Sermon Illustrations for Advent 3 (2024)
Illustration
Zephaniah 3:14-20
In this season of hope with Christmas looming, there is still a lot of despair. Rising prices putting pressure on the American family have led 78% of our families to live paycheck to paycheck (as per a 2023 Payroll.org survey). Of course, the Christmas Season is often a time of gloom and regret for some of us. In response, based on this lesson's word of assurance, Martin Luther comments on God's love:
He does not want you to hate yourself anymore. Rather he loves you like a beloved daughter. (Luther's Works, Vol.18, p.359)
This love, the reformer claims, gives hope to us children of God, hope that we can cope with what comes next, just like child lives in hope:
But look at a baby!... It is completely incapable of helping itself. It depends entirely on help from someone else... Yet, the infant still retains dominion over every creature, even though this may not be apparent. It still lives in that hope. (Luther's Works, Vol.18, p.363)
Mark E.
* * *
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Zephaniah proclaims, “The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Rejoicing, renewing, gladness and love seem to be the spirit of the advent season — at least from a secular perspective. And yet, for Zephaniah these gifts come after long struggle, after judgements and disasters and attacks. This is the respite for the nation of Israel.
How sweet must it be to anticipate gladness and rejoicing after long struggles? I know that for me, when times have been difficult, the end of the trial and the calm that comes is so very welcome, so vitally important. There are no shortages of challenges in our human lives, but the knowledge that God is with us, rejoices over us, loves us is sometimes enough to strengthen us for the challenge. At least I pray it is so.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7
The Christians of Philippi are outsiders. When Paul came to Philippi in response to a dream in which a “man” from Macedonia begged him to come what he found was a group of women who met by the river because there weren’t ten Jewish men to form a quorum for worship. Lydia’s home formed the nucleus for the first house church. His jailer with family became members. Did the woman freed from her possession become a member too? There weren’t too many among that group who could claim Abraham as an ancestor, but it was a vibrant, exciting group of house churches. Paul’s message here is joyful. Jesus is coming soon — and regardless of what soon means, the outcome of history is assured. History is working itself out. All will be well.
This is a particularly stressful time of year but we are also commemorating the turn in history that makes all the difference. We may not get everything done that we’d like to in this holiday season, but with the entry of the divine into human history the ultimate outcome is assured. That doesn’t mean we wait on the bench for the clock to run out. We go full tilt, but with assurance of well-being. We are the people of God’s peace, after all.
Frank R.
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7
I am a fan of Charles Schultz’s Peanuts comic. I saw a comic panel in which Charlie Brown’s sister Sally tells him she hates everything. She hates the whole world.” Charlie Brown replies, “I thought you had inner peace.” Sally answers, “I do, but I still have outer obnoxiousness!”
As we approach Christmas and the celebrating the coming of Jesus, there are a lot of things that can put pressure on us. A lot of people” may feel just like Sally. Hating the world and showing outer obnoxiousness is, unfortunately, a common thing in the last month of the year. The “inner peace” Sally sought, though, is available because of what this season is about. Paul reminds the Christians in Philippi that they should not worry about anything but pray and bring their needs to God. If they would do that, then, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6). Luke 2:14 records the angels who announced, ““Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”
Because of Jesus, peace is possible. We need not be anxious about anything (vs. 6). May we all dump our “outer obnoxiousness” and enjoy the peace that Jesus offers. “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”
Bill T.
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7
I love these verses from the letter to the church in Phillipi. Imagine having the will to rejoice always, to put worry aside, to live every moment in Thanksgiving. The reality is all these are choices, choices we make consciously to view the world in this way. We can anchor ourselves with worry and anxiety. Sometimes we have every reason to be anxious or worried, but the reality is that we can get stuck there. We can forget there is anything else., any other way to feel.
