Sermon Illustrations for All Saints Day (2016)
Illustration
Object:
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Have you ever had a vision? Daniel’s visions in this reading seem to terrify him. I can remember a time when I thought visions were for other people. I had never had one. It must be a special gift to see something beyond the “real” world. Then I had a vision of Jesus with arms opened wide, waiting to forgive me my sinfulness. The background of the vision is a long story, but I still remember the warmth, the joy, the love I felt as I moved into the embrace of my Savior, as I realized that Jesus, the Son of God, was reaching out to me.
Certainly my vision was not apocalyptic as Daniel’s seems to be, but the vision changed my life. The vision allowed me to truly know, perhaps for the first time in my life, that my sins could actually be forgiven -- so admitting them and repenting of them was okay. I didn’t need to be perfect. I just needed to move back into the embrace of God with all my strength, my heart, and my soul. Visions are gifts of grace from God. May we each experience the intimacy of a Godly vision at one time of our lives.
Bonnie B.
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Can you think of the scariest dream you’ve ever had? Perhaps it was one in which you were running away from some unthinkable terror. Sometimes people dream of falling for what seems like forever. Occasionally the scariest dreams are ones in which monsters or demons are set to prey upon us. Thinking of monsters and dreams, I can’t help but think back to the movie Monsters Inc. Do you remember that movie? The energy needed to run the community of monsters came from the screams of children during nightmares. I’m not sure those monsters were actually scary, but I think most of us have experienced nightmares or night terrors. The feeling of panic, physically sweating, rapid heartbeat: all of these are common reactions to a nightmare. Being afraid is not really a pleasant thing.
Reading the accounts of the visions in Daniel 7 can stir the embers of fear. Daniel himself was terrified. Four beasts that represent four kings were a part of that vision; one horn supplanting another and becoming something else. These were strange and unsettling things. There was hope, though. The last verse of this section includes the words that comforted Daniel and can comfort us too: “But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever -- forever and ever.” When the monsters, imagined or real, roar and seek to bring disaster, remember that God’s people will triumph.
Bill T.
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
These seven verses bracket the messianic figure of the Son of Man standing alongside the throne of the Ancient of Days, presenting the resolution of history in a good way. But these verses are important because they demonstrate that the way you look at history defines your attitude toward current events.
God’s people were undergoing terrible persecution by the Selucids around the years 167-165 BC. The stories of Daniel during the Babylonian exile helped the people hold fast to their faith during a difficult time. One way of interpreting the four frightening beasts was to see them as the Babylonian, Persian, and Medean empires, and that the final beast that speaks with the arrogant voice is probably Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who was the cause of the desecration of the temple remembered as the abomination of desolation. These four beasts are interpreted other ways as well, and we can also interpret our own recent history as representing the four beasts as long as we don’t insist we’re the first ones and the only ones to get it right. The point made by the angelic explainer, Daniel learns, is that human empires come and go, but God’s kingdom is eternal and God’s Holy Ones will receive that kingdom forever! This is good to remember on All Saints Day. All the saints will reign.
Beasts come and go -- tyrants and demagogues rise and fall. God reigns! So do we.
Frank R.
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Daniel’s dream was about 48 years after Nebuchadnezzar had his vision. This was a time of constant warfare. The four winds were the four great monarchies, who were always a threat.
Then Daniel separates the spirit from the body. They are not one.
Back in those days there was more “holiness” practiced by the Jews and patriarchs, who tried to obey all the laws -- even like the disciples in Jesus’ day. He is talking about the saints back then, and it applies to Jesus’ day and today as well. They are the chief saints who will live forever. God will give them the kingdom as long as they have the right spirit.
This passage seems to imply that believers were saved before Jesus came on earth. For one, when Jesus was on the mountain with his disciples there were a couple of the pre-Jesus saints with him. It seems to imply that they believed in Jesus before he came to earth (or believed that he was coming). That passage in the creed also makes me think that when it says Jesus first descended into hell maybe he was preaching to those of the Jews who tried to live a good, obedient life on earth. They recognized him and followed him out of hell. I have wondered if Jesus is still visiting hell and is talking to those who tried to live a good moral life, but who did not know him -- people in countries that missionaries haven’t reached yet.
Those in the congregation today who are trying to be faithful Christians will also reap the reward.
That kingdom that will last forever and ever is not modern Israel! Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world. So don’t look for great changes in this world’s history. Don’t be discouraged by what is going on in the world today. On earth, there will always be wars and rumors of wars!
Our hope is in the next world that God has for us.
Bob O.
