Sermon illustrations for Day of Pentecost (2016)
Illustration
Object:
Acts 2:1-21
In Acts 2, Luke describes an amazing celebration of the birth of the Church of Jesus Christ. High winds blow. Flames appear over the heads of celebrants. Invitees at the party, without lessons by Rosetta Stone, begin to speak in other languages. Multitudes of passersby hear the commotion and are attracted to the scene. These folks hear the gospel preached in their native languages -- without benefit of headsets and translators. People visiting Jerusalem from all over that part of the world, people representing the rainbow of human differences, are drawn into the sense of the oneness of God’s intended community. Wow! This is one impressive birthday party.
Those in attendance, we are told, were both amazed and perplexed. Most of the folks simply wanted to know “What does this mean?” Of course, there were the cynics who decided to explain away one of the most significant events in history by claiming, “They are filled with new wine.”
Twenty-one centuries later, the perplexed are still among us. Cynics still dampen the enthusiasm by claiming that there is something organically wrong with people of faith. Fortunately, there are still multitudes that come to hear about the institutional birthday party that changed the world.
R. Robert C.
Acts 2:1-21
The Westminster Shorter Catechism was written by English and Scottish divines during the English Reformation, and was presented to the Long Parliament on April 14, 1648. The Shorter Catechism asks “What is the chief end of man?” and answers with “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
Application: Our primary focus in life is to glorify God by word and deed. This was the message Peter presented in his first sermon.
Ron L.
Acts 2:1-21
In the most recent survey on the subject, a 2006 Pew Forum poll revealed that just one in five Americans speak in tongues. Word of mouth suggests that the numbers may be growing.
For those of us not in Pentecostal churches, Augustine offers some thoughtful insights on why miracles like the experience of tongues no longer transpire. They are not continued, he contends, lest the mind always see visible signs and the human race grow cold by becoming accustomed to these faith-kindling experiences (The Library of Christian Classics, Vol. 6, p. 248).
And yet Pentecostals are right to prod us not to dismiss the experience of the Holy Spirit. John Wesley’s warning is most relevant: “Thus natural men are prone to ascribe supernatural things to mere natural causes; and many times as impudently and unskillfully as in the present case” (Commentary on the Bible, p. 473). Martin Luther also elaborates on what we gain by attending to the Holy Spirit: “Our Pentecost message should remove all terror of sin and death. The more joyful you are and the more certain and sure the faith in your heart is, the nearer the Holy Spirit is to you and the more you benefit from the New Pentecost” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 160).
Mark E.
Romans 8:14-17
I hate fear. I hate being afraid -- that trembling, sick-to-your-stomach feeling that comes with being so anxious that we can’t really take a deep breath. It’s for this reason that I don’t like horror movies, and although my grandson loves zombie movies I just can’t bear to watch them. There is enough in life to bring about feelings of fear. I don’t need to seek out ways to be afraid.
All that being said, I am not a fearful person. I will take a risk, try something new, share an opinion, and take a stand. I have marched for peace and against war. I have boycotted, in public, in order to seek rights for another. I sing and preach and speak in front of people. Blood doesn’t make me faint, and I can usually manage in a crisis. For me, I think, fear is about not having any way out of a situation using my own skills and abilities. Fear is being crippled by a situation and not knowing what to do or to whom I should turn. Romans reminds me that fear doesn’t come from God, and in fact that as a child of God I need not be afraid. Whew! What a relief! I can depend on God, trust in God when I don’t know what to do or where to turn, and God will always be there.
Bonnie B.
Romans 8:14-17
She was born in Ethiopia (on the continent of Africa). During the second week of her life she was brought to an orphanage in Asela, where she remained for almost two years. For about three years, starting a full year before she was born, an American couple was touched by the Lord and desired to adopt an orphan. They prayed for the child they did not know and had not seen. For two years they continued to do this while they waited and waited for the right time. At the end of a three-year journey and in the second year of the child’s life, the two of them were matched. The parents flew to Addis Ababa and made the trip to Asela, where they picked up their little girl. She became theirs. When talking about the new addition to their family, the mother once said: “Our first three children were born naturally. Our youngest was born in our hearts.”
I think most adoptive parents understand that truth. I also think that’s a touching way to look at what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. We can have an intimate relationship with God the Father because he loved us and sent his Son Jesus to die for us to bring us into his family. We don’t have to fear or worry. We are adopted by God, and we become his children and heirs because we were born in his heart. He loves us. We now have a family. We now have a home.
Bill T.
