Sermon Illustrations for Easter Day (2015)
Illustration
Object:
Acts 10:34-43
Witnessing to our faith in Christ is not always the easiest or the most understood exercise that we can do. Many of our founding fathers were Christians.
Patrick Henry was one of the most successful criminal attorneys of his time. He served in the First Continental Congress, and at the Virginia Convention in 1775 he sponsored measures for armed resistance against the British. He was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, and then opposed the Constitution because he thought it didn’t provide sufficiently for states and individual rights. Because he was concerned about the federal government’s authority, he championed the adoption of the Bill of Rights.
Near the end of his life, he became more and more alarmed at the spread of deism and atheism coming from what he called France’s “godless revolution.” He served five terms as governor of Virginia after the Revolutionary War. Although he was offered positions in the administrations of both Washington and Adams, he declined due to his health.
Toward the end of his life, he reportedly read his Bible for hours at a time. He once said to a neighbor: “This book is worth all the books that ever were printed, and it has been my misfortune that I never found time to read it with the proper attention and feeling till lately.”
In a letter to his daughter dated August 20, 1796, he wrote: “Amongst other strange things said of me, I hear it is said by the deists that I am one of the number; and indeed, that some good people think I am no Christian. This thought gives me much more pain than the appellation of Tory; because I think religion of infinitely higher importance than politics; and I find much cause to reproach myself that I have lived so long, and have given no decided and public proofs of my being a Christian. But, indeed, my dear child, this is a character which I prize far above all this world has, or can boast.”
On his deathbed, Patrick Henry said: “Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die.... I am, however, much consoled by reflecting that the religion of Christ has, from its first appearance in the world, been attacked in vain by all the wits, philosophers, and wise ones, aided by every power of man, and its triumphs have been complete.”
On November 20, 1798, in his Last Will and Testament, Patrick Henry wrote: “This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed” (material garnered from http://www.faithofourfathers.net/henry.html).
Because of the death and resurrection of Christ, every person has the opportunity to know that Christ has come to redeem them for eternity and we need to witness to that fact. Who at this Easter time can you witness to for Christ’s sake?
Derl K.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
How often have you heard someone remark “When I get to heaven I’m going to sit down and have a talk with the apostle Paul about something he wrote in one of his letters!”? Have you ever thought how it might not be as easy as you think?
Mark Twain once wrote a short piece of fiction in which a newcomer to heaven assumes he can talk to the apostles like Peter and Paul whenever he’d like, but soon discovers that he’ll have to get in line behind millions of other people who also want a talk with a big-name apostle.
Fortunately eternity is a good long time, so if you’re patient I’m sure you’ll get your turn. I, for one, have a question for Paul. In today’s passage from 1 Corinthians he gives us an impressive list of witnesses to the resurrection ? Cephas (or Peter) and the rest of the twelve, and James the brother of Jesus, and over 500 sisters and brothers, as well as everyone else who is called an apostle.
So where’s Mary of Magdala? She is present in all four gospel accounts of the resurrection, and she seems to have been such an important witness that many nowadays call her “the First Apostle.” So where is she? Because she’s certainly an important player in today’s resurrection passage from the gospel of John.
Frank R.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
This is a text for reflecting on how the resurrection changes life. American Episcopalian Floyd Tomkins nicely describes the difference Easter makes: “Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weaknesses and despair to strength and beauty and happiness. The things that the resurrection will make you do are awfully sweet, satisfying, and good for society.”
Evangelical apologist Josh McDowell also helps us appreciate what the resurrection offers us: “No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good.”
And famed American social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr profoundly depicts how Easter gives life meaning: “To believe that the body is resurrected is to say, therefore, that eternity is not a cancellation of time and history but that history is fulfilled in eternity.... For history would be meaningless succession without the eternal purpose which bears it” (Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life, p. 116).
Nothing matters much in life, it is all accidental, meaningless business, if there is no eternal life.
Mark E.
John 20:1-18
From the early days Christians have celebrated Sunday rather than Saturday as the holy day ? because that is the day Jesus rose. It is true that the commandments say that the seventh day is the day of rest, but Jesus’ resurrection changed all that ? except for the Seventh-Day Adventists, of course, who take the commandment more literally.
