Sermon Illustrations for Baptism of Our Lord (2018)
Illustration
Genesis 1:1-5
The (P version of the) story of creation seems difficult to reconcile with what we know about science. John Wesley gives us some helpful clues. He claims that time began with creation, an insight most compatible with the theory of relativity which posits that there is no time apart from the existence of the cosmos (Commentary on the Bible, p. 11). The ancient African theologian Tertullian notes that the biblical account teaches that waters brought forth life through the Spirit hovering over them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3, p. 670). This is most suggestive of the theme of today -- the baptism of our Lord. In baptism God continues to bring (new) life out of water with the Spirit. That water gives life is good science. Evolutionary biologists pretty much agree that the first animals may have a common ancestor in fish-like creatures, the ostracoderms. And the first life may have been one-celled creatures which emerged from chemicals found in ancient oceans which were brought into complex organic molecules as a result of energy from the sun. To this day all living cells contain water, as water accounts for between 65% and 90% of the body weight of all earth’s plants and animals. A quote by Hungarian Nobel Prize winner Albert Szent-Gyorgia is on target: “There is no life without water.”
Mark E.
Genesis 1:1-5
God created all things after he caused the “big bang.” Ever since then, things have changed constantly. When he finished much of his work in the sky, he gave us night and day here on earth. He created the sun to give us day. When the sun had set, it was night.
This passage seems to be saying that night is a time without God being with us. He still is, but we don’t see him in the dark. It is only a symbol of his love when we see light. Then we can say, “I can see!” Without God’s light there is only darkness. The text seems to be telling us that God’s presence just appears to come and go. We have our good times and our bad times, but God is always with us to guide us back to the light which he said is good.
Baptism is a time when light comes into our soul and we have God in us. Baptism is an awakening -- even if it comes when we are babies. We first see that light through the eyes of our parents. Light is also love. If we see light, we see love. The main reason we come to church is to see more and more of God’s light. We may also be warned about the dangers of darkness.
We also see that God’s truth is obvious and visible. We need his light to see him and what he wants us to do. When the sun dawns on Sunday morning, we begin to see God coming to us and to all his baptized children.
Bob O.
Genesis 1:1-5
We have just celebrated Epiphany on January 6. It is the 12th day of Christmas, the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Epiphany, the celebration of light. This Sunday our Hebrew scripture reading reminds us about who created the light. God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light and God said, “It is good.”
Light is good. It dispels the darkness and allows us to see. Yet too many of us carry around our own darkness; the darkness of sin, the darkness of regret, the darkness of fear, the darkness of hate. God, too, can dispel these forms of darkness. Sometimes we are afraid to bring our whole selves to God, our own darkness or suffering to God. Sometimes it seems we prefer to dwell in the darkness out of a sense that we need to be punished. God calls to us, welcomes us, envelops us with love and care and grace and light. Step into the light, my friends. God is calling, and the light is good!
Bonnie B.
Acts 19:1-7
“I don’t know.” These are words that all of us have said at one time or another, but I’m guessing that they are words we would rather not have to say. To some, these words indicate helplessness, inferiority, and a lack of leadership. I suppose, on some level, I can see that. Forbes magazine, though, had a different take on those words. In the January 16, 2012 edition, “the Muse” talked about what is gained from being able to recognize “I don’t know.” Availability to the ideas of others, a better sense of where to go and what to do, comfort with uncertainty, and confidence that good decisions can still be made all derive from one’s ability to recognize “I don’t know.”
In our text we have some who aren’t ashamed to admit “I don’t know.” Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” After they told him “John’s baptism,” Paul proceeded to explain about Jesus, the one who was to come after John. As soon as they heard about Jesus, the 12 of them were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. After Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them in a powerful way and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
These twelve, it would seem, were able to serve God in ways they may never had thought of -- and to think it all began with an honest “I don’t know.”
Bill T.
Acts 19:1-7
When the apostle Paul passes through Ephesus he asks certain disciples who were baptized by John the Baptist if they've received the Holy Spirit. Their answer is usually translated: “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2). But New Testament scholar Ben Witherington III says that’s unlikely. Whether Jew or Christian, they would have heard about about God’s Spirit. He says their answer ought to be translated literally “But we have not heard if the Spirit is.” In other words, they didn’t know if the Spirit was active right then. This summarizes the attitude of many believers, who assume miracles and wonders happened in so-called Bible Times. This is one reason personal testimony is so important. The Spirit is active in our lives. Right now. Tell somebody!
