Sermon Illustrations For Easter 5 (2017)
Illustration
Acts 7:55-60
Stephen is one of the first Jesus-followers to be martyred. He held onto his faith, even as he was being questioned and ridiculed by the leaders of the church. He stood fast in what he knew to be true. Then, even as they were stoning him to death, he asked God to take his spirit and not to hold the sin against them. This is very reminiscent of Jesus saying, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
How do we respond when our faith is challenged, when what we know to be true is ridiculed? Often we respond with harshness and arguments, thinking we can overcome the disagreements with being forceful in our reply. But Jesus and Stephen give us another example. Stephen just proclaims what he knows to be true. He does not condemn those who believe differently, even when they are killing him. Rather, he shines as an example of God’s love and mercy through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In these days of so much difference and division, maybe loving and forgiving one another is the way to go.
Bonnie B.
Acts 7:55-60
Modern executions -- excruciating for victim, witnesses, and those operating the machinery of death -- are conducted with a misplaced sense of decorum and calm. By contrast, stoning required immediate reaction by ordinary citizens transformed into an outraged community. The victim was seized, dragged to, and cast off the city wall, then pummeled with stones until dead.
What are the odds that an individual will be enraged enough to take part in a lynching, in full view of one’s neighbors? What are the odds that emotions are so inflamed that regardless of personal feelings one would prefer to be part of the mob rather than stand against it?
The speed of the proceedings was essential. Stephen’s execution involved no hearing, no Sanhedrin, just a lynching. Igniting and inflaming rage was essential. There could be no doubt among the participants, or the execution would not take place.
Bear in mind that this sort of emotion doesn’t last. Take, for example, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the premature death of his assassin before he could be tried and properly hung. The communal rage that ensued ensured that the verdict for four involved in the conspiracy (including a woman, Mary Surratt) would be death by hanging. However, a few years later emotions had subsided, and Surratt’s son, despite his complicity in the plot, was pardoned upon his return from England. The country had no more stomach for vengeance.
Frank R.
Acts 7:55-60
This passage sounds like our political race for the presidency last year, though a bit more violent. The only thing missing today is a cry of forgiveness for those who are shouting at us on the other side.
One article said that most people refuse to listen to anyone speaking contrary to their prejudices and beliefs. Doesn’t that sound like politics? Even in our country it sounds like standard practice for politicians. Can that apply to our faith also? The new president’s latest word is that now we can talk politics from the pulpit.
Now and then we can hear a little of this from some denominations in our country who cover their ears and don’t want to hear the other side of the story. But it is much more violent in other countries that complain loudly against Christians. Muslims in some Islamic countries are ready to kill non-Muslims -- even members of their own family who may differ with them! It makes it hard to forgive, though it is God’s command that we forgive even those who are killing us.
The saying “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” indicates that willingness to suffer for our faith can win many to our faith. It doesn’t make sense, but it is true. We have seen it over the years, and can still see it today.
This should tell us not to persecute non-Christians if we don’t want them to grow and hurt us!
Paul started as a persecutor, but it took a personal vision of our Lord to change him. If we have not changed, what will it take to make us more accepting?
Bob O.
1 Peter 2:2-10
Busch Stadium, in St. Louis, Missouri, is home to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. For Cardinals fans, Busch Stadium is like baseball heaven. It is a relatively new ballpark that is steeped in tradition. The Cardinals Hall of Fame is on the grounds there. There are statues or monuments to past Cardinal greats. You can’t walk around the stadium and not catch a glimpse of who the Cardinals are or why they matter. The Cardinals do a lot of things right in that area. One thing that may not get noticed very much is at the main entrance to the stadium. At Gate A the sidewalk is paved with bricks. If you look closely, you’ll see that those bricks are in honor or memory of different people. A couple that are good friends of mine lost a baby just days after his birth. To honor his memory, they bought a memorial brick. Whenever I find myself at that ballpark, I look for his brick and remember him and his parents.
I thought about that again as I read through this passage. Though I like the idea of memorial bricks, there is something more incredible described in this passage. “Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” In Jesus Christ, we are living stones that are being built up into a spiritual house. Your life, like a stone, is being used by God to build something wonderful. It’s impressive to see Lou Brock’s brick at Busch Stadium. It is also impressive and humbling that God is using my life, like a stone, to build something for his kingdom.
