Sermon Illustrations for Epiphany 6 (2012)
Illustration
2 Kings 5:1-14
Hospice has introduced "dignity therapy" for terminally ill patients. It is called dignity therapy because it allows those in the closing months of life to assure that their lives have had dignity and purpose. The patient, with the assistance of an interviewer, records answers to specific questions regarding his/her life. The patient is encouraged to speak openly and freely regarding memories, thoughts, and feelings that were experienced over the years. Tantamount to all of this is the ability to advise succeeding generations. The recordings are then edited, printed, and distributed to family and friends.
The importance of this program is expressed by lead researcher Harvey Chochinov, a professor at the University of Manitoba in Canada. He said, "Everybody's story is profound because it's genuinely theirs." These stories allow family members and the patient to reconnect.
Naaman had a terrible and painful disease. He sought healing but could find none among the physicians of the Armeans. A Hebrew slave girl told him about a prophet in Israel who could heal him. Naaman then went and visited Elisha. After protesting and disillusionment, Naaman followed the advice of the prophet and was healed. The task required was simple -- he only had to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River.
Healing takes place in many ways. Some are simple, others extravagant. Some are expensive, others relatively inexpensive. Some require a physician, others a priest. Some require medicine, others require a caring touch. Dignity therapy is just one example of how interpersonal relationships can bring the most meaningful healing of all.
R. Love
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Lynn Caines, in her autobiographical Lifelines, tells how in the midst of her struggle to overcome depression and loneliness she developed a series of disciplines that she called "lifelines." She describes the turning point when she stopped feeling sorry for herself.
"The very next Saturday I bought myself a bicycle and headed straight for Central Park and its miles of bicycle paths. I pumped as hard as I could. Never mind that my heart was beating furiously and I was gasping for breath. I felt like a child again, a child with a new bicycle."
Later, she wrote, "I began to exercise my mind. I experimented with several forms of meditation and found a couple I felt comfortable with… I went to church more often, and I read a lot about religion. Gradually, I rearranged my life along more spiritual lines. I wanted to make it simpler, less cluttered."
"Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one" (1 Corinthians 9:25).
R. Hasler
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
This past summer during the NFL lockout, coaches and staff were prohibited from working with the players during the off season, so players weren't privy to the physical training that they were accustomed to normally. However, many players were not content to enjoy their off season on the couch. As a result, some of the teams' quarterbacks took it upon themselves to organize their own "mini-camps," to ensure that many of their teammates were in peak physical condition for when the season would begin.
Paul compared the life of the believer to the life of the athlete. Just as today's top athletes recognize the value of training, we must never let our fleshly desires distract us from pursuing the best that God has for us.
C. Kelly
Mark 1:40-45
Comedian David "Sinbad" Adkins owed $8.15 million in back taxes. He thought just one hit movie would pay everything off, but the movie contract never materialized. The debt became unmanageable and he had to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The IRS, in order to collect on the debt, confiscated 90% of everything Sinbad owned. With his movie career on hiatus and with no television prospects, Sinbad was desperate for work and income in order to live day-to-day. He said, "I judged entertainers who worked county fairs at age 55 because they had to. Now I get it."
Too often we do not understand the plight of another until we find ourselves in a similar situation. Then suddenly their misfortune and pain becomes real to us, for in a way it has become our suffering as well.
Jesus understood this when the leper came to him and said, "If you choose, you can make me clean." Jesus understood the sorrow of the man before him; so he stretched out his hand and touched him and the leper was healed. Jesus did not need to have leprosy to understand, Jesus only needed a compassionate heart.
Let us not wait until we have to work the stage at a county fair to realize the suffering, sorrow, and pain of others. If anyone is standing on stage before us, let us be sure to reach out our hand and touch him or her.
R. Love
Hospice has introduced "dignity therapy" for terminally ill patients. It is called dignity therapy because it allows those in the closing months of life to assure that their lives have had dignity and purpose. The patient, with the assistance of an interviewer, records answers to specific questions regarding his/her life. The patient is encouraged to speak openly and freely regarding memories, thoughts, and feelings that were experienced over the years. Tantamount to all of this is the ability to advise succeeding generations. The recordings are then edited, printed, and distributed to family and friends.
The importance of this program is expressed by lead researcher Harvey Chochinov, a professor at the University of Manitoba in Canada. He said, "Everybody's story is profound because it's genuinely theirs." These stories allow family members and the patient to reconnect.
Naaman had a terrible and painful disease. He sought healing but could find none among the physicians of the Armeans. A Hebrew slave girl told him about a prophet in Israel who could heal him. Naaman then went and visited Elisha. After protesting and disillusionment, Naaman followed the advice of the prophet and was healed. The task required was simple -- he only had to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River.
Healing takes place in many ways. Some are simple, others extravagant. Some are expensive, others relatively inexpensive. Some require a physician, others a priest. Some require medicine, others require a caring touch. Dignity therapy is just one example of how interpersonal relationships can bring the most meaningful healing of all.
R. Love
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Lynn Caines, in her autobiographical Lifelines, tells how in the midst of her struggle to overcome depression and loneliness she developed a series of disciplines that she called "lifelines." She describes the turning point when she stopped feeling sorry for herself.
"The very next Saturday I bought myself a bicycle and headed straight for Central Park and its miles of bicycle paths. I pumped as hard as I could. Never mind that my heart was beating furiously and I was gasping for breath. I felt like a child again, a child with a new bicycle."
Later, she wrote, "I began to exercise my mind. I experimented with several forms of meditation and found a couple I felt comfortable with… I went to church more often, and I read a lot about religion. Gradually, I rearranged my life along more spiritual lines. I wanted to make it simpler, less cluttered."
"Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one" (1 Corinthians 9:25).
R. Hasler
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
This past summer during the NFL lockout, coaches and staff were prohibited from working with the players during the off season, so players weren't privy to the physical training that they were accustomed to normally. However, many players were not content to enjoy their off season on the couch. As a result, some of the teams' quarterbacks took it upon themselves to organize their own "mini-camps," to ensure that many of their teammates were in peak physical condition for when the season would begin.
Paul compared the life of the believer to the life of the athlete. Just as today's top athletes recognize the value of training, we must never let our fleshly desires distract us from pursuing the best that God has for us.
C. Kelly
Mark 1:40-45
Comedian David "Sinbad" Adkins owed $8.15 million in back taxes. He thought just one hit movie would pay everything off, but the movie contract never materialized. The debt became unmanageable and he had to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The IRS, in order to collect on the debt, confiscated 90% of everything Sinbad owned. With his movie career on hiatus and with no television prospects, Sinbad was desperate for work and income in order to live day-to-day. He said, "I judged entertainers who worked county fairs at age 55 because they had to. Now I get it."
Too often we do not understand the plight of another until we find ourselves in a similar situation. Then suddenly their misfortune and pain becomes real to us, for in a way it has become our suffering as well.
Jesus understood this when the leper came to him and said, "If you choose, you can make me clean." Jesus understood the sorrow of the man before him; so he stretched out his hand and touched him and the leper was healed. Jesus did not need to have leprosy to understand, Jesus only needed a compassionate heart.
Let us not wait until we have to work the stage at a county fair to realize the suffering, sorrow, and pain of others. If anyone is standing on stage before us, let us be sure to reach out our hand and touch him or her.
R. Love