Romans 8:14-17
Paul claims to have received his gospel directly from Jesus, and speaks of an appearance of the risen Lord to him on the road to Damascus. There are those who suggest that Paul’s knowledge of the earthly ministry of Jesus is very limited, but actually he seems to know quite a bit about the things Jesus said and did. Take this one word Abba, an Aramaic word (Jesus would have spoken Aramaic) that is sometimes translated as “Father,” but represents a child’s way of struggling with Ab, or Father. Maybe “daddy” or “dada” would be a better translation. This is only one of many citations of the words of Jesus in Paul’s writing. However, in the ancient world one didn’t necessarily use footnotes or quotation marks. And if something is spoken which everyone is supposed to know, you could cite that person without saying, “So and So said.”
Frank R.
Romans 8:14-17
When we were baptized we became children of God. We were adopted by him!
Children who are adopted sometimes claim they are not really the children of the one who adopted them. I have two adopted children. One of them went looking for her real (i.e., birth) parents. She found them, but their relationship only lasted a little while before she began to realize that she was really our child. I think the same can be true of our God. Adoption can be a mutual agreement and not just a legal attachment. According to our law there is no difference between being adopted or having been naturally born to a mother and father.
It is God’s Spirit that makes us one with him. We are not God’s slaves, but true sons. An atheist is one who rejects God’s adoption. He would claim that it never existed.
God’s Spirit within us makes us realize that we are truly God’s sons. We must remember that we are God’s children because of his love for us. He wanted us before we wanted him -- before we were born.
The amazing thing is that we are heirs of God and Christ. We inherit the blessings he has for us, but we don’t have to wait until he dies again before we inherit them. We inherit them now, but we inherit even more when we die and go to be with him!
How do we know that are led by God’s Spirit? That is a mystery that we discover when we feel God in us. We know by what we do! Do we accept God as our father? Even when we don’t always obey him, we feel his forgiveness in our hearts in our worship services; we are among all others who are forgiven, and our forgiveness is confirmed by the pastor. Then we know we are God’s children!
Bob O.
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
It would be helpful if each time the presence of God drew close it would be signaled in a Day of Pentecost manner -- tongues of fire, the roaring howl of the whirlwind, the capacity to speak in an unstudied language, receiving 3,000 new members into the church on the same day. In those circumstances, the reality of God’s presence would not likely be missed.
Unfortunately, most of the “God Events” in our lives occur in the midst of otherwise ordinary events -- the beauty of the sunset, the majesty of the mountains, the quiet of the love between parent and child, the liberation from shoulder-crushing guilt, the day one senses that the intense pain of grief can be survived. Consequently, the eternal dimension of the ordinary often passes unnoticed, just beyond the edge of our awareness. From personal experience, I can testify that sometimes it takes years before becoming aware that one of life’s ordinary events involved God’s presence.
Perhaps Philip shared this Divine Awareness Difficulty. In John 14, the apostle asks Jesus to show him and the others the Father. The request seems to have surprised, perhaps even irritated Jesus. To paraphrase, our Lord responded: “What is wrong with you, Philip? Have you not been paying attention? To see me is to see the Father.”
R. Robert C.
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
In 2013 the Washington Redskins were having a losing season. When the team’s record was 3-8, coach Mike Shanahan said that “everybody is playing for their jobs.” He went on to say, “That’s the nature of our business.... The nature of the game is to find a way to win, and if you don’t win everybody is accountable.” Though Shanahan had been coaching the team for five years, he knew his place on the sidelines was not secure. With a losing season, that was the last year that Shanahan coached the Redskins.
Application: Our jobs are on the line, as we are commanded to do even greater things than Jesus.
Ron L.
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
A Barna Research poll of American Christians done in 2009 reveals that nearly half of us (49%) regard the Holy Spirit as only a symbol, not as a living reality. St. Augustine offered a thoughtful comment about the Holy Spirit and why too often he seems absent. As he put it, “But we cannot see and know him [the Holy Spirit] in the only way in which he may be seen and known, unless he be in us” (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 7, p. 335). Martin Luther reminds us how important the Holy Spirit is in our lives: “If you want to be a Christian, therefore, you must conclude with the conviction: I have the Holy Spirit dwelling in me.... For you will surely have no faith, no good thought, no joy, and no comfort from him -- yes, you will neither hear nor preach a sermon, and thus also perform no work of love or of any real Christian vocation -- unless the Holy Spirit dwells in you and works and accomplishes all this in you” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 24, p. 130). The Holy Spirit has its way with us, famed Reformed theologian Karl Barth once noted. The Spirit, he says, is poured out on us, “sits” on us, and “fells” us (Church Dogmatics, Vol. IV/1, p. 649).
