and that we use the phrase 'consenting adults' as disingenuously as the money changers spoke of worship and the Romans spoke of peace? Show me the spot where those women stood to throw the blood, and I will kneel and pray there."
"Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of temple, both sheep and cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables (John 2:15).
Richard H.
John 2:13-22 How many times have we seen grown men crying after winning a Super Bowl or the World Series? How many times have we seen fans shouting their lungs out for that team, painting their faces and making themselves look like complete idiots, all for someone playing a sport? The phrase "living and dying by your team" is definitely applicable to a lot of people.
For those people, their zeal is rooted in a sport. For others, it may be their favorite band or television show, or it may be their career or their bank account. Where is our zeal? Can we say with Jesus, "Zeal for your house will consume me" (v. 17).
Craig K.
One week a picture of a Harvard University president appeared on the cover of Newsweek magazine with a one-word banner headline: "EXHAUSTED." What had happened was that Harvard president Neil Rudenstine had overslept one morning in November 1994 in the midst of a million-dollar-a-day fund-raising campaign. For this perfectionist it was a wake-up call. He simply had collapsed. He went to see his doctor who prescribed a three-month sabbatical during which he left his administrative duties and spent time with his wife relaxing on a Caribbean beach.
Wayne Muller in his book, Sabbath contends that when something like this happens to us we "have forgotten the Sabbath." He goes on to explain what he means: "Sabbath is more than the absence of work: it is not just a day off, when we catch up on television or errands. It is the presence of something that arises when we consecrate a period of time to listen to what is most deeply beautiful, nourishing, or true. It is time consecrated with our attention, our mindfulness, and honoring those quiet forces of grace or spirit that sustain and heal us."
Richard H.
Exodus 20:1-17
When my nephew was very young, I tried teaching him how to play checkers. We started playing a bit, then he kept wanting to break the rules and play in such a way that it guaranteed he would win. "Well, let's play it with my rules," he said. The problem was that as the game progressed, the rules kept changing, to the point where it was no fun for either of us. Without the rules to guide the game, there was no way to enjoy it.
Many times we can see rules out of the Bible -- the Ten Commandments, in particular -- as being restrictive. We could enjoy so much freedom without them. However, like any parent, God our Father has given us rules to live by so that we can play the game of life (metaphorically speaking, not the actual game) the way it was meant to be played.
Craig K.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Billy Graham in his book Angels: God's Secret Agents affirms the existence of these servants of the Lord. Graham confirms in his book "that God has countless angels at his command. Furthermore, God has commissioned these angels to aid his children in their struggles against Satan. I am convinced that these heavenly beings exist and that they provide aid on our behalf." As we confront the evils of society, when we are overcome by the trials and tribulation in life and unnerved by despair and weakened by a sense of hopelessness, it is comforting to know that God's angels will empower us and prayer will sustain us. This is bestowed upon us by "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
Ron L.
John 2:13-22
Garret Keizer tells the story of three women in the 1970s who entered a store that sold pornography, whips, and metal-studded dildos and splashed the merchandise with blood. "They were splashing nothing less than the Constitution, says the scribes and Pharisees. They were splashing the law. Their actions were completely 'over the top.' Yet I have found myself thinking of these women every Palm Sunday when we read the account of Christ cleansing the temple. Wasn't their point that a woman's body is also a temple and that we use the phrase 'consenting adults' as disingenuously as the money changers spoke of worship and the Romans spoke of peace? Show me the spot where those women stood to throw the blood, and I will kneel and pray there."
"Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of temple, both sheep and cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables (John 2:15).
Richard H.
John 2:13-22 How many times have we seen grown men crying after winning a Super Bowl or the World Series? How many times have we seen fans shouting their lungs out for that team, painting their faces and making themselves look like complete idiots, all for someone playing a sport? The phrase "living and dying by your team" is definitely applicable to a lot of people.
For those people, their zeal is rooted in a sport. For others, it may be their favorite band or television show, or it may be their career or their bank account. Where is our zeal? Can we say with Jesus, "Zeal for your house will consume me" (v. 17).
Craig K.