These verses call us to focus on joy, to consciously lay aside worry and instead move toward thanksgiving by offering our needs to God in prayer. God hears our prayers. God knows our prayers. God feels our anxiety and worry. Surrendering those negative feelings to God can allow God to fill us with peace, with hope, with joy. That is something we can all use more of these days.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
In this passage, one of the things that John is preaching against is the assumption that just because we have a distinguished ancestry (and I certainly like telling family stories) none of that matters if we aren’t living lives worthy of the calling. Galileans were considered part of God’s people — sort of. Judeans thought of them as part of the family, kind of. They had other groups mixed up in their ancestries. People like Jesus weren’t “pure” descendants of Abraham. At least as far as their fellow Judeans defined things.
It was all nonsense, of course. Nobody is pure anything. Some Judeans had been dragged off to Babylon centuries before, and some of those who returned had intermarried. It’s what people do. And ironically those who were among the poor who weren’t exiled were probably purer in ancestry that the returnees, but they were considered the outsiders and some of those who wanted to help with the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple were chased off.
Any geneticist will tell you — there’s no such thing as “pure” anything. I like Adam Rutherford’s description of our ancestry as more of a tangled net than the neat, simply-branched family tree we imagine. DNA is tricky. You may well have more genetic markers from obscure eighth cousins than your direct ancestors.
Why is this important? Jesus may have been born in Bethlehem in Judea but his ancestry was tangled with Galileans and his cultural upbringing as a child included a sojourn in Egypt which meant coming back with a funny accent. The Messiah John is proclaiming is his cousin who’s an outsider in more ways than one.
But I am less interested in criticizing people who lived millennia ago, or who are part of a tiny denomination like mine, than in reminding all of us that it doesn’t matter if you’re a first-generation Christian or if your ancestors held down the fort at your church the past eight generations. Biblically it doesn’t matter. In the best sense of this old saying, God is challenging us — What have you done for me lately?
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
As I write this, Hurricane Helene is coming onto the shore of Florida and making her way into Georgia and the surrounding area. As a Bible College teacher, I have some online students living in Florida and earlier this week they contacted me about possibly losing power and other storm related problems. What I was reminded of was the amount of preparation that goes into dealing with a hurricane.
The American Red Cross has a full page dedicated to hurricane preparedness. It includes a plan to evacuate, a plan to shelter safely, and a hurricane safety checklist. The website encourages people to “Make plans to stay safe, “ and reminds them, “to have a plan to evacuate and a plan to shelter safely. Take time now to gather the supplies and knowledge you will need when the storm arrives.”
John was also speaking about preparedness, but not preparing for a storm. He addressed the crowds that came to him to prepare themselves for the coming of the Messiah. John told them Messiah was coming. They needed to repent and live as God wanted them to live.
We are soon to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. At his first coming many were not prepared and didn’t know who he was. Are we prepared?
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
If you wonder why it does not feel enough like Christmas is coming, are not feeling the joy, it may be because we have been a bit too caught up on ourselves. Many of us have been told since childhood that "we can be whatever we want to be" (Jean Twenge, Generation Me, p.77). The old dress codes no longer apply, as "we are driven instead by our individual needs and desires" (Ibid., p.19). Another problem may be, according to Abigail Shrier (Bad Therapy: Why Kid Aren't Growing Up), that we spend a lot of time in our schools getting our kids to concentrate on their feelings of the moment. And it seems that being too preoccupied with yourself leads to unhappiness. Martin Luther offered a penetrating comment relevant to these trends. In one of his sermons he commented:
It has always been the world's misfortune to be infested with wiseacres and smart alecks, self-styled lights who explore their own way to heaven and presume to be lights of the world, to teach it and lead it to God. (Luther's Works, Vol.22, pp.56-57)
We are reminded here of Martin Luther King's critique of the drum-major instinct. Everybody likes to be praised and be in the limelight, he claimed, to lead the parade. But Jesus give us a new norm of greatness — greatness comes in service (A Testament of Hope, pp.260,265).
When we live with this kind of humility it is more likely that we will experience what Christmas is all about. As we get rid of all the stuff that weighs us down (worries about our happiness, reputation, financial well-being, and the like), then it is more likely that we'll really start to encounter Christ in all our Christmas rituals, and as Martin Luther said in one of his Advent sermons, "receive him, kiss and embrace him, cling to him, never allow ourselves to be torn from him nor him from us" (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.82).