Ephesians 1:11-23
That particular faith community always observed All Saints Day at a Sunday morning service of worship. By tradition, a long-stemmed rose was placed on the communion table to honor each member of the congregation who had joined the Church Triumphant during the previous year. The names, all listed in the worship bulletin, were solemnly read and a prayer was said. The celebration then concluded with the singing of the great hymn “For all the saints, who from their labors rest.”
One year, as the congregation sang I noticed an elderly congregant weeping. The service had not ended, but this woman pushed through to the end of the pew, walked toward the back of the sanctuary, and left the building -- still sobbing uncontrollably.
Her husband, a prominent leader and beloved member of the congregation, had died early in the year, yet his name was neither listed in the bulletin nor read from the pulpit. We had neglected to remember one of the saints -- one of the holy ones, blessed by God.
An immediate correction was issued. An apology was offered. Forgiveness was asked and given. Procedural safeguards were put in place for future use.
The incident also taught an important lesson. It is important to teach the faith, but it is also important to show our love to and thanksgiving for all the saints.
R. Robert C.
Ephesians 1:11-23
Gloria DeHaven was a film star in the 1940s and ’50s. She was a contract actress with MGM, which placed her in many films and in many different roles. After deciding not to act in movies for several decades, she then returned in 1997 for the film Out at Sea. On returning to the big screen, DeHaven said: “I thought I would be very nervous. It was like I’d never been away. Like going home.”
Application: Paul tells us that we should never forget our calling in life, and that we should never lose our calling in life.
Ron L.
Ephesians 1:11-23
Jesus Christ is all in all. Famed modern Reformed theologian Karl Barth well captures Paul’s reference to Christ at this point: “When the New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ and his community it really speaks of the goal (and therefore of the origin and beginning) of all the earthly things. Jesus Christ and his community is not an additional promise given to men.... It is not a further stage in the actualization of the divine will and plan and election which are the purpose of creation. It concludes this process.... It is the goal and end of all the ways of God” (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/2, p. 301).
Martin Luther King Jr. nicely described the implications of this for how we are to live: “Those of us who call the name of Jesus Christ find something at the center of our faith which forever reminds us that God is on the side of truth and justice. Good Friday may occupy the throne for a day, but ultimately it must give way to the triumph of Easter.... Yes, ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice’ ” (A Testament of Hope, p. 88).
Much in the same spirit, famed Roman Catholic scholar of science and religion Pierre Teilhard de Chardin writes: “You, Lord Jesus, are the epitome and the crown of all perfection, human and cosmic. No flash of beauty, no enhancement of goodness, no element of force but finds in you the ultimate refinement and consummation of itself. To possess you is in truth to hold gathered into a single object the perfect assemblage of all that the universe can give us and make us dream of” (The Hymn of the Universe, pp. 145-146).
Mark E.
Luke 6:20-31
Jesus turned the world upside-down. Nowhere is this clearer than in the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes remind us that, contrary to our human expectations, being poor, sad, hated, reviled, and defamed is not the end of us. Jesus proclaimed that we are blessed when we are poor, for we inherit the kingdom of God. Jesus proclaimed that we are blessed when we weep, for we shall laugh. Jesus proclaimed that we are blessed when we are hated, reviled, and defamed, for our rewards will be great in heaven. Upside-down.
Also, we are reminded that if we rest on human wealth, fullness, pride, and false joy, then we have attained the worldly but not the spiritual. I don’t think Jesus wants us to go without food to eat, without clothes to wear, or without comfort and joy in our lives. I think instead that Jesus does not want us to count on those, but rather to seek God no matter our condition, for it is the spiritual not the worldly that connects us with God and with one another. Seek God first, rather than human comfort. Be people of God and not people of the world. Not a bad recipe for success -- even if it is upside-down compared to worldly expectations.
Bonnie B.
Luke 6:20-31
I am a fan of the old television series The Twilight Zone. One episode I remember was “A Quality of Mercy,” in which a World War II soldier exchanges places with a Japanese officer. It’s a strange and uncomfortable situation. The soldier has hated the Japanese army and has never had an ounce of empathy for them. The converse was also true -- the Japanese troops had no empathy or compassion for the American soldiers. As is usually the case with this particular series, the conclusion is an awakening and a moment of reflection for a man who got the chance to stand in the shoes of his enemy.
Though it isn’t easy to do, Jesus challenges his followers to go the extra mile. He tells them to do the extraordinary with respect to their enemies. Love them. Do good to them. Bless them. Give freely, and don’t seek revenge. None of these things is considered “normal.” Most people would seek revenge or do to enemies as they have done or maybe even before they have done. Jesus demands that his people be different. Stand in the shoes of your enemy and treat him or her as you want to be treated. Not an easy thing, but important.
