Sermon Illustrations For Easter Sunday (2017)
Illustration
Acts 10:34-43
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus who we proclaim as our Lord. What does this mean for you? What does this mean for us who identify ourselves as Christians? Simply phrased, “God wins.” Sin doesn’t win. Hate doesn’t win. Political power doesn’t win. Fear doesn’t win. God wins. In spite of the sacrifice Jesus made, or maybe because of the sacrifice, God honored and honors him above all others.
We are called as Jesus’ followers to make the same proclamation the apostles and disciples made in the first century. We are called to preach to the people and to testify to the power of God through Jesus: sins are forgiven, life is restored, and love overcomes hate and even death. How we choose to preach and testify is up to us. We can preach from a pulpit or through our actions in the world. We can say we are redeemed or we can act like we are. We can testify in church or we can make our whole lives a testament to the power of resurrection and hope. This year, celebrate, truly celebrate, the resurrection!
Bonnie B.
Acts 10:34-43
This passage is part of what some call Pentecost for the nations -- when Peter was called to witness to the centurion Cornelius and his household. Right before the Holy Spirit falls upon the uncircumcised, which leads to Peter baptizing the whole household, the apostle says: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (vv.34-35) and proceeds to relate the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. God ignores human barriers.
One of the more surprising elements of the resurrection narratives in all four gospels is that the women are in one way or another the first witnesses to the resurrection. God demonstrates no partiality in this matter as well. Why is this surprising? Because in the Roman world women were not considered reliable witnesses. The second-century theologian Origen is aware that some who oppose Christianity, such as his opponent in his book Against Celsus,ridicule the resurrection because the first witness is a “half-frantic woman,” who with other women “were engaged in the same system of delusion, who had either dreamed so, owing to a peculiar state of mind, or under the influence of a wandering imagination” had convinced themselves they had seen the Risen Lord (Against Celsus, Book II, Chapter 55).
No, the good news of the resurrection breaks down the social barriers put up by men against women. If you are to believe in the good news, you are going to have to believe those who were not believed in that time. You are going to have to believe on God’s terms, not society’s.
Frank R.
Acts 10:34-43
This lesson recounts Peter’s Easter faith. This faith is ours. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Martin Luther defines faith as permitting the Word to work in us (Complete Sermons, Vol. 4/1, p. 197). In another context, the first reformer called it “a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.” Late 17th-century French Catholic reformer Jeanne Guyon said that in faith “the soul sees now that whatever it owned formerly had been in its own possession; now it no longer possesses, but is possessed...” (In Her Words, p. 247). St. Augustine gets us to the heart of this lesson. “Faith,” he says, “is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” In faith, the risen Jesus Christ is present to us.
Mark E.
Acts 10:34-43
This is the most important day of the year. It even beats Christmas (but there is only one gift -- eternal life).
Even the Muslims believe in Jesus, but the only doubt they have is the resurrection. We only receive salvation if we believe in the resurrection. Many in the New Testament saw Jesus after he was raised from the dead. Most of the New Testament was written by some eyewitnesses. Many other of the world’s religions were started by one man who wrote his story (Muhammad, Buddha, etc.) with no other witnesses!
This passage is born out by the many missionaries who preach the gospel. When it is accepted by the people, they become his people because he shows no favoritism. Everyone who believes in Jesus, who fears him and does what is right, becomes one of God’s people.
It began with John’s baptism where God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit. From there Jesus went about speaking and doing miracles. Those who wrote this message in the Bible were witnesses to it. All God’s prophets testify to it, not just one!
Not all the people were witnesses, but if they believed the message they heard from those who were witnesses, their sins were forgiven, and they received the reward of life after death.
If those in the pews at church were not witnesses, but believed the pastor’s sermon on this day of resurrection, their sins were forgiven and they received life through Jesus name.
In a history class in school, we heard about many things that happened around the world. If we trusted the ones who told or wrote about them, we believed them. I’m speaking of actual historical events. I’m not talking about the theory of climate change, which you can believe or not depending on who told you about it and whether you trust their wisdom.
Those who believe in the story of the resurrection do so because they trust those who are telling it, whether they wrote about it in the Bible or preached about it from a pulpit.
Bob O.
Colossians 3:1-4
Desmond Doss was a World War II medic in the 77th Army Division and served on Okinawa, a small island off the coast of Japan. Mel Gibson has made a movie about his story called Hacksaw Ridge. Doss’s story is powerful and moving. Doss was convinced that his faith in God prevented him from carrying a weapon or using it to kill another person. However, he was also convicted to serve his country. He decided to do that by being a medic. His convictions made it tough in boot camp. While there, his fellow soldiers made life difficult because he honored God. Even amid trials and torment, Doss held firm to his convictions. He persevered. During the battle at Hacksaw Ridge he saved the lives of 75 men by carrying or dragging several of them over 100 yards, near the enemy’s front lines, then lowering them to safety. Soldiers who’d once ridiculed him respected and honored the humble medic who’d given them a chance to live. The story is incredible, and the movie, while graphic, is powerful.
Praising, honoring, and respecting the one who gives you a chance to live -- it makes sense. Today we celebrate the one who conquers death so that people have a chance not just to live, but to live eternally. He has snatched us from near the enemy lines and has defeated death and risen again. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God. “When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.” What an incredible, powerful, and amazing promise! Today we honor the one who rescued us from death and gives us life -- Jesus Christ.