(Want to read more?See The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary by Ben Witherington III, p. 571.)
Frank R.
Acts 19:1-7
I was called into the ordained ministry from a career as a state trooper. This transition has been the litmus test for all my theological writings, for it made me mindful that biblical interpretation and theological positions must parallel what people experience in daily living. Therefore, my guide is that my theology must be able to dwell on the streets of Page County, where I was assigned as a state trooper, for this is where people live; this is reality. If a theological treatise that I compose cannot live on the streets of Page County then the theology is misguided, for the streets are real. The sermons, meditations, speeches, and articles that I write must reflect the reality of daily living, offering encouragement and answers that are authentic and pragmatic. (Note: You can personalize this illustration by introducing it with the words “A friend told me...” or “I read about...”)
Application: Entering the ministry from the perspective of a state trooper was a form of baptism for me. It was the blessing of the Holy Spirit that gave me a new perspective on theology.
Ron L.
Mark 1:4-11
Americans are divided over whether their jobs are satisfying. According to a 2016 Pew Research Center poll, a little more than half of us (51%) are not very satisfied with our jobs and three in five of those making less than $30,000 per year are not satisfied. And a Harris poll taken the same year indicated that overall happiness with life among Americans has dropped since 2008. We need a fresh start. Eminent New Testament scholar Rudolf Bultmann says that baptism does this, gives us a fresh start in the sense of launching us into an eschatological existence (Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 39). Eschatological existence, living with our future in view, he says, is “free openness to the future... is freedom from anxiety in the face of Nothing.... Faith as openness to the future is freedom from the past.” (Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 1, pp. 77-78).
Living with dreams and an openness to the future makes life meaningful. Patrick Henry put it well: “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” A similar point was made by well-known 19th-century Episcopalian bishop Phillips Brooks: “Very strange is this quality of our human nature which decrees that unless we feel a future before us we do not live completely in the present.” Baptism gives us the future we need to live completely in the present.
Mark E.
Mark 1:4-11
The ones that God has called will hear him speaking. Not everyone heard God calling when John was preaching. The high and mighty of God’s house turned a deaf ear. Our church can be like John calling God’s chosen, his baptized or about-to-be baptized. We are in God’s church because we heard him calling to us and we answered his call.
It should be humbling for us to know that even Jesus, God’s son, humbled himself and was baptized for us. It shows us that Jesus set an example that we become God’s people when we hear his word and believe, even when our pastor is not always dressed up. He may not be in camel’s hair clothes, though he may have a leather belt around his waist. It is important that we should be aware that God can come in ways we least expect. He may not always come in glory and honor, so we must listen to the words and not just look at the one who is speaking. The important thing is that we should hear the message God has given us and weigh it in our hearts. The next step is to obey the words God has sent to us regardless how they may come. We can either be immersed or sprinkled. The words we have gotten from God.
On the mission field in Nepal I have witnessed both immersions and sprinklings. The people there accepted either. New converts are more likely to take the Bible literally, so in my seminary classes I showed that not all passages could be understood literally. For example, if we believe the world was created in seven days, then we must also read passages that say “a day to the Lord is as a thousand years” or that we are literally eating Jesus’ body and drinking his blood at communion. They are symbols.
Our next baptism is by the Holy Spirit. That does not mean that you have to speak in “tongues” to show that Jesus has also baptized you. Jesus’ baptism opens up his secrets in our hearts. So keep your mind open to God’s message for you.
I have often prayed for Jesus’ Spirit to give me wisdom to know his will for me, and strength to keep me from disobeying his will. When my faith seems to weaken, I pray that Jesus’ Spirit will strengthen me. I know that God has answered those prayers many times.
Bob O.
Mark 1:4-11
Mark’s description of the work of John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus leaves a lot to the imagination. In other passages we learn more about John and his habits, his calling of the people to repent, and his relationship with the hierarchy of the faith. In this passage we simply encounter John baptizing Jesus. There is no argument about whether or not John should be doing the baptism. Rather, the passage simply reminds us that Jesus too went through this rite of transition.
Imagine hearing a voice from heaven when your child or infant, the next adult, in your church is baptized. “This is my beloved in whom I am well pleased.” We may not hear it aloud, but we should hear it in our hearts, know it in our spirits and celebrate that moment as a reminder that we are all of us, each and every one, beloved children of God. God is pleased with us. God surrounds us with love and grace and honor and blessing. Remember this in the days ahead -- you are a beloved child of God.