Mark E.
In this season of hope with Christmas looming, there is still a lot of despair. Rising prices putting pressure on the American family have led 78% of our families to live paycheck to paycheck (as per a 2023 Payroll.org survey). Of course, the Christmas Season is often a time of gloom and regret for some of us. In response, based on this lesson's word of assurance, Martin Luther comments on God's love:
He does not want you to hate yourself anymore. Rather he loves you like a beloved daughter. (Luther's Works, Vol.18, p.359)
This love, the reformer claims, gives hope to us children of God, hope that we can cope with what comes next, just like child lives in hope:
But look at a baby!... It is completely incapable of helping itself. It depends entirely on help from someone else... Yet, the infant still retains dominion over every creature, even though this may not be apparent. It still lives in that hope. (Luther's Works, Vol.18, p.363)
Mark E.
* * *
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Zephaniah proclaims, “The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Rejoicing, renewing, gladness and love seem to be the spirit of the advent season — at least from a secular perspective. And yet, for Zephaniah these gifts come after long struggle, after judgements and disasters and attacks. This is the respite for the nation of Israel.
How sweet must it be to anticipate gladness and rejoicing after long struggles? I know that for me, when times have been difficult, the end of the trial and the calm that comes is so very welcome, so vitally important. There are no shortages of challenges in our human lives, but the knowledge that God is with us, rejoices over us, loves us is sometimes enough to strengthen us for the challenge. At least I pray it is so.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7
The Christians of Philippi are outsiders. When Paul came to Philippi in response to a dream in which a “man” from Macedonia begged him to come what he found was a group of women who met by the river because there weren’t ten Jewish men to form a quorum for worship. Lydia’s home formed the nucleus for the first house church. His jailer with family became members. Did the woman freed from her possession become a member too? There weren’t too many among that group who could claim Abraham as an ancestor, but it was a vibrant, exciting group of house churches. Paul’s message here is joyful. Jesus is coming soon — and regardless of what soon means, the outcome of history is assured. History is working itself out. All will be well.
This is a particularly stressful time of year but we are also commemorating the turn in history that makes all the difference. We may not get everything done that we’d like to in this holiday season, but with the entry of the divine into human history the ultimate outcome is assured. That doesn’t mean we wait on the bench for the clock to run out. We go full tilt, but with assurance of well-being. We are the people of God’s peace, after all.
Frank R.
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7
I am a fan of Charles Schultz’s Peanuts comic. I saw a comic panel in which Charlie Brown’s sister Sally tells him she hates everything. She hates the whole world.” Charlie Brown replies, “I thought you had inner peace.” Sally answers, “I do, but I still have outer obnoxiousness!”
As we approach Christmas and the celebrating the coming of Jesus, there are a lot of things that can put pressure on us. A lot of people” may feel just like Sally. Hating the world and showing outer obnoxiousness is, unfortunately, a common thing in the last month of the year. The “inner peace” Sally sought, though, is available because of what this season is about. Paul reminds the Christians in Philippi that they should not worry about anything but pray and bring their needs to God. If they would do that, then, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6). Luke 2:14 records the angels who announced, ““Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”
Because of Jesus, peace is possible. We need not be anxious about anything (vs. 6). May we all dump our “outer obnoxiousness” and enjoy the peace that Jesus offers. “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”
Bill T.
* * *
Philippians 4:4-7
I love these verses from the letter to the church in Phillipi. Imagine having the will to rejoice always, to put worry aside, to live every moment in Thanksgiving. The reality is all these are choices, choices we make consciously to view the world in this way. We can anchor ourselves with worry and anxiety. Sometimes we have every reason to be anxious or worried, but the reality is that we can get stuck there. We can forget there is anything else., any other way to feel.
These verses call us to focus on joy, to consciously lay aside worry and instead move toward thanksgiving by offering our needs to God in prayer. God hears our prayers. God knows our prayers. God feels our anxiety and worry. Surrendering those negative feelings to God can allow God to fill us with peace, with hope, with joy. That is something we can all use more of these days.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
In this passage, one of the things that John is preaching against is the assumption that just because we have a distinguished ancestry (and I certainly like telling family stories) none of that matters if we aren’t living lives worthy of the calling. Galileans were considered part of God’s people — sort of. Judeans thought of them as part of the family, kind of. They had other groups mixed up in their ancestries. People like Jesus weren’t “pure” descendants of Abraham. At least as far as their fellow Judeans defined things.