Bill T.
1 Peter 2:2-10
Famed political scientist Charles Murray has observed that “vocation -- one’s calling in life -- plays a large role in defining the meaning of that life” (Coming Apart, p. 168). Commenting on the white working class (the very constituency that elected Donald Trump and is becoming less religious [Coming Apart, pp. 200-208]), Murray observes that between 1973 and 1994 this class is 15% less interested in meaningful work, more interested in working less hours and job security (Coming Apart, p. 169). The American worker is just working to survive, just living for the weekends! Does this not help explain the dissatisfaction with life in this class which the Trump election revealed and also its decline of morality -- illustrated with the white working class’ identification with President Trump’s lifestyle (Coming Apart, pp.127-143)? This lesson and its call to the priesthood of all believers may be an antidote we need.
Martin Luther and other Protestant reformers understood our jobs as a calling from God: “Your work is a very sacred matter. God delights in it, and through it he wants to bestow his blessing on you. This praise of work should be inscribed on all tools, on the forehead and the face that sweat from toil” (What Luther Says, p. 1493).
Consequently our jobs understood as a call from God are sacred -- have meaning: “This serves to show us that for a Christian to pursue his calling he does not have to withdraw or be free from the secular realm or exchange his calling for some new lifestyle like the monks” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 7, p. 174).
Work can become more meaningful and exciting when we begin to view it as sacred, as a chance to serve God.
Mark E.
1 Peter 2:2-10
Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born in Yate, Gloucestershire, England (near Bristol), where she attended school and discovered her love for fantasy writing. She later graduated from Exeter College and moved to Portugal to teach English as a second language. There she married and had a daughter. But divorce required her to return to Scotland in 1993. In Scotland, Rowling was unable to live on welfare. She soon became depressed and contemplated suicide. It was then that she decided to write her own fantasy story. Every day after walking her daughter to school, Rowling would go to the local café, and while drinking tea would write her novel. Once completed, after a number of rejections, she sold her book titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Today, Rowling is the wealthiest woman in Great Britain, having even more wealth than the queen herself.
Application: In our reading we are inspired to grow and mature, and in doing so we can do great things.
Ron L.
John 14:1-14
Arguing the proof of the existence of God is almost impossible. Just as someone can argue that God doesn’t exist, those of us who believe can argue the reverse. But what is the proof of God’s existence? Jesus would say the fruits of our faith are the proof of God’s grace and existence in the world. Philip, in this passage, seems a little like Thomas, asking, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
Jesus’ response is simple. To paraphrase, he says: “Haven’t you been paying attention? Haven’t you seen me and the works and ministry I have done? If you have, then you have seen the Father, the Creator, God as well. We are one. When we align ourselves, we are one.”
Friends, when we align ourselves with God through Jesus Christ, strengthened by the Spirit, acting in the world with grace, mercy, reconciliation, compassion, and love, there can be no doubt that God lives. That is the proof of God’s existence and of the risen Christ, to live a life aligned with God, a life of righteousness in the face of the challenges in our world. When we are aligned with God, we are one.
Bonnie B.
John 14:1-14
I like to say that the Bible doesn’t change, but the English language does. There’s a crucial word in this passage that is beloved, well-known, and sometimes mistranslated or misunderstood. The King James Version (1611) translated John 14:2 as “In my Father's house are many mansions...” That has led some folks to expect that they’ll have a lavish and giant house all to themselves in the hereafter.
Perhaps they will. However, the Oxford English Dictionary, which not only defines words but tells their story century by century, defines “mansion” as “a place where one stays or dwells; a place of abode, an abiding place.” Only later would it come to mean a large building.
The Greek word behind this all, monai, refers to a room, one of many in a Roman household. Typically 100 people or more might dwell in such a villa (no doubt as was the case when Lydia invited Paul and Silas to stay at her home in Philippi). The implication is that not only does Jesus intend to live with us, but he intends for us to live with each other.