Bonnie B.
The (P version of the) story of creation seems difficult to reconcile with what we know about science. John Wesley gives us some helpful clues. He claims that time began with creation, an insight most compatible with the theory of relativity which posits that there is no time apart from the existence of the cosmos (Commentary on the Bible, p. 11). The ancient African theologian Tertullian notes that the biblical account teaches that waters brought forth life through the Spirit hovering over them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3, p. 670). This is most suggestive of the theme of today -- the baptism of our Lord. In baptism God continues to bring (new) life out of water with the Spirit. That water gives life is good science. Evolutionary biologists pretty much agree that the first animals may have a common ancestor in fish-like creatures, the ostracoderms. And the first life may have been one-celled creatures which emerged from chemicals found in ancient oceans which were brought into complex organic molecules as a result of energy from the sun. To this day all living cells contain water, as water accounts for between 65% and 90% of the body weight of all earth’s plants and animals. A quote by Hungarian Nobel Prize winner Albert Szent-Gyorgia is on target: “There is no life without water.”
Mark E.
Genesis 1:1-5
God created all things after he caused the “big bang.” Ever since then, things have changed constantly. When he finished much of his work in the sky, he gave us night and day here on earth. He created the sun to give us day. When the sun had set, it was night.
This passage seems to be saying that night is a time without God being with us. He still is, but we don’t see him in the dark. It is only a symbol of his love when we see light. Then we can say, “I can see!” Without God’s light there is only darkness. The text seems to be telling us that God’s presence just appears to come and go. We have our good times and our bad times, but God is always with us to guide us back to the light which he said is good.
Baptism is a time when light comes into our soul and we have God in us. Baptism is an awakening -- even if it comes when we are babies. We first see that light through the eyes of our parents. Light is also love. If we see light, we see love. The main reason we come to church is to see more and more of God’s light. We may also be warned about the dangers of darkness.
We also see that God’s truth is obvious and visible. We need his light to see him and what he wants us to do. When the sun dawns on Sunday morning, we begin to see God coming to us and to all his baptized children.
Bob O.
Genesis 1:1-5
We have just celebrated Epiphany on January 6. It is the 12th day of Christmas, the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Epiphany, the celebration of light. This Sunday our Hebrew scripture reading reminds us about who created the light. God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light and God said, “It is good.”
Light is good. It dispels the darkness and allows us to see. Yet too many of us carry around our own darkness; the darkness of sin, the darkness of regret, the darkness of fear, the darkness of hate. God, too, can dispel these forms of darkness. Sometimes we are afraid to bring our whole selves to God, our own darkness or suffering to God. Sometimes it seems we prefer to dwell in the darkness out of a sense that we need to be punished. God calls to us, welcomes us, envelops us with love and care and grace and light. Step into the light, my friends. God is calling, and the light is good!
Bonnie B.
Acts 19:1-7
“I don’t know.” These are words that all of us have said at one time or another, but I’m guessing that they are words we would rather not have to say. To some, these words indicate helplessness, inferiority, and a lack of leadership. I suppose, on some level, I can see that. Forbes magazine, though, had a different take on those words. In the January 16, 2012 edition, “the Muse” talked about what is gained from being able to recognize “I don’t know.” Availability to the ideas of others, a better sense of where to go and what to do, comfort with uncertainty, and confidence that good decisions can still be made all derive from one’s ability to recognize “I don’t know.”
In our text we have some who aren’t ashamed to admit “I don’t know.” Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” After they told him “John’s baptism,” Paul proceeded to explain about Jesus, the one who was to come after John. As soon as they heard about Jesus, the 12 of them were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. After Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them in a powerful way and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
These twelve, it would seem, were able to serve God in ways they may never had thought of -- and to think it all began with an honest “I don’t know.”
Bill T.
Acts 19:1-7
When the apostle Paul passes through Ephesus he asks certain disciples who were baptized by John the Baptist if they've received the Holy Spirit. Their answer is usually translated: “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2). But New Testament scholar Ben Witherington III says that’s unlikely. Whether Jew or Christian, they would have heard about about God’s Spirit. He says their answer ought to be translated literally “But we have not heard if the Spirit is.” In other words, they didn’t know if the Spirit was active right then. This summarizes the attitude of many believers, who assume miracles and wonders happened in so-called Bible Times. This is one reason personal testimony is so important. The Spirit is active in our lives. Right now. Tell somebody!