Since the sabbath was still the day of rest, it was assumed that the disciples would not tend to Jesus’ body until the next day, but when they came that next day the tomb was empty! They suspected culprits, and from that day on the Jews told everyone that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body. They were both looking for an answer. They had not comprehended scripture nor Jesus’ words to them before he was crucified. I wonder if we would? Today most Christians have trouble believing any miraculous thing that Jesus has done. Some have happened to me, but when I tell about them to most people they look at me like I am making them up. The other message that we might draw from this is that we need to spend more time searching scripture to hear God speaking to us.
One of synod leaders in Canada reported on a book by a Pentecostal who said that he was merely quoting what Jesus was saying to him. That leader said it must have been the Lord, because all he said was good Lutheran doctrine.
It is interesting that Peter and John (who was younger and ran faster) only see the empty tomb. I don’t know if we can see a message from the fact that the graveclothes were neatly arranged. There was no bloody mess as you might expect! Does this tell us something about the way God works?
It may interest some that Jesus did not appear to the disciples. He waits and appears to the womenfolk first! They get to talk to angels in the tomb. Mary was the first one to hear Jesus’ voice. Even then she doesn’t recognize it for an instant. As soon as she knows it is him, she calls him “Rabboni,” which was the highest title for any teacher. I have wondered if we will hear the loving voice of Jesus when we close our eyes for the last time!
The disciples still have trouble believing. Is it partly that they can’t imagine Jesus not talking to them first? That was one thing that bothered the Pharisees ? that Jesus did not work through channels. He went directly to the people. That would be a problem even in today’s world.
This passage has the greatest message for all people for all time! It gives us hope that all we read in God’s word is true and that it really happened and will still happen for all those who believe!
Bob O.
John 20:1-18
This story that touched my heart I first read in The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart by Chuck Swindoll, though I have found it in other publications as well. It concerns a young boy named Philip who was born with Down syndrome. He attended a third-grade Sunday school class with several eight-year-old boys and girls. At first the children did not readily accept Philip with his differences, according to an article in Leadership magazine. But because of an innovative teacher, they began to care about Philip and accept him as part of the group, though not completely.
The Sunday after Easter the teacher brought L'eggs pantyhose containers, the kind that look like large eggs. After each child received one, they were told to go outside on that lovely spring day, find some symbol for new life, and put it in the egg-like container. When they returned to classroom, they would share their new-life symbols, opening the containers one by one in surprise fashion. After looking madly over the grounds, the students returned to the classroom and placed their containers on the table. Surrounded by the children, the teacher began to open them one by one. After each one, whether a flower, butterfly, or leaf, the class would ooh and ahh.
Then one was opened which revealed nothing inside. The children exclaimed, “That’s stupid. That’s not fair. Somebody didn’t do their assignment.”
Philip spoke up. “That’s mine.”
“Philip, you don’t ever do things right!” the other students retorted. “There’s nothing there!”
“I did so do it,” Philip insisted. “I did do it. It’s empty. The tomb was empty!”
Silence followed. From then on Philip became a full member of the class. He died not long afterward from an infection most normal children would have shrugged off. At the funeral, this class of eight-year-olds marched up to the altar not with flowers but with their Sunday school teacher, each to lay upon it an empty pantyhose egg.
(Harry Pritchett Jr., Leadership magazine, Summer 1985; retold at sermonillustrations.com)
Derl K.
John 20:1-18
You know how you get a picture in your mind, and after a while you just assume it’s true? Like even Bible stuff? Like, for instance, Mary riding a donkey on the road to Bethlehem before she gives birth to Jesus? It’s on all kinds of Christmas cards, even though there’s no donkey mentioned anywhere, and we have no reason to believe Mary did anything other than walk three days from Nazareth to the city of David.
Well, Easter cards show a round stone rolled away from the tomb on the morning of the resurrection, but there is really no evidence that Mary of Magdala arrived at a tomb that had been covered by a round stone. According to Amos Kloner, more than 900 tombs have been found around Jerusalem that come from the same era as Jesus and only four were covered with massive round stones. The others were covered with massive square stones!
And while it might just be possible that a round stone covered the tomb, in today’s gospel passage from John the evangelist uses the verb airo,which means “take away” not “roll away.”
(Source: Amos Kloner, “Did a Rolling Stone Close Jesus’ Tomb?” from Biblical Archaeological Review,Sept./Oct. 1999)
Frank R.