Mark E.
In Acts 2, Luke describes an amazing celebration of the birth of the Church of Jesus Christ. High winds blow. Flames appear over the heads of celebrants. Invitees at the party, without lessons by Rosetta Stone, begin to speak in other languages. Multitudes of passersby hear the commotion and are attracted to the scene. These folks hear the gospel preached in their native languages -- without benefit of headsets and translators. People visiting Jerusalem from all over that part of the world, people representing the rainbow of human differences, are drawn into the sense of the oneness of God’s intended community. Wow! This is one impressive birthday party.
Those in attendance, we are told, were both amazed and perplexed. Most of the folks simply wanted to know “What does this mean?” Of course, there were the cynics who decided to explain away one of the most significant events in history by claiming, “They are filled with new wine.”
Twenty-one centuries later, the perplexed are still among us. Cynics still dampen the enthusiasm by claiming that there is something organically wrong with people of faith. Fortunately, there are still multitudes that come to hear about the institutional birthday party that changed the world.
R. Robert C.
Acts 2:1-21
The Westminster Shorter Catechism was written by English and Scottish divines during the English Reformation, and was presented to the Long Parliament on April 14, 1648. The Shorter Catechism asks “What is the chief end of man?” and answers with “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
Application: Our primary focus in life is to glorify God by word and deed. This was the message Peter presented in his first sermon.
Ron L.
Acts 2:1-21
In the most recent survey on the subject, a 2006 Pew Forum poll revealed that just one in five Americans speak in tongues. Word of mouth suggests that the numbers may be growing.
For those of us not in Pentecostal churches, Augustine offers some thoughtful insights on why miracles like the experience of tongues no longer transpire. They are not continued, he contends, lest the mind always see visible signs and the human race grow cold by becoming accustomed to these faith-kindling experiences (The Library of Christian Classics, Vol. 6, p. 248).
And yet Pentecostals are right to prod us not to dismiss the experience of the Holy Spirit. John Wesley’s warning is most relevant: “Thus natural men are prone to ascribe supernatural things to mere natural causes; and many times as impudently and unskillfully as in the present case” (Commentary on the Bible, p. 473). Martin Luther also elaborates on what we gain by attending to the Holy Spirit: “Our Pentecost message should remove all terror of sin and death. The more joyful you are and the more certain and sure the faith in your heart is, the nearer the Holy Spirit is to you and the more you benefit from the New Pentecost” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 160).
Mark E.
Romans 8:14-17
I hate fear. I hate being afraid -- that trembling, sick-to-your-stomach feeling that comes with being so anxious that we can’t really take a deep breath. It’s for this reason that I don’t like horror movies, and although my grandson loves zombie movies I just can’t bear to watch them. There is enough in life to bring about feelings of fear. I don’t need to seek out ways to be afraid.
All that being said, I am not a fearful person. I will take a risk, try something new, share an opinion, and take a stand. I have marched for peace and against war. I have boycotted, in public, in order to seek rights for another. I sing and preach and speak in front of people. Blood doesn’t make me faint, and I can usually manage in a crisis. For me, I think, fear is about not having any way out of a situation using my own skills and abilities. Fear is being crippled by a situation and not knowing what to do or to whom I should turn. Romans reminds me that fear doesn’t come from God, and in fact that as a child of God I need not be afraid. Whew! What a relief! I can depend on God, trust in God when I don’t know what to do or where to turn, and God will always be there.
Bonnie B.
Romans 8:14-17
She was born in Ethiopia (on the continent of Africa). During the second week of her life she was brought to an orphanage in Asela, where she remained for almost two years. For about three years, starting a full year before she was born, an American couple was touched by the Lord and desired to adopt an orphan. They prayed for the child they did not know and had not seen. For two years they continued to do this while they waited and waited for the right time. At the end of a three-year journey and in the second year of the child’s life, the two of them were matched. The parents flew to Addis Ababa and made the trip to Asela, where they picked up their little girl. She became theirs. When talking about the new addition to their family, the mother once said: “Our first three children were born naturally. Our youngest was born in our hearts.”
I think most adoptive parents understand that truth. I also think that’s a touching way to look at what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. We can have an intimate relationship with God the Father because he loved us and sent his Son Jesus to die for us to bring us into his family. We don’t have to fear or worry. We are adopted by God, and we become his children and heirs because we were born in his heart. He loves us. We now have a family. We now have a home.
Bill T.