(Want to read more?See The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary by Ben Witherington III, p. 571.)
Frank R.
Acts 19:1-7
I was called into the ordained ministry from a career as a state trooper. This transition has been the litmus test for all my theological writings, for it made me mindful that biblical interpretation and theological positions must parallel what people experience in daily living. Therefore, my guide is that my theology must be able to dwell on the streets of Page County, where I was assigned as a state trooper, for this is where people live; this is reality. If a theological treatise that I compose cannot live on the streets of Page County then the theology is misguided, for the streets are real. The sermons, meditations, speeches, and articles that I write must reflect the reality of daily living, offering encouragement and answers that are authentic and pragmatic. (Note: You can personalize this illustration by introducing it with the words “A friend told me...” or “I read about...”)
Application: Entering the ministry from the perspective of a state trooper was a form of baptism for me. It was the blessing of the Holy Spirit that gave me a new perspective on theology.
Ron L.
Mark 1:4-11
Americans are divided over whether their jobs are satisfying. According to a 2016 Pew Research Center poll, a little more than half of us (51%) are not very satisfied with our jobs and three in five of those making less than $30,000 per year are not satisfied. And a Harris poll taken the same year indicated that overall happiness with life among Americans has dropped since 2008. We need a fresh start. Eminent New Testament scholar Rudolf Bultmann says that baptism does this, gives us a fresh start in the sense of launching us into an eschatological existence (Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 39). Eschatological existence, living with our future in view, he says, is “free openness to the future... is freedom from anxiety in the face of Nothing.... Faith as openness to the future is freedom from the past.” (Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 1, pp. 77-78).
Living with dreams and an openness to the future makes life meaningful. Patrick Henry put it well: “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” A similar point was made by well-known 19th-century Episcopalian bishop Phillips Brooks: “Very strange is this quality of our human nature which decrees that unless we feel a future before us we do not live completely in the present.” Baptism gives us the future we need to live completely in the present.
Mark E.
Mark 1:4-11
The ones that God has called will hear him speaking. Not everyone heard God calling when John was preaching. The high and mighty of God’s house turned a deaf ear. Our church can be like John calling God’s chosen, his baptized or about-to-be baptized. We are in God’s church because we heard him calling to us and we answered his call.
It should be humbling for us to know that even Jesus, God’s son, humbled himself and was baptized for us. It shows us that Jesus set an example that we become God’s people when we hear his word and believe, even when our pastor is not always dressed up. He may not be in camel’s hair clothes, though he may have a leather belt around his waist. It is important that we should be aware that God can come in ways we least expect. He may not always come in glory and honor, so we must listen to the words and not just look at the one who is speaking. The important thing is that we should hear the message God has given us and weigh it in our hearts. The next step is to obey the words God has sent to us regardless how they may come. We can either be immersed or sprinkled. The words we have gotten from God.
On the mission field in Nepal I have witnessed both immersions and sprinklings. The people there accepted either. New converts are more likely to take the Bible literally, so in my seminary classes I showed that not all passages could be understood literally. For example, if we believe the world was created in seven days, then we must also read passages that say “a day to the Lord is as a thousand years” or that we are literally eating Jesus’ body and drinking his blood at communion. They are symbols.
Our next baptism is by the Holy Spirit. That does not mean that you have to speak in “tongues” to show that Jesus has also baptized you. Jesus’ baptism opens up his secrets in our hearts. So keep your mind open to God’s message for you.
I have often prayed for Jesus’ Spirit to give me wisdom to know his will for me, and strength to keep me from disobeying his will. When my faith seems to weaken, I pray that Jesus’ Spirit will strengthen me. I know that God has answered those prayers many times.
Bob O.
Mark 1:4-11
Mark’s description of the work of John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus leaves a lot to the imagination. In other passages we learn more about John and his habits, his calling of the people to repent, and his relationship with the hierarchy of the faith. In this passage we simply encounter John baptizing Jesus. There is no argument about whether or not John should be doing the baptism. Rather, the passage simply reminds us that Jesus too went through this rite of transition.
Imagine hearing a voice from heaven when your child or infant, the next adult, in your church is baptized. “This is my beloved in whom I am well pleased.” We may not hear it aloud, but we should hear it in our hearts, know it in our spirits and celebrate that moment as a reminder that we are all of us, each and every one, beloved children of God. God is pleased with us. God surrounds us with love and grace and honor and blessing. Remember this in the days ahead -- you are a beloved child of God.
Bonnie B.