It was all nonsense, of course. Nobody is pure anything. Some Judeans had been dragged off to Babylon centuries before, and some of those who returned had intermarried. It’s what people do. And ironically those who were among the poor who weren’t exiled were probably purer in ancestry that the returnees, but they were considered the outsiders and some of those who wanted to help with the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple were chased off.
Any geneticist will tell you — there’s no such thing as “pure” anything. I like Adam Rutherford’s description of our ancestry as more of a tangled net than the neat, simply-branched family tree we imagine. DNA is tricky. You may well have more genetic markers from obscure eighth cousins than your direct ancestors.
Why is this important? Jesus may have been born in Bethlehem in Judea but his ancestry was tangled with Galileans and his cultural upbringing as a child included a sojourn in Egypt which meant coming back with a funny accent. The Messiah John is proclaiming is his cousin who’s an outsider in more ways than one.
But I am less interested in criticizing people who lived millennia ago, or who are part of a tiny denomination like mine, than in reminding all of us that it doesn’t matter if you’re a first-generation Christian or if your ancestors held down the fort at your church the past eight generations. Biblically it doesn’t matter. In the best sense of this old saying, God is challenging us — What have you done for me lately?
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
As I write this, Hurricane Helene is coming onto the shore of Florida and making her way into Georgia and the surrounding area. As a Bible College teacher, I have some online students living in Florida and earlier this week they contacted me about possibly losing power and other storm related problems. What I was reminded of was the amount of preparation that goes into dealing with a hurricane.
The American Red Cross has a full page dedicated to hurricane preparedness. It includes a plan to evacuate, a plan to shelter safely, and a hurricane safety checklist. The website encourages people to “Make plans to stay safe, “ and reminds them, “to have a plan to evacuate and a plan to shelter safely. Take time now to gather the supplies and knowledge you will need when the storm arrives.”
John was also speaking about preparedness, but not preparing for a storm. He addressed the crowds that came to him to prepare themselves for the coming of the Messiah. John told them Messiah was coming. They needed to repent and live as God wanted them to live.
We are soon to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. At his first coming many were not prepared and didn’t know who he was. Are we prepared?
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 3:7-18
If you wonder why it does not feel enough like Christmas is coming, are not feeling the joy, it may be because we have been a bit too caught up on ourselves. Many of us have been told since childhood that "we can be whatever we want to be" (Jean Twenge, Generation Me, p.77). The old dress codes no longer apply, as "we are driven instead by our individual needs and desires" (Ibid., p.19). Another problem may be, according to Abigail Shrier (Bad Therapy: Why Kid Aren't Growing Up), that we spend a lot of time in our schools getting our kids to concentrate on their feelings of the moment. And it seems that being too preoccupied with yourself leads to unhappiness. Martin Luther offered a penetrating comment relevant to these trends. In one of his sermons he commented:
It has always been the world's misfortune to be infested with wiseacres and smart alecks, self-styled lights who explore their own way to heaven and presume to be lights of the world, to teach it and lead it to God. (Luther's Works, Vol.22, pp.56-57)
We are reminded here of Martin Luther King's critique of the drum-major instinct. Everybody likes to be praised and be in the limelight, he claimed, to lead the parade. But Jesus give us a new norm of greatness — greatness comes in service (A Testament of Hope, pp.260,265).
When we live with this kind of humility it is more likely that we will experience what Christmas is all about. As we get rid of all the stuff that weighs us down (worries about our happiness, reputation, financial well-being, and the like), then it is more likely that we'll really start to encounter Christ in all our Christmas rituals, and as Martin Luther said in one of his Advent sermons, "receive him, kiss and embrace him, cling to him, never allow ourselves to be torn from him nor him from us" (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.82).
Mark E.
