Sermon Illustrations for Easter 4 (2014)
Illustration
Object:
Acts 2:42-47
The story is told of Associate Justice Joseph R. Lamar of the United States Supreme Court (1910-1916) who left an unusual legacy. In his will he left to his family his "friendships, many and numerous, in the hope that they will be cherished and continued."
My friends are the greatest and most prized possessions in my life and have been cultivated over a lifetime. The early Christians understood the significance of friendships. They realized it takes time, energy, and concern.
These friends are the ones who stand by us when we hurt and will not abandon us. They cry with us, laugh with us, and spend time with us because they genuinely like us. Nurturing friendships is important. The greatest friend we have is Jesus, and he will never leave us nor forsake us.
Derl K.
Acts 2:42-47
Philosopher and theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas was born circa 1225 in Roccasecca, Italy. Combining the theological principles of faith with the philosophical principles of reason, he ranked among the most influential thinkers of medieval scholasticism. The primary theologian of the Roman Catholic church and a prolific writer, Aquinas died on March 7, 1274, at the Cistercian monastery of Fossanova in Italy. Shortly after his death, Saint Thomas Aquinas' theological and philosophical writings rose to great public acclaim and reinforced a strong following among the Dominicans universities and seminaries. His main treatise, the multi-volume Summa Theologica, remains to this day the leading theology textbook for the Roman Catholic church. The influence of Saint Thomas Aquinas' writing has been so great, in fact, that an estimated 6,000 commentaries on his work exist to date. Aquinas in article 4 of the Summa notes that pride is the father of vain ambition and that it gradually wraps the soul around envy. Aquinas wrote that "the capital sins are so closely connected that one comes from another. The first offshoot of pride is vainglory, and this, by eating away at the afflicted soul, soon becomes envy. When the mind craves that prestige of an empty name then it also repines for fear lest someone else should be accorded it."
Application: Envy becomes the search and the snatching of what someone else may be entitled to. Realizing we go from pride to envy, we can then comprehend that, unlike the first-century Christians, we are unable to "hold all things in common."
Ron L.
Acts 2:42-47
The latest IRS statistics indicate that the gap between rich and poor in America reached levels in 2013 which are unprecedented. The gap has never been greater since 1928 (prior to the Depression). The top 10% of income earners captured 48.2% of the total U.S. income. And 95% of income gains since June 2009 have been pocketed by America's wealthiest 1%! Our lesson's reminder that the earliest Christians shared their wealth is a prophetic "nay" to these economic trends.
Famed modern theologian Karl Barth has lamented that we exploit each other economically (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/4, p. 544ff). Elsewhere he comments on the disciples' sharing of goods: "And it will always be inevitable that there should be impulses in this direction wherever the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed and heard" (Ibid., Vol. IV/2, p. 178).
Regarding love for the poor Martin Luther writes: "All the gifts we have should serve those who do not have them... to love those who are weak, troublesome, and unlearned -- this indeed is to love truly. Otherwise there is no brotherhood, but there is carnality" (Luther's Works, Vol. 30, p. 279).
Contrary to popular opinion, such leveling off wealth is the American way -- at least James Madison's version of it: "[T]he great objection should be to combat the evil [of faction] by withholding unnecessary opportunities from a few... By the silent operation of laws, which without violating the rights of property reduce extreme wealth toward a state of mediocrity and raise extreme indigence toward a state of comfort" (Papers, Vol. 14, p. 197).
Mark E.
1 Peter 2:19-25
My wife and I are helping a girl in prison near our residence. She was a former grade school pupil of my wife's years ago. When we first went to see her in jail before she was sentenced, she wept to see us. She had no real family in our area. Her father was in prison for killing her mother. Now she calls us Mom and Dad. The first thing she said when we went to see her: "Why did you come to see anyone as bad as me? I did a terrible thing and deserve jail!" She had stolen a CD from a store while under the influence of drugs and shot into the ceiling when they tried to stop her. She never tried to justify her actions because of the terrible situation she came out of. She only planned to endure her punishment.