The people in a household included the head of the household, extended family, artisans, and slaves as well as individuals such as poets, playwrights, philosophers, or religious leaders who were sponsored, often by the spouse of the household head. When you consider that slaves did not own their own bodies, much less the surroundings in which they lived, perhaps sleeping in a promise from Jesus that someone in relationship to Jesus would have a room of their very own might have sounded wonderful beyond imagining.
The big thing is that Jesus promises his disciples (including us) that we will all live together in the Kingdom of God, not that we’ll be separated by strong walls and high fences from each other.
Frank R.
John 14:1-14
Do we know where Jesus went and is now? Have we Christians seen heaven? Don’t we all ask Thomas’ question? Do we believe just because we are told to believe in our church (and by our parents)?
How can we “know” Jesus? We know “about” Jesus. We have heard and read the details, but do we “know” him?
I spent three years in seminary learning “about” Jesus. Only a few professors introduced us to him by the kind of life they lived. Only God’s Spirit can introduce us to Jesus, even if we are invited to see him by someone else. When people came to the disciples and asked about Jesus, their response was most often “come and see.” Yes, it is good to know about Jesus either before or after we have “met” him!
We can meet Jesus in our church. Our pastor can introduce us. One sign that we have met and know Jesus is our faithful attendance at worship. How many of our children are not heard from again after confirmation? Is that a sign that they were never introduced?
I met Jesus about 15 years after I was told about him. I was a doubting Thomas up till then.
One introduction is through miracles. We Lutherans don’t see too many unless you belong to the Charismatic Lutherans, as I do. I have seen people healed without a doctor! It still comes as a shock to me. We like to find out what “really” caused a miracle. It rattles our scientific minds if we can’t find a “logical” explanation. Even one of the books we read in seminary tried to explain what “really” happened when a biblical miracle was proclaimed. Many can’t believe until and unless it happens to them. Then when we tell it to someone else, they often respond “that’s an interesting story” and let it go at that. If we have seen one and tell someone else, they may even ridicule us for believing it.
We can come to know Jesus by coming to our church and reading his word and putting it into practice in our lives. Our church can help us if our mind is open. When Jesus has come into our heart, we know we have experienced a miracle. We still come every week searching for his presence in our lives. Don’t ever give up the search!
Bob O.
Stephen is one of the first Jesus-followers to be martyred. He held onto his faith, even as he was being questioned and ridiculed by the leaders of the church. He stood fast in what he knew to be true. Then, even as they were stoning him to death, he asked God to take his spirit and not to hold the sin against them. This is very reminiscent of Jesus saying, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
How do we respond when our faith is challenged, when what we know to be true is ridiculed? Often we respond with harshness and arguments, thinking we can overcome the disagreements with being forceful in our reply. But Jesus and Stephen give us another example. Stephen just proclaims what he knows to be true. He does not condemn those who believe differently, even when they are killing him. Rather, he shines as an example of God’s love and mercy through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In these days of so much difference and division, maybe loving and forgiving one another is the way to go.
Bonnie B.
Acts 7:55-60
Modern executions -- excruciating for victim, witnesses, and those operating the machinery of death -- are conducted with a misplaced sense of decorum and calm. By contrast, stoning required immediate reaction by ordinary citizens transformed into an outraged community. The victim was seized, dragged to, and cast off the city wall, then pummeled with stones until dead.
What are the odds that an individual will be enraged enough to take part in a lynching, in full view of one’s neighbors? What are the odds that emotions are so inflamed that regardless of personal feelings one would prefer to be part of the mob rather than stand against it?
The speed of the proceedings was essential. Stephen’s execution involved no hearing, no Sanhedrin, just a lynching. Igniting and inflaming rage was essential. There could be no doubt among the participants, or the execution would not take place.
Bear in mind that this sort of emotion doesn’t last. Take, for example, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the premature death of his assassin before he could be tried and properly hung. The communal rage that ensued ensured that the verdict for four involved in the conspiracy (including a woman, Mary Surratt) would be death by hanging. However, a few years later emotions had subsided, and Surratt’s son, despite his complicity in the plot, was pardoned upon his return from England. The country had no more stomach for vengeance.
Frank R.
Acts 7:55-60
This passage sounds like our political race for the presidency last year, though a bit more violent. The only thing missing today is a cry of forgiveness for those who are shouting at us on the other side.
