Sermon Illustrations for Advent 4 (2013)
Illustration
Object:
Isaiah 7:10-16
Bobby McFerrin is best known to us for his iconic 1988 feel-good hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy." Since then he has received ten Grammy awards. McFerrin's love of music came from his childhood. Whenever he was sick his mother would give him two things, medicine for his illness and "she'd give me music for my spirit." He went on to say, "Music does have incredible power to rearrange your insides, rearrange your thoughts, heal your body."
McFerrin is back in the news with the release of his new album titled spirityouall. This reads as "spirit you all," which is McFerrin's personal testament of faith. The album includes his adaptations of traditional African-American spirituals as well as devotional songs that he composed. McFerrin believes that music has a transcendent spiritual power, saying, "It elicits so many emotions. Music has a way of communicating... that language does not. It can go past language."
Application: Knowing the name Immanuel will always elicit spiritual emotions with us.
Ron L.
Isaiah 7:10-16
Children are an important part of the scriptures. Many take this passage from Isaiah as a prediction of the coming of the messiah to redeem God's people. The messianic hope will come in the form of a baby boy.
The story is told of a father who gave a special gift to his son one Christmas. The gift was a handwritten note from the father to the son, stating that for the full 365 days of the year he would give the boy one full hour every day after dinner. The son was allowed to determine where they would go, play whatever game he wanted, or talk about anything he wanted to talk about. The dad kept his promise and renewed it every year.
God is like that father. The only difference is he gives us his time 24/7 and renews it daily.
Derl K.
Isaiah 7:10-16
This close to Christmas we are led to think of children and their welfare. There is a lot of anxiety in America about them and about the future. A 2012 poll conducted by Politico indicates that 3 in 5 Americans are pessimistic that their children will have things worse than their parents do at present. Since 2007, the median household income has fallen for American families by almost 10%. It is good that Christ is coming, as this prophecy of his birth testifies.
In the presence of our Lord, when we open our eyes to his presence in our lives, many of the things that trouble us do not seem quite as important. His kindness creates happiness. That's why this is the season to be jolly, and why we feel happier at Christmas. John Calvin reflected on this point in one of his Commentaries (Vol. XIV/2, p. 307): "He so calls him [Christ] because he will drive away all hurtful things... for he had reconciled us to the Father." With all the hurts removed, what is left is a life of joy and confidence, as compellingly described by Martin Luther:
But if you possess [this Christmas] faith, you heart cannot do otherwise than laugh for joy and grow free, confident, and courageous. Or how can the heart remain sorrowful and dejected when it entertains no doubt of the God's kindness to it, and of his attitude as a good friend with whom it may unreservedly and freely enjoy all things?
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/2, p. 146)
Neurobiology bears out these observations about the joy associated with a loving God. Such a vision of the deity short-circuits stress and guilt, and so effectively shuts down the back part of the brain, capturing the attention and stimulating the prefrontal cortex so that significant doses of the good-feeling brain chemical dopamine saturate the whole brain and our sensations (Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman, How God Changes Your Brain).
Mark E.
Romans 1:1-7
A servant could mean a slave, or it could mean the messenger of a king -- a high officer in the royal court. It usually starts with us being a disciple, one who is a student and is learning. An apostle is one who has received the message and is "sent" to preach it. A pastor has been set aside for the gospel, and it can be an overwhelming responsibility! It can be rewarding, but it can also be challenging! Pastors must be humble and recognize that we are servants or slaves of our master.
Sometimes it is hard to be humble when our members and maybe even the community elevate us to positions of high regard -- even sainthood (Luther says we are all saints). The little child asked his pastor on the way out of church, "Are you God?" It is hardly our salary that elevates us to such a position!
The job of the pastor is to declare the message we have received. It is a fantastic message, that our Lord was the Son of God and was raised from the dead as proof! That is not an easy message to proclaim. It happened so long ago! But there is proof in the Old Testament that it was coming and in the New that it came. When a Muslim friend asked why I believed in the resurrection and not Muhammad's message, I pointed up the fact that over 500 witnessed Jesus after his resurrection, though a few doubted, and of that number at least four of those witnesses wrote about it and some suffered horrible torture and death because of their belief. It is hard to believe that even one person would suffer like that for a story they had made up! But all we have from Muhammad is a vision that he said came from an angel. No one else witnessed that angel. Paul wrote that if anyone gives you another gospel, other than the one that he was preaching, even if it came from an angel in heaven, let him be damned! No wonder Muslims don't like Paul!