It is much more fun to always blame the other guy when we have troubles. The divorces I have counseled usually put the blame for the divorce on the other partner. That is one reason we have courts: It is up to a judge to decide which side is guilty. Lawyers are hired to make excuses to get the guilty off if they can. Sufficient money can help.
One thing we Christians should do is to accept responsibility for our actions. We do that in a general way in the confessional part of the service every week. One Sunday I used the passage of scripture that told us to set right anything we may have done to hurt anyone before coming to the Lord's table. I suggested that before we continue, those who have hurt someone should get up now and apologize. I was amazed to find two members who went over to apologize to another member. We were all crying it was so moving, but the communion meant something more to most of the people there that Sunday.
On the other side, I have had some in Nepal who had been arrested for trying to convert someone. They could face a six-year prison sentence plus beatings. Some told me that they were released because they forgave the jailers who were hurting them. They even converted some.
I have read of some perpetrators in our courts who were given lighter sentences because they confessed to their sins -- with genuine feeling. I have seen marriages restored when there were meaningful confessions.
It is true that we sometimes try to excuse our faults because there are others who we feel are far worse than we are, but we should never forget our Lord who forgave those who were driving the nails into his body although he had done no sin. So we should think of our Lord and not ourselves first.
Bob O.
John 10:1-10
Let's not romanticize the sheep in the story of the good shepherd. Martin Luther says that sheep "are the most foolish and stupid animals" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 2/1, p. 21). We know that this description can also apply to us, for we do all sorts of stupid things -- lying, cheating, backstabbing -- the lifestyle Survivor and other reality shows glorify. Luther's version of the soft, loving voice of the good shepherd is a comforting, loving one, which calls us back to him: "Therefore [Jesus says] joyfully abide in me and let none other rule your consciences. Listen only to me who speak and by deeds prove this comforting word that I will not drive, trouble, or burden you... but most lovingly lead and guide, protect and help you" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 2/1, p. 62).
If you elect instead to focus on Jesus' parable of the gate (or door), John Calvin offers an insightful comment: "... so he [Christ] compares himself to a door, because there is no other entrance into the church but by himself. Hence it follows that they alone are good shepherds who lead men straight to Christ" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/2, p. 395).
About us foolish, stupid sheep, John Wesley assures us that "... he [Christ] counts them his own, dearer than any friend or brother..." (Commentary on the Bible, p. 464).
Mark E.
John 10:1-10
Robert and Helen Lynds were sociologists who studied the lifestyles of Middle America, selecting the city of Muncie, Indiana, as their centerpiece. Their conclusion, briefly summarized, is that men worked long hours and women took jobs outside of the home, both to the detriment of the family, in order to purchase displays that would cause envy among their neighbors. They published their book Middletown: A Study in Contemporary American Culture in 1929, prior to the stock market crash and the Great Depression. And, it should be noted, one of the major causes of the stock market crash was buying on credit.
Application: The abundant life that Jesus spoke of was not one of impressing one's neighbors with material goods, but with spiritual goods.
Ron L.
John 10:1-10
During the Palestinian uprising in the late 1980s, a village near Bethlehem was punished for not paying its taxes to the Israeli government. All the animals of the village were confiscated and placed in a large barbed-wire pen and guarded by the Israeli army. During the week a woman approached the commander and asked that he release her flock because her husband was dead and the animals were her only source of income. The officer pointed to the pen where hundreds of animals were incarcerated and quipped that it was impossible to find her specific herd. She begged that if she could separate them herself, would he be willing to let her take them home. He agreed. An army private let her in and quickly her son came by her side with a small reed flute. He played a medley of notes repeatedly. Soon heads of sheep began popping up across the huge pen. Mother and son were followed by their flock of 25 sheep as they walked home to the sound of the music.
Jesus said his sheep would know the sound of his voice.