Witnessing to our faith in Christ is not always the easiest or the most understood exercise that we can do. Many of our founding fathers were Christians.
Patrick Henry was one of the most successful criminal attorneys of his time. He served in the First Continental Congress, and at the Virginia Convention in 1775 he sponsored measures for armed resistance against the British. He was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, and then opposed the Constitution because he thought it didn’t provide sufficiently for states and individual rights. Because he was concerned about the federal government’s authority, he championed the adoption of the Bill of Rights.
Near the end of his life, he became more and more alarmed at the spread of deism and atheism coming from what he called France’s “godless revolution.” He served five terms as governor of Virginia after the Revolutionary War. Although he was offered positions in the administrations of both Washington and Adams, he declined due to his health.
Toward the end of his life, he reportedly read his Bible for hours at a time. He once said to a neighbor: “This book is worth all the books that ever were printed, and it has been my misfortune that I never found time to read it with the proper attention and feeling till lately.”
In a letter to his daughter dated August 20, 1796, he wrote: “Amongst other strange things said of me, I hear it is said by the deists that I am one of the number; and indeed, that some good people think I am no Christian. This thought gives me much more pain than the appellation of Tory; because I think religion of infinitely higher importance than politics; and I find much cause to reproach myself that I have lived so long, and have given no decided and public proofs of my being a Christian. But, indeed, my dear child, this is a character which I prize far above all this world has, or can boast.”
On his deathbed, Patrick Henry said: “Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die.... I am, however, much consoled by reflecting that the religion of Christ has, from its first appearance in the world, been attacked in vain by all the wits, philosophers, and wise ones, aided by every power of man, and its triumphs have been complete.”
On November 20, 1798, in his Last Will and Testament, Patrick Henry wrote: “This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed” (material garnered from http://www.faithofourfathers.net/henry.html).
Because of the death and resurrection of Christ, every person has the opportunity to know that Christ has come to redeem them for eternity and we need to witness to that fact. Who at this Easter time can you witness to for Christ’s sake?
Derl K.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
How often have you heard someone remark “When I get to heaven I’m going to sit down and have a talk with the apostle Paul about something he wrote in one of his letters!”? Have you ever thought how it might not be as easy as you think?
Mark Twain once wrote a short piece of fiction in which a newcomer to heaven assumes he can talk to the apostles like Peter and Paul whenever he’d like, but soon discovers that he’ll have to get in line behind millions of other people who also want a talk with a big-name apostle.
Fortunately eternity is a good long time, so if you’re patient I’m sure you’ll get your turn. I, for one, have a question for Paul. In today’s passage from 1 Corinthians he gives us an impressive list of witnesses to the resurrection ? Cephas (or Peter) and the rest of the twelve, and James the brother of Jesus, and over 500 sisters and brothers, as well as everyone else who is called an apostle.
So where’s Mary of Magdala? She is present in all four gospel accounts of the resurrection, and she seems to have been such an important witness that many nowadays call her “the First Apostle.” So where is she? Because she’s certainly an important player in today’s resurrection passage from the gospel of John.
Frank R.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
This is a text for reflecting on how the resurrection changes life. American Episcopalian Floyd Tomkins nicely describes the difference Easter makes: “Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weaknesses and despair to strength and beauty and happiness. The things that the resurrection will make you do are awfully sweet, satisfying, and good for society.”
Evangelical apologist Josh McDowell also helps us appreciate what the resurrection offers us: “No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good.”
And famed American social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr profoundly depicts how Easter gives life meaning: “To believe that the body is resurrected is to say, therefore, that eternity is not a cancellation of time and history but that history is fulfilled in eternity.... For history would be meaningless succession without the eternal purpose which bears it” (Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life, p. 116).
Nothing matters much in life, it is all accidental, meaningless business, if there is no eternal life.
Mark E.
John 20:1-18
From the early days Christians have celebrated Sunday rather than Saturday as the holy day ? because that is the day Jesus rose. It is true that the commandments say that the seventh day is the day of rest, but Jesus’ resurrection changed all that ? except for the Seventh-Day Adventists, of course, who take the commandment more literally.