Bill T.
Luke 6:20-31
Luke’s Beatitudes are similar to the more familiar versions in the gospel of Matthew, but Luke’s are sharper, pointed even more towards this world than the next. Luke blesses not those who are poor in spirit, but the poor. Period. The world is upside-down! And that’s the title of a Christmas song that lamented the fact that many treasured holiday customs were being abolished by the 17th-century Puritans when they temporarily took power in England. And the tune of “The World Turned Upside-Down” was played by the defeated British soldiers after their final loss at Yorktown in 1781, signaling effectively the end of the Revolutionary War.
Frank R.
Luke 6:20-31
It sounds like the 1% are the ones that will be lost -- unless they hunger and thirst after righteousness and not dollars.
Jesus is not saying that you are condemned just because you have money! The problem is when your wealth comes first and you are mainly looking forward to a full dinner plate. Does your wealth give you everything you want? Are you not hungering for what God can give you? That is why we are in church!
Is this an election-time message for those who seem to hate everyone who is not on their side? We should love all those in different parties who may hate us and call us all kinds of names. We should (surprise them!) by blessing those who want to hurt us. This is a hard passage when we see the news every night -- not only for politicians but for all those who may be trying to hurt us for other reasons. Does that mean we should show love to ISIS? It seems there are only two choices: either genocide, or love and conversion.
How do you show love to someone you are trying to kill or who is trying to kill you? That is something only God can help you do.
I think again of old pastor Tir in Nepal. He was getting out of jail -- where they tortured him -- because he was converting his jailers with love and forgiveness. He had fantastic success -- much better than trying to raise a gang of protestors when he got out.
It sounds un-American to turn the other cheek when someone hits you! But then much of God’s word goes counter to what we have learned in school and on the news. We give all the glory to those who are brave enough to fight back. We give little glory to those in the Lord’s army who are trying to turn the enemy into friends.
How often do we also have verbal enemies who we fight with words, maybe even threats? Maybe we are just responding to their words and threats. It sounds courageous and American. But that is not Jesus’ way!
So even in conversation we should cover our feelings with love and forgiveness. It can surprise the one who is shouting at you. We might even end up making a new friend -- and maybe a new Christian.
Bob O.
Have you ever had a vision? Daniel’s visions in this reading seem to terrify him. I can remember a time when I thought visions were for other people. I had never had one. It must be a special gift to see something beyond the “real” world. Then I had a vision of Jesus with arms opened wide, waiting to forgive me my sinfulness. The background of the vision is a long story, but I still remember the warmth, the joy, the love I felt as I moved into the embrace of my Savior, as I realized that Jesus, the Son of God, was reaching out to me.
Certainly my vision was not apocalyptic as Daniel’s seems to be, but the vision changed my life. The vision allowed me to truly know, perhaps for the first time in my life, that my sins could actually be forgiven -- so admitting them and repenting of them was okay. I didn’t need to be perfect. I just needed to move back into the embrace of God with all my strength, my heart, and my soul. Visions are gifts of grace from God. May we each experience the intimacy of a Godly vision at one time of our lives.
Bonnie B.
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Can you think of the scariest dream you’ve ever had? Perhaps it was one in which you were running away from some unthinkable terror. Sometimes people dream of falling for what seems like forever. Occasionally the scariest dreams are ones in which monsters or demons are set to prey upon us. Thinking of monsters and dreams, I can’t help but think back to the movie Monsters Inc. Do you remember that movie? The energy needed to run the community of monsters came from the screams of children during nightmares. I’m not sure those monsters were actually scary, but I think most of us have experienced nightmares or night terrors. The feeling of panic, physically sweating, rapid heartbeat: all of these are common reactions to a nightmare. Being afraid is not really a pleasant thing.
Reading the accounts of the visions in Daniel 7 can stir the embers of fear. Daniel himself was terrified. Four beasts that represent four kings were a part of that vision; one horn supplanting another and becoming something else. These were strange and unsettling things. There was hope, though. The last verse of this section includes the words that comforted Daniel and can comfort us too: “But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever -- forever and ever.” When the monsters, imagined or real, roar and seek to bring disaster, remember that God’s people will triumph.
Bill T.
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
These seven verses bracket the messianic figure of the Son of Man standing alongside the throne of the Ancient of Days, presenting the resolution of history in a good way. But these verses are important because they demonstrate that the way you look at history defines your attitude toward current events.