(Gary M. Burge, NIV Application Commentary on John, p. 302)
Derl K.
The story is told of Associate Justice Joseph R. Lamar of the United States Supreme Court (1910-1916) who left an unusual legacy. In his will he left to his family his "friendships, many and numerous, in the hope that they will be cherished and continued."
My friends are the greatest and most prized possessions in my life and have been cultivated over a lifetime. The early Christians understood the significance of friendships. They realized it takes time, energy, and concern.
These friends are the ones who stand by us when we hurt and will not abandon us. They cry with us, laugh with us, and spend time with us because they genuinely like us. Nurturing friendships is important. The greatest friend we have is Jesus, and he will never leave us nor forsake us.
Derl K.
Acts 2:42-47
Philosopher and theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas was born circa 1225 in Roccasecca, Italy. Combining the theological principles of faith with the philosophical principles of reason, he ranked among the most influential thinkers of medieval scholasticism. The primary theologian of the Roman Catholic church and a prolific writer, Aquinas died on March 7, 1274, at the Cistercian monastery of Fossanova in Italy. Shortly after his death, Saint Thomas Aquinas' theological and philosophical writings rose to great public acclaim and reinforced a strong following among the Dominicans universities and seminaries. His main treatise, the multi-volume Summa Theologica, remains to this day the leading theology textbook for the Roman Catholic church. The influence of Saint Thomas Aquinas' writing has been so great, in fact, that an estimated 6,000 commentaries on his work exist to date. Aquinas in article 4 of the Summa notes that pride is the father of vain ambition and that it gradually wraps the soul around envy. Aquinas wrote that "the capital sins are so closely connected that one comes from another. The first offshoot of pride is vainglory, and this, by eating away at the afflicted soul, soon becomes envy. When the mind craves that prestige of an empty name then it also repines for fear lest someone else should be accorded it."
Application: Envy becomes the search and the snatching of what someone else may be entitled to. Realizing we go from pride to envy, we can then comprehend that, unlike the first-century Christians, we are unable to "hold all things in common."
Ron L.
Acts 2:42-47
The latest IRS statistics indicate that the gap between rich and poor in America reached levels in 2013 which are unprecedented. The gap has never been greater since 1928 (prior to the Depression). The top 10% of income earners captured 48.2% of the total U.S. income. And 95% of income gains since June 2009 have been pocketed by America's wealthiest 1%! Our lesson's reminder that the earliest Christians shared their wealth is a prophetic "nay" to these economic trends.
Famed modern theologian Karl Barth has lamented that we exploit each other economically (Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/4, p. 544ff). Elsewhere he comments on the disciples' sharing of goods: "And it will always be inevitable that there should be impulses in this direction wherever the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed and heard" (Ibid., Vol. IV/2, p. 178).
Regarding love for the poor Martin Luther writes: "All the gifts we have should serve those who do not have them... to love those who are weak, troublesome, and unlearned -- this indeed is to love truly. Otherwise there is no brotherhood, but there is carnality" (Luther's Works, Vol. 30, p. 279).
Contrary to popular opinion, such leveling off wealth is the American way -- at least James Madison's version of it: "[T]he great objection should be to combat the evil [of faction] by withholding unnecessary opportunities from a few... By the silent operation of laws, which without violating the rights of property reduce extreme wealth toward a state of mediocrity and raise extreme indigence toward a state of comfort" (Papers, Vol. 14, p. 197).
Mark E.
1 Peter 2:19-25
My wife and I are helping a girl in prison near our residence. She was a former grade school pupil of my wife's years ago. When we first went to see her in jail before she was sentenced, she wept to see us. She had no real family in our area. Her father was in prison for killing her mother. Now she calls us Mom and Dad. The first thing she said when we went to see her: "Why did you come to see anyone as bad as me? I did a terrible thing and deserve jail!" She had stolen a CD from a store while under the influence of drugs and shot into the ceiling when they tried to stop her. She never tried to justify her actions because of the terrible situation she came out of. She only planned to endure her punishment.