Since the sabbath was still the day of rest, it was assumed that the disciples would not tend to Jesus’ body until the next day, but when they came that next day the tomb was empty! They suspected culprits, and from that day on the Jews told everyone that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body. They were both looking for an answer. They had not comprehended scripture nor Jesus’ words to them before he was crucified. I wonder if we would? Today most Christians have trouble believing any miraculous thing that Jesus has done. Some have happened to me, but when I tell about them to most people they look at me like I am making them up. The other message that we might draw from this is that we need to spend more time searching scripture to hear God speaking to us.
One of synod leaders in Canada reported on a book by a Pentecostal who said that he was merely quoting what Jesus was saying to him. That leader said it must have been the Lord, because all he said was good Lutheran doctrine.
It is interesting that Peter and John (who was younger and ran faster) only see the empty tomb. I don’t know if we can see a message from the fact that the graveclothes were neatly arranged. There was no bloody mess as you might expect! Does this tell us something about the way God works?
It may interest some that Jesus did not appear to the disciples. He waits and appears to the womenfolk first! They get to talk to angels in the tomb. Mary was the first one to hear Jesus’ voice. Even then she doesn’t recognize it for an instant. As soon as she knows it is him, she calls him “Rabboni,” which was the highest title for any teacher. I have wondered if we will hear the loving voice of Jesus when we close our eyes for the last time!
The disciples still have trouble believing. Is it partly that they can’t imagine Jesus not talking to them first? That was one thing that bothered the Pharisees ? that Jesus did not work through channels. He went directly to the people. That would be a problem even in today’s world.
This passage has the greatest message for all people for all time! It gives us hope that all we read in God’s word is true and that it really happened and will still happen for all those who believe!
Bob O.
John 20:1-18
This story that touched my heart I first read in The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart by Chuck Swindoll, though I have found it in other publications as well. It concerns a young boy named Philip who was born with Down syndrome. He attended a third-grade Sunday school class with several eight-year-old boys and girls. At first the children did not readily accept Philip with his differences, according to an article in Leadership magazine. But because of an innovative teacher, they began to care about Philip and accept him as part of the group, though not completely.
The Sunday after Easter the teacher brought L'eggs pantyhose containers, the kind that look like large eggs. After each child received one, they were told to go outside on that lovely spring day, find some symbol for new life, and put it in the egg-like container. When they returned to classroom, they would share their new-life symbols, opening the containers one by one in surprise fashion. After looking madly over the grounds, the students returned to the classroom and placed their containers on the table. Surrounded by the children, the teacher began to open them one by one. After each one, whether a flower, butterfly, or leaf, the class would ooh and ahh.
Then one was opened which revealed nothing inside. The children exclaimed, “That’s stupid. That’s not fair. Somebody didn’t do their assignment.”
Philip spoke up. “That’s mine.”
“Philip, you don’t ever do things right!” the other students retorted. “There’s nothing there!”
“I did so do it,” Philip insisted. “I did do it. It’s empty. The tomb was empty!”
Silence followed. From then on Philip became a full member of the class. He died not long afterward from an infection most normal children would have shrugged off. At the funeral, this class of eight-year-olds marched up to the altar not with flowers but with their Sunday school teacher, each to lay upon it an empty pantyhose egg.
(Harry Pritchett Jr., Leadership magazine, Summer 1985; retold at sermonillustrations.com)
Derl K.
John 20:1-18
You know how you get a picture in your mind, and after a while you just assume it’s true? Like even Bible stuff? Like, for instance, Mary riding a donkey on the road to Bethlehem before she gives birth to Jesus? It’s on all kinds of Christmas cards, even though there’s no donkey mentioned anywhere, and we have no reason to believe Mary did anything other than walk three days from Nazareth to the city of David.
Well, Easter cards show a round stone rolled away from the tomb on the morning of the resurrection, but there is really no evidence that Mary of Magdala arrived at a tomb that had been covered by a round stone. According to Amos Kloner, more than 900 tombs have been found around Jerusalem that come from the same era as Jesus and only four were covered with massive round stones. The others were covered with massive square stones!
And while it might just be possible that a round stone covered the tomb, in today’s gospel passage from John the evangelist uses the verb airo,which means “take away” not “roll away.”
(Source: Amos Kloner, “Did a Rolling Stone Close Jesus’ Tomb?” from Biblical Archaeological Review,Sept./Oct. 1999)
Frank R.