Romans 8:14-17
Paul claims to have received his gospel directly from Jesus, and speaks of an appearance of the risen Lord to him on the road to Damascus. There are those who suggest that Paul’s knowledge of the earthly ministry of Jesus is very limited, but actually he seems to know quite a bit about the things Jesus said and did. Take this one word Abba, an Aramaic word (Jesus would have spoken Aramaic) that is sometimes translated as “Father,” but represents a child’s way of struggling with Ab, or Father. Maybe “daddy” or “dada” would be a better translation. This is only one of many citations of the words of Jesus in Paul’s writing. However, in the ancient world one didn’t necessarily use footnotes or quotation marks. And if something is spoken which everyone is supposed to know, you could cite that person without saying, “So and So said.”
Frank R.
Romans 8:14-17
When we were baptized we became children of God. We were adopted by him!
Children who are adopted sometimes claim they are not really the children of the one who adopted them. I have two adopted children. One of them went looking for her real (i.e., birth) parents. She found them, but their relationship only lasted a little while before she began to realize that she was really our child. I think the same can be true of our God. Adoption can be a mutual agreement and not just a legal attachment. According to our law there is no difference between being adopted or having been naturally born to a mother and father.
It is God’s Spirit that makes us one with him. We are not God’s slaves, but true sons. An atheist is one who rejects God’s adoption. He would claim that it never existed.
God’s Spirit within us makes us realize that we are truly God’s sons. We must remember that we are God’s children because of his love for us. He wanted us before we wanted him -- before we were born.
The amazing thing is that we are heirs of God and Christ. We inherit the blessings he has for us, but we don’t have to wait until he dies again before we inherit them. We inherit them now, but we inherit even more when we die and go to be with him!
How do we know that are led by God’s Spirit? That is a mystery that we discover when we feel God in us. We know by what we do! Do we accept God as our father? Even when we don’t always obey him, we feel his forgiveness in our hearts in our worship services; we are among all others who are forgiven, and our forgiveness is confirmed by the pastor. Then we know we are God’s children!
Bob O.
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
It would be helpful if each time the presence of God drew close it would be signaled in a Day of Pentecost manner -- tongues of fire, the roaring howl of the whirlwind, the capacity to speak in an unstudied language, receiving 3,000 new members into the church on the same day. In those circumstances, the reality of God’s presence would not likely be missed.
Unfortunately, most of the “God Events” in our lives occur in the midst of otherwise ordinary events -- the beauty of the sunset, the majesty of the mountains, the quiet of the love between parent and child, the liberation from shoulder-crushing guilt, the day one senses that the intense pain of grief can be survived. Consequently, the eternal dimension of the ordinary often passes unnoticed, just beyond the edge of our awareness. From personal experience, I can testify that sometimes it takes years before becoming aware that one of life’s ordinary events involved God’s presence.
Perhaps Philip shared this Divine Awareness Difficulty. In John 14, the apostle asks Jesus to show him and the others the Father. The request seems to have surprised, perhaps even irritated Jesus. To paraphrase, our Lord responded: “What is wrong with you, Philip? Have you not been paying attention? To see me is to see the Father.”
R. Robert C.
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
In 2013 the Washington Redskins were having a losing season. When the team’s record was 3-8, coach Mike Shanahan said that “everybody is playing for their jobs.” He went on to say, “That’s the nature of our business.... The nature of the game is to find a way to win, and if you don’t win everybody is accountable.” Though Shanahan had been coaching the team for five years, he knew his place on the sidelines was not secure. With a losing season, that was the last year that Shanahan coached the Redskins.
Application: Our jobs are on the line, as we are commanded to do even greater things than Jesus.
Ron L.
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
A Barna Research poll of American Christians done in 2009 reveals that nearly half of us (49%) regard the Holy Spirit as only a symbol, not as a living reality. St. Augustine offered a thoughtful comment about the Holy Spirit and why too often he seems absent. As he put it, “But we cannot see and know him [the Holy Spirit] in the only way in which he may be seen and known, unless he be in us” (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 7, p. 335). Martin Luther reminds us how important the Holy Spirit is in our lives: “If you want to be a Christian, therefore, you must conclude with the conviction: I have the Holy Spirit dwelling in me.... For you will surely have no faith, no good thought, no joy, and no comfort from him -- yes, you will neither hear nor preach a sermon, and thus also perform no work of love or of any real Christian vocation -- unless the Holy Spirit dwells in you and works and accomplishes all this in you” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 24, p. 130). The Holy Spirit has its way with us, famed Reformed theologian Karl Barth once noted. The Spirit, he says, is poured out on us, “sits” on us, and “fells” us (Church Dogmatics, Vol. IV/1, p. 649).
Mark E.