It is much more fun to always blame the other guy when we have troubles. The divorces I have counseled usually put the blame for the divorce on the other partner. That is one reason we have courts: It is up to a judge to decide which side is guilty. Lawyers are hired to make excuses to get the guilty off if they can. Sufficient money can help.
One thing we Christians should do is to accept responsibility for our actions. We do that in a general way in the confessional part of the service every week. One Sunday I used the passage of scripture that told us to set right anything we may have done to hurt anyone before coming to the Lord's table. I suggested that before we continue, those who have hurt someone should get up now and apologize. I was amazed to find two members who went over to apologize to another member. We were all crying it was so moving, but the communion meant something more to most of the people there that Sunday.
On the other side, I have had some in Nepal who had been arrested for trying to convert someone. They could face a six-year prison sentence plus beatings. Some told me that they were released because they forgave the jailers who were hurting them. They even converted some.
I have read of some perpetrators in our courts who were given lighter sentences because they confessed to their sins -- with genuine feeling. I have seen marriages restored when there were meaningful confessions.
It is true that we sometimes try to excuse our faults because there are others who we feel are far worse than we are, but we should never forget our Lord who forgave those who were driving the nails into his body although he had done no sin. So we should think of our Lord and not ourselves first.
Bob O.
John 10:1-10
Let's not romanticize the sheep in the story of the good shepherd. Martin Luther says that sheep "are the most foolish and stupid animals" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 2/1, p. 21). We know that this description can also apply to us, for we do all sorts of stupid things -- lying, cheating, backstabbing -- the lifestyle Survivor and other reality shows glorify. Luther's version of the soft, loving voice of the good shepherd is a comforting, loving one, which calls us back to him: "Therefore [Jesus says] joyfully abide in me and let none other rule your consciences. Listen only to me who speak and by deeds prove this comforting word that I will not drive, trouble, or burden you... but most lovingly lead and guide, protect and help you" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 2/1, p. 62).
If you elect instead to focus on Jesus' parable of the gate (or door), John Calvin offers an insightful comment: "... so he [Christ] compares himself to a door, because there is no other entrance into the church but by himself. Hence it follows that they alone are good shepherds who lead men straight to Christ" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/2, p. 395).
About us foolish, stupid sheep, John Wesley assures us that "... he [Christ] counts them his own, dearer than any friend or brother..." (Commentary on the Bible, p. 464).
Mark E.
John 10:1-10
Robert and Helen Lynds were sociologists who studied the lifestyles of Middle America, selecting the city of Muncie, Indiana, as their centerpiece. Their conclusion, briefly summarized, is that men worked long hours and women took jobs outside of the home, both to the detriment of the family, in order to purchase displays that would cause envy among their neighbors. They published their book Middletown: A Study in Contemporary American Culture in 1929, prior to the stock market crash and the Great Depression. And, it should be noted, one of the major causes of the stock market crash was buying on credit.
Application: The abundant life that Jesus spoke of was not one of impressing one's neighbors with material goods, but with spiritual goods.
Ron L.
John 10:1-10
During the Palestinian uprising in the late 1980s, a village near Bethlehem was punished for not paying its taxes to the Israeli government. All the animals of the village were confiscated and placed in a large barbed-wire pen and guarded by the Israeli army. During the week a woman approached the commander and asked that he release her flock because her husband was dead and the animals were her only source of income. The officer pointed to the pen where hundreds of animals were incarcerated and quipped that it was impossible to find her specific herd. She begged that if she could separate them herself, would he be willing to let her take them home. He agreed. An army private let her in and quickly her son came by her side with a small reed flute. He played a medley of notes repeatedly. Soon heads of sheep began popping up across the huge pen. Mother and son were followed by their flock of 25 sheep as they walked home to the sound of the music.
Jesus said his sheep would know the sound of his voice.
(Gary M. Burge, NIV Application Commentary on John, p. 302)
Derl K.