One article said that most people refuse to listen to anyone speaking contrary to their prejudices and beliefs. Doesn’t that sound like politics? Even in our country it sounds like standard practice for politicians. Can that apply to our faith also? The new president’s latest word is that now we can talk politics from the pulpit.
Now and then we can hear a little of this from some denominations in our country who cover their ears and don’t want to hear the other side of the story. But it is much more violent in other countries that complain loudly against Christians. Muslims in some Islamic countries are ready to kill non-Muslims -- even members of their own family who may differ with them! It makes it hard to forgive, though it is God’s command that we forgive even those who are killing us.
The saying “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” indicates that willingness to suffer for our faith can win many to our faith. It doesn’t make sense, but it is true. We have seen it over the years, and can still see it today.
This should tell us not to persecute non-Christians if we don’t want them to grow and hurt us!
Paul started as a persecutor, but it took a personal vision of our Lord to change him. If we have not changed, what will it take to make us more accepting?
Bob O.
1 Peter 2:2-10
Busch Stadium, in St. Louis, Missouri, is home to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. For Cardinals fans, Busch Stadium is like baseball heaven. It is a relatively new ballpark that is steeped in tradition. The Cardinals Hall of Fame is on the grounds there. There are statues or monuments to past Cardinal greats. You can’t walk around the stadium and not catch a glimpse of who the Cardinals are or why they matter. The Cardinals do a lot of things right in that area. One thing that may not get noticed very much is at the main entrance to the stadium. At Gate A the sidewalk is paved with bricks. If you look closely, you’ll see that those bricks are in honor or memory of different people. A couple that are good friends of mine lost a baby just days after his birth. To honor his memory, they bought a memorial brick. Whenever I find myself at that ballpark, I look for his brick and remember him and his parents.
I thought about that again as I read through this passage. Though I like the idea of memorial bricks, there is something more incredible described in this passage. “Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” In Jesus Christ, we are living stones that are being built up into a spiritual house. Your life, like a stone, is being used by God to build something wonderful. It’s impressive to see Lou Brock’s brick at Busch Stadium. It is also impressive and humbling that God is using my life, like a stone, to build something for his kingdom.
Bill T.
1 Peter 2:2-10
Famed political scientist Charles Murray has observed that “vocation -- one’s calling in life -- plays a large role in defining the meaning of that life” (Coming Apart, p. 168). Commenting on the white working class (the very constituency that elected Donald Trump and is becoming less religious [Coming Apart, pp. 200-208]), Murray observes that between 1973 and 1994 this class is 15% less interested in meaningful work, more interested in working less hours and job security (Coming Apart, p. 169). The American worker is just working to survive, just living for the weekends! Does this not help explain the dissatisfaction with life in this class which the Trump election revealed and also its decline of morality -- illustrated with the white working class’ identification with President Trump’s lifestyle (Coming Apart, pp.127-143)? This lesson and its call to the priesthood of all believers may be an antidote we need.
Martin Luther and other Protestant reformers understood our jobs as a calling from God: “Your work is a very sacred matter. God delights in it, and through it he wants to bestow his blessing on you. This praise of work should be inscribed on all tools, on the forehead and the face that sweat from toil” (What Luther Says, p. 1493).
Consequently our jobs understood as a call from God are sacred -- have meaning: “This serves to show us that for a Christian to pursue his calling he does not have to withdraw or be free from the secular realm or exchange his calling for some new lifestyle like the monks” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 7, p. 174).
Work can become more meaningful and exciting when we begin to view it as sacred, as a chance to serve God.
Mark E.
1 Peter 2:2-10
Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born in Yate, Gloucestershire, England (near Bristol), where she attended school and discovered her love for fantasy writing. She later graduated from Exeter College and moved to Portugal to teach English as a second language. There she married and had a daughter. But divorce required her to return to Scotland in 1993. In Scotland, Rowling was unable to live on welfare. She soon became depressed and contemplated suicide. It was then that she decided to write her own fantasy story. Every day after walking her daughter to school, Rowling would go to the local café, and while drinking tea would write her novel. Once completed, after a number of rejections, she sold her book titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Today, Rowling is the wealthiest woman in Great Britain, having even more wealth than the queen herself.