Here again this message is for us Gentiles -- outsiders! And notice that all of us are called to be saints! Not just a few lucky ones. You may have to suffer to be a saint. That suffering may be only from those who don't know the Lord and are ridiculing us for our faith. When and if some do, then it is our opportunity to be apostles for the Lord and offer our message -- the one we have read in scripture or heard from the pulpit.
Bob O.
Matthew 1:18-25
This passage deals with the entrance of the Savior on the planet earth. It could be titled "Genuine Love Enters the World." It all started with the birth of the human Jesus who was also God incarnate... the Christ. The love that God sent over 2,000 years ago would transform the world as a whole and the world of the individual forever. Gone would be the days of animal sacrifices on the altars of the temple. Those sacrifices would be replaced by the ultimate sacrifice... the death of God's one and only Son on the cross.
The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is God's guarantee of love forever!
Derl K.
Matthew 1:18-25
The story of Mary's pregnancy and eventual virgin birth is a problem for some American Christians. We miss the main point of the story -- that Jesus has a human body and that that makes us beautiful! A national survey conducted in 2012 by StriVectin found that the majority of us (55%) are dissatisfied with our looks. Even those of us secure in our looks can find something about ourselves we wish were different. But when you stop and think that God took on a body like ours and joined it to himself, that sends a powerful message about what God thinks of all our bodies! As Martin Luther once wrote:
That is why we should learn our lesson well and earnestly ponder the great honor that has been bestowed on us by Christ's becoming a human being. For it is such a great honor, that even if one were an angel, you would do well to wish that you were a human being, so that you could boast: My own flesh and blood is greater than all the angels.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 5, p. 137)
Imagine how beautiful we are, Luther adds! God has taken on our births and absorbed them into his own. All he has in now ours, as if we ourselves had been Mary's child (Complete Sermons, Vol. 1/1, p. 144)!
Made aware of how beautiful Christ has made us (now that all his good qualities are ours), Luther's response to him can become ours:
Therefore this gospel [lesson] deals with the great article about Christ, that we should 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)
How can we not love so deeply the one who has come to make us beautiful?
Mark E.
Matthew 1:18-25
The Fourth Ecumenical Council, also known as the Council of Chalcedon, was a church council held from October 8 to November 1, 451 AD. Chalcedon is an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, a region of the Roman empire in northwest Asia Minor. At this council we were afforded the Latin hymn of praise Te Deum, with the English translation being "A Song of the Church."
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ,
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
Application: With the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we always want to sing the song of the church.
Ron L.
Bobby McFerrin is best known to us for his iconic 1988 feel-good hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy." Since then he has received ten Grammy awards. McFerrin's love of music came from his childhood. Whenever he was sick his mother would give him two things, medicine for his illness and "she'd give me music for my spirit." He went on to say, "Music does have incredible power to rearrange your insides, rearrange your thoughts, heal your body."
McFerrin is back in the news with the release of his new album titled spirityouall. This reads as "spirit you all," which is McFerrin's personal testament of faith. The album includes his adaptations of traditional African-American spirituals as well as devotional songs that he composed. McFerrin believes that music has a transcendent spiritual power, saying, "It elicits so many emotions. Music has a way of communicating... that language does not. It can go past language."
Application: Knowing the name Immanuel will always elicit spiritual emotions with us.
Ron L.
Isaiah 7:10-16
Children are an important part of the scriptures. Many take this passage from Isaiah as a prediction of the coming of the messiah to redeem God's people. The messianic hope will come in the form of a baby boy.
The story is told of a father who gave a special gift to his son one Christmas. The gift was a handwritten note from the father to the son, stating that for the full 365 days of the year he would give the boy one full hour every day after dinner. The son was allowed to determine where they would go, play whatever game he wanted, or talk about anything he wanted to talk about. The dad kept his promise and renewed it every year.
God is like that father. The only difference is he gives us his time 24/7 and renews it daily.
Derl K.
Isaiah 7:10-16
This close to Christmas we are led to think of children and their welfare. There is a lot of anxiety in America about them and about the future. A 2012 poll conducted by Politico indicates that 3 in 5 Americans are pessimistic that their children will have things worse than their parents do at present. Since 2007, the median household income has fallen for American families by almost 10%. It is good that Christ is coming, as this prophecy of his birth testifies.
In the presence of our Lord, when we open our eyes to his presence in our lives, many of the things that trouble us do not seem quite as important. His kindness creates happiness. That's why this is the season to be jolly, and why we feel happier at Christmas. John Calvin reflected on this point in one of his Commentaries (Vol. XIV/2, p. 307): "He so calls him [Christ] because he will drive away all hurtful things... for he had reconciled us to the Father." With all the hurts removed, what is left is a life of joy and confidence, as compellingly described by Martin Luther:
But if you possess [this Christmas] faith, you heart cannot do otherwise than laugh for joy and grow free, confident, and courageous. Or how can the heart remain sorrowful and dejected when it entertains no doubt of the God's kindness to it, and of his attitude as a good friend with whom it may unreservedly and freely enjoy all things?