God’s people were undergoing terrible persecution by the Selucids around the years 167-165 BC. The stories of Daniel during the Babylonian exile helped the people hold fast to their faith during a difficult time. One way of interpreting the four frightening beasts was to see them as the Babylonian, Persian, and Medean empires, and that the final beast that speaks with the arrogant voice is probably Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who was the cause of the desecration of the temple remembered as the abomination of desolation. These four beasts are interpreted other ways as well, and we can also interpret our own recent history as representing the four beasts as long as we don’t insist we’re the first ones and the only ones to get it right. The point made by the angelic explainer, Daniel learns, is that human empires come and go, but God’s kingdom is eternal and God’s Holy Ones will receive that kingdom forever! This is good to remember on All Saints Day. All the saints will reign.
Beasts come and go -- tyrants and demagogues rise and fall. God reigns! So do we.
Frank R.
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Daniel’s dream was about 48 years after Nebuchadnezzar had his vision. This was a time of constant warfare. The four winds were the four great monarchies, who were always a threat.
Then Daniel separates the spirit from the body. They are not one.
Back in those days there was more “holiness” practiced by the Jews and patriarchs, who tried to obey all the laws -- even like the disciples in Jesus’ day. He is talking about the saints back then, and it applies to Jesus’ day and today as well. They are the chief saints who will live forever. God will give them the kingdom as long as they have the right spirit.
This passage seems to imply that believers were saved before Jesus came on earth. For one, when Jesus was on the mountain with his disciples there were a couple of the pre-Jesus saints with him. It seems to imply that they believed in Jesus before he came to earth (or believed that he was coming). That passage in the creed also makes me think that when it says Jesus first descended into hell maybe he was preaching to those of the Jews who tried to live a good, obedient life on earth. They recognized him and followed him out of hell. I have wondered if Jesus is still visiting hell and is talking to those who tried to live a good moral life, but who did not know him -- people in countries that missionaries haven’t reached yet.
Those in the congregation today who are trying to be faithful Christians will also reap the reward.
That kingdom that will last forever and ever is not modern Israel! Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world. So don’t look for great changes in this world’s history. Don’t be discouraged by what is going on in the world today. On earth, there will always be wars and rumors of wars!
Our hope is in the next world that God has for us.
Bob O.
Ephesians 1:11-23
That particular faith community always observed All Saints Day at a Sunday morning service of worship. By tradition, a long-stemmed rose was placed on the communion table to honor each member of the congregation who had joined the Church Triumphant during the previous year. The names, all listed in the worship bulletin, were solemnly read and a prayer was said. The celebration then concluded with the singing of the great hymn “For all the saints, who from their labors rest.”
One year, as the congregation sang I noticed an elderly congregant weeping. The service had not ended, but this woman pushed through to the end of the pew, walked toward the back of the sanctuary, and left the building -- still sobbing uncontrollably.
Her husband, a prominent leader and beloved member of the congregation, had died early in the year, yet his name was neither listed in the bulletin nor read from the pulpit. We had neglected to remember one of the saints -- one of the holy ones, blessed by God.
An immediate correction was issued. An apology was offered. Forgiveness was asked and given. Procedural safeguards were put in place for future use.
The incident also taught an important lesson. It is important to teach the faith, but it is also important to show our love to and thanksgiving for all the saints.
R. Robert C.
Ephesians 1:11-23
Gloria DeHaven was a film star in the 1940s and ’50s. She was a contract actress with MGM, which placed her in many films and in many different roles. After deciding not to act in movies for several decades, she then returned in 1997 for the film Out at Sea. On returning to the big screen, DeHaven said: “I thought I would be very nervous. It was like I’d never been away. Like going home.”
Application: Paul tells us that we should never forget our calling in life, and that we should never lose our calling in life.
Ron L.
Ephesians 1:11-23
Jesus Christ is all in all. Famed modern Reformed theologian Karl Barth well captures Paul’s reference to Christ at this point: “When the New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ and his community it really speaks of the goal (and therefore of the origin and beginning) of all the earthly things. Jesus Christ and his community is not an additional promise given to men.... It is not a further stage in the actualization of the divine will and plan and election which are the purpose of creation. It concludes this process.... It is the goal and end of all the ways of God” (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/2, p. 301).
Martin Luther King Jr. nicely described the implications of this for how we are to live: “Those of us who call the name of Jesus Christ find something at the center of our faith which forever reminds us that God is on the side of truth and justice. Good Friday may occupy the throne for a day, but ultimately it must give way to the triumph of Easter.... Yes, ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice’ ” (A Testament of Hope, p. 88).