Application: In our reading we are inspired to grow and mature, and in doing so we can do great things.
Ron L.
John 14:1-14
Arguing the proof of the existence of God is almost impossible. Just as someone can argue that God doesn’t exist, those of us who believe can argue the reverse. But what is the proof of God’s existence? Jesus would say the fruits of our faith are the proof of God’s grace and existence in the world. Philip, in this passage, seems a little like Thomas, asking, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
Jesus’ response is simple. To paraphrase, he says: “Haven’t you been paying attention? Haven’t you seen me and the works and ministry I have done? If you have, then you have seen the Father, the Creator, God as well. We are one. When we align ourselves, we are one.”
Friends, when we align ourselves with God through Jesus Christ, strengthened by the Spirit, acting in the world with grace, mercy, reconciliation, compassion, and love, there can be no doubt that God lives. That is the proof of God’s existence and of the risen Christ, to live a life aligned with God, a life of righteousness in the face of the challenges in our world. When we are aligned with God, we are one.
Bonnie B.
John 14:1-14
I like to say that the Bible doesn’t change, but the English language does. There’s a crucial word in this passage that is beloved, well-known, and sometimes mistranslated or misunderstood. The King James Version (1611) translated John 14:2 as “In my Father's house are many mansions...” That has led some folks to expect that they’ll have a lavish and giant house all to themselves in the hereafter.
Perhaps they will. However, the Oxford English Dictionary, which not only defines words but tells their story century by century, defines “mansion” as “a place where one stays or dwells; a place of abode, an abiding place.” Only later would it come to mean a large building.
The Greek word behind this all, monai, refers to a room, one of many in a Roman household. Typically 100 people or more might dwell in such a villa (no doubt as was the case when Lydia invited Paul and Silas to stay at her home in Philippi). The implication is that not only does Jesus intend to live with us, but he intends for us to live with each other.
The people in a household included the head of the household, extended family, artisans, and slaves as well as individuals such as poets, playwrights, philosophers, or religious leaders who were sponsored, often by the spouse of the household head. When you consider that slaves did not own their own bodies, much less the surroundings in which they lived, perhaps sleeping in a promise from Jesus that someone in relationship to Jesus would have a room of their very own might have sounded wonderful beyond imagining.
The big thing is that Jesus promises his disciples (including us) that we will all live together in the Kingdom of God, not that we’ll be separated by strong walls and high fences from each other.
Frank R.
John 14:1-14
Do we know where Jesus went and is now? Have we Christians seen heaven? Don’t we all ask Thomas’ question? Do we believe just because we are told to believe in our church (and by our parents)?
How can we “know” Jesus? We know “about” Jesus. We have heard and read the details, but do we “know” him?
I spent three years in seminary learning “about” Jesus. Only a few professors introduced us to him by the kind of life they lived. Only God’s Spirit can introduce us to Jesus, even if we are invited to see him by someone else. When people came to the disciples and asked about Jesus, their response was most often “come and see.” Yes, it is good to know about Jesus either before or after we have “met” him!
We can meet Jesus in our church. Our pastor can introduce us. One sign that we have met and know Jesus is our faithful attendance at worship. How many of our children are not heard from again after confirmation? Is that a sign that they were never introduced?
I met Jesus about 15 years after I was told about him. I was a doubting Thomas up till then.
One introduction is through miracles. We Lutherans don’t see too many unless you belong to the Charismatic Lutherans, as I do. I have seen people healed without a doctor! It still comes as a shock to me. We like to find out what “really” caused a miracle. It rattles our scientific minds if we can’t find a “logical” explanation. Even one of the books we read in seminary tried to explain what “really” happened when a biblical miracle was proclaimed. Many can’t believe until and unless it happens to them. Then when we tell it to someone else, they often respond “that’s an interesting story” and let it go at that. If we have seen one and tell someone else, they may even ridicule us for believing it.
We can come to know Jesus by coming to our church and reading his word and putting it into practice in our lives. Our church can help us if our mind is open. When Jesus has come into our heart, we know we have experienced a miracle. We still come every week searching for his presence in our lives. Don’t ever give up the search!
Bob O.