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/2, p. 146)
Neurobiology bears out these observations about the joy associated with a loving God. Such a vision of the deity short-circuits stress and guilt, and so effectively shuts down the back part of the brain, capturing the attention and stimulating the prefrontal cortex so that significant doses of the good-feeling brain chemical dopamine saturate the whole brain and our sensations (Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman, How God Changes Your Brain).
Mark E.
Romans 1:1-7
A servant could mean a slave, or it could mean the messenger of a king -- a high officer in the royal court. It usually starts with us being a disciple, one who is a student and is learning. An apostle is one who has received the message and is "sent" to preach it. A pastor has been set aside for the gospel, and it can be an overwhelming responsibility! It can be rewarding, but it can also be challenging! Pastors must be humble and recognize that we are servants or slaves of our master.
Sometimes it is hard to be humble when our members and maybe even the community elevate us to positions of high regard -- even sainthood (Luther says we are all saints). The little child asked his pastor on the way out of church, "Are you God?" It is hardly our salary that elevates us to such a position!
The job of the pastor is to declare the message we have received. It is a fantastic message, that our Lord was the Son of God and was raised from the dead as proof! That is not an easy message to proclaim. It happened so long ago! But there is proof in the Old Testament that it was coming and in the New that it came. When a Muslim friend asked why I believed in the resurrection and not Muhammad's message, I pointed up the fact that over 500 witnessed Jesus after his resurrection, though a few doubted, and of that number at least four of those witnesses wrote about it and some suffered horrible torture and death because of their belief. It is hard to believe that even one person would suffer like that for a story they had made up! But all we have from Muhammad is a vision that he said came from an angel. No one else witnessed that angel. Paul wrote that if anyone gives you another gospel, other than the one that he was preaching, even if it came from an angel in heaven, let him be damned! No wonder Muslims don't like Paul!
Here again this message is for us Gentiles -- outsiders! And notice that all of us are called to be saints! Not just a few lucky ones. You may have to suffer to be a saint. That suffering may be only from those who don't know the Lord and are ridiculing us for our faith. When and if some do, then it is our opportunity to be apostles for the Lord and offer our message -- the one we have read in scripture or heard from the pulpit.
Bob O.
Matthew 1:18-25
This passage deals with the entrance of the Savior on the planet earth. It could be titled "Genuine Love Enters the World." It all started with the birth of the human Jesus who was also God incarnate... the Christ. The love that God sent over 2,000 years ago would transform the world as a whole and the world of the individual forever. Gone would be the days of animal sacrifices on the altars of the temple. Those sacrifices would be replaced by the ultimate sacrifice... the death of God's one and only Son on the cross.
The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is God's guarantee of love forever!
Derl K.
Matthew 1:18-25
The story of Mary's pregnancy and eventual virgin birth is a problem for some American Christians. We miss the main point of the story -- that Jesus has a human body and that that makes us beautiful! A national survey conducted in 2012 by StriVectin found that the majority of us (55%) are dissatisfied with our looks. Even those of us secure in our looks can find something about ourselves we wish were different. But when you stop and think that God took on a body like ours and joined it to himself, that sends a powerful message about what God thinks of all our bodies! As Martin Luther once wrote:
That is why we should learn our lesson well and earnestly ponder the great honor that has been bestowed on us by Christ's becoming a human being. For it is such a great honor, that even if one were an angel, you would do well to wish that you were a human being, so that you could boast: My own flesh and blood is greater than all the angels.
(Complete Sermons, Vol. 5, p. 137)
Imagine how beautiful we are, Luther adds! God has taken on our births and absorbed them into his own. All he has in now ours, as if we ourselves had been Mary's child (Complete Sermons, Vol. 1/1, p. 144)!
Made aware of how beautiful Christ has made us (now that all his good qualities are ours), Luther's response to him can become ours:
Therefore this gospel [lesson] deals with the great article about Christ, that we should 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)
How can we not love so deeply the one who has come to make us beautiful?
Mark E.
Matthew 1:18-25
The Fourth Ecumenical Council, also known as the Council of Chalcedon, was a church council held from October 8 to November 1, 451 AD. Chalcedon is an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, a region of the Roman empire in northwest Asia Minor. At this council we were afforded the Latin hymn of praise Te Deum, with the English translation being "A Song of the Church."
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ,
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
Application: With the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we always want to sing the song of the church.
Ron L.