Much in the same spirit, famed Roman Catholic scholar of science and religion Pierre Teilhard de Chardin writes: “You, Lord Jesus, are the epitome and the crown of all perfection, human and cosmic. No flash of beauty, no enhancement of goodness, no element of force but finds in you the ultimate refinement and consummation of itself. To possess you is in truth to hold gathered into a single object the perfect assemblage of all that the universe can give us and make us dream of” (The Hymn of the Universe, pp. 145-146).
Mark E.
Luke 6:20-31
Jesus turned the world upside-down. Nowhere is this clearer than in the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes remind us that, contrary to our human expectations, being poor, sad, hated, reviled, and defamed is not the end of us. Jesus proclaimed that we are blessed when we are poor, for we inherit the kingdom of God. Jesus proclaimed that we are blessed when we weep, for we shall laugh. Jesus proclaimed that we are blessed when we are hated, reviled, and defamed, for our rewards will be great in heaven. Upside-down.
Also, we are reminded that if we rest on human wealth, fullness, pride, and false joy, then we have attained the worldly but not the spiritual. I don’t think Jesus wants us to go without food to eat, without clothes to wear, or without comfort and joy in our lives. I think instead that Jesus does not want us to count on those, but rather to seek God no matter our condition, for it is the spiritual not the worldly that connects us with God and with one another. Seek God first, rather than human comfort. Be people of God and not people of the world. Not a bad recipe for success -- even if it is upside-down compared to worldly expectations.
Bonnie B.
Luke 6:20-31
I am a fan of the old television series The Twilight Zone. One episode I remember was “A Quality of Mercy,” in which a World War II soldier exchanges places with a Japanese officer. It’s a strange and uncomfortable situation. The soldier has hated the Japanese army and has never had an ounce of empathy for them. The converse was also true -- the Japanese troops had no empathy or compassion for the American soldiers. As is usually the case with this particular series, the conclusion is an awakening and a moment of reflection for a man who got the chance to stand in the shoes of his enemy.
Though it isn’t easy to do, Jesus challenges his followers to go the extra mile. He tells them to do the extraordinary with respect to their enemies. Love them. Do good to them. Bless them. Give freely, and don’t seek revenge. None of these things is considered “normal.” Most people would seek revenge or do to enemies as they have done or maybe even before they have done. Jesus demands that his people be different. Stand in the shoes of your enemy and treat him or her as you want to be treated. Not an easy thing, but important.
Bill T.
Luke 6:20-31
Luke’s Beatitudes are similar to the more familiar versions in the gospel of Matthew, but Luke’s are sharper, pointed even more towards this world than the next. Luke blesses not those who are poor in spirit, but the poor. Period. The world is upside-down! And that’s the title of a Christmas song that lamented the fact that many treasured holiday customs were being abolished by the 17th-century Puritans when they temporarily took power in England. And the tune of “The World Turned Upside-Down” was played by the defeated British soldiers after their final loss at Yorktown in 1781, signaling effectively the end of the Revolutionary War.
Frank R.
Luke 6:20-31
It sounds like the 1% are the ones that will be lost -- unless they hunger and thirst after righteousness and not dollars.
Jesus is not saying that you are condemned just because you have money! The problem is when your wealth comes first and you are mainly looking forward to a full dinner plate. Does your wealth give you everything you want? Are you not hungering for what God can give you? That is why we are in church!
Is this an election-time message for those who seem to hate everyone who is not on their side? We should love all those in different parties who may hate us and call us all kinds of names. We should (surprise them!) by blessing those who want to hurt us. This is a hard passage when we see the news every night -- not only for politicians but for all those who may be trying to hurt us for other reasons. Does that mean we should show love to ISIS? It seems there are only two choices: either genocide, or love and conversion.
How do you show love to someone you are trying to kill or who is trying to kill you? That is something only God can help you do.
I think again of old pastor Tir in Nepal. He was getting out of jail -- where they tortured him -- because he was converting his jailers with love and forgiveness. He had fantastic success -- much better than trying to raise a gang of protestors when he got out.
It sounds un-American to turn the other cheek when someone hits you! But then much of God’s word goes counter to what we have learned in school and on the news. We give all the glory to those who are brave enough to fight back. We give little glory to those in the Lord’s army who are trying to turn the enemy into friends.
How often do we also have verbal enemies who we fight with words, maybe even threats? Maybe we are just responding to their words and threats. It sounds courageous and American. But that is not Jesus’ way!
So even in conversation we should cover our feelings with love and forgiveness. It can surprise the one who is shouting at you. We might even end up making a new friend -- and maybe a new Christian.
Bob O.