Bill T.
Colossians 3:1-4
Easter changes daily life, the way we live. In a sermon on this text Martin Luther once called Christ the energy of the new life (Complete Sermons, Vol. 4/1, p. 218). In his theory of relativity Albert Einstein taught us that energy creates things. Christians are then people who are creative, ready, and willing to make the world better, because they bear in themselves the energy of the universe who is Christ. Luther also talks about another aspect of the Christian life which Easter makes possible, the wonderful comfort a Christian has: “Therefore if you believe in Christ, you must not flee from him or be frightened; for here you perceive and see that his whole heart, mind, or thinking are intent only on rescuing you from all that assails and oppresses you and on placing you with Christ over everything” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 28, pp. 139-140).
Mark E.
Colossians 3:1-4
In June 2011, a Vatican official revealed a 1,400-year-old fresco of the apostle Paul. Discovered in an ancient Roman catacomb in Naples, it showed Paul with a long neck, a slightly pink complexion, and a thinning beard. Paul is approaching a dead body with his right hand raised. He is dressed in a white robe with the letter “I” embroidered on the hem. The letter stands for Iesus, which is Latin for “Jesus.”
Application: If we believe as Paul did that we are raised with Christ, then we will wear the word Iesus with us always.
Ron L.
John 20:1-18
Imagine this. You have mourned the loss of a dear friend and teacher. You have watched him be murdered. Then he has been buried, and you haven’t really had time to prepare or to celebrate his life. Now you have come to the cemetery, only to discover that the grave has been disturbed and the body of your dear friend is missing. All the gospels have a version of the empty tomb story. In some, the story is detailed and continues into the next days and visions of Jesus. In one, we only know the disciples to be afraid. In each, the women come to the graveside because it is their task to prepare their friend for the services of remembrance that are to come. Imagine it. They come to the tomb and find it empty. What emotions would you feel: fear, disbelief, uncertainty, loss, anger?
In John’s gospel Mary goes off to tell Peter, and he and another unnamed disciple run to the tomb. There they find linen wrappings, but no body, no Jesus. Someone must have taken him. The two male disciples head home, not understanding completely what may have or could have happened. But Mary remains, weeping in despair by the tomb, until a man she does not recognize comes up to her. Once he speaks her name, she understands that this is the risen and living Christ. He knows her and she knows him. In the days that follow, Jesus calls many to discipleship. Jesus calls us, also by name, to discipleship. How will we respond?
Bonnie B.
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 John the evangelist uses the verb airo -- which means “take away,” not “roll away.”
(Want to know more? Read “Did a Rolling Stone Close Jesus’ Tomb?” by Amos Kloner in Biblical Archaeological Review, September/October 1999.)
Frank R.
John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28:1-10
It is not surprising that some even today have trouble believing in the resurrection, if those living back then had a problem before they actually saw Jesus. Today some do not believe until they see him in their hearts.
I went to church and took catechism because my folks wanted me to. I read Genesis and Exodus, but the plot fell apart after that. In college I wandered away because I had some doubts like those who came to the tomb, but then when I was about 30 I prayed, asking him to prove himself to me. My prayers led me to pick up the Bible, a gift from my folks, which lay unread on my living room coffee table. When I read the New Testament, he revealed himself to me so that I no longer had any doubts. It was such a real experience that it led me into the ministry, where I encourage others to read God’s Bible and to ask for him to reveal himself. It surprised me how many came to know him when they read his word in the New Testament. If our hearts are open, his Holy Spirit will come to us so that we never doubt again!
In church it is not just by the words that are preached but by the lives of the believers that we feel his presence. When those who I knew as a prison chaplain came to know the Lord, you could see it in the way they began to live -- how their lives changed. Their example was often winning many to the Lord even before they opened their Bibles. It was Jesus’ acts of love and kindness that was wining many to him.
Can friends and family tell if you have the Lord in you? It takes more than a couple words of scripture tossed out to make a person believe.
Easter is not just a time when we wear beautiful clothes, but a time when inner beauty shows through.
Bob O.
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus who we proclaim as our Lord. What does this mean for you? What does this mean for us who identify ourselves as Christians? Simply phrased, “God wins.” Sin doesn’t win. Hate doesn’t win. Political power doesn’t win. Fear doesn’t win. God wins. In spite of the sacrifice Jesus made, or maybe because of the sacrifice, God honored and honors him above all others.
We are called as Jesus’ followers to make the same proclamation the apostles and disciples made in the first century. We are called to preach to the people and to testify to the power of God through Jesus: sins are forgiven, life is restored, and love overcomes hate and even death. How we choose to preach and testify is up to us. We can preach from a pulpit or through our actions in the world. We can say we are redeemed or we can act like we are. We can testify in church or we can make our whole lives a testament to the power of resurrection and hope. This year, celebrate, truly celebrate, the resurrection!
Bonnie B.
Acts 10:34-43
This passage is part of what some call Pentecost for the nations -- when Peter was called to witness to the centurion Cornelius and his household. Right before the Holy Spirit falls upon the uncircumcised, which leads to Peter baptizing the whole household, the apostle says: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (vv.34-35) and proceeds to relate the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. God ignores human barriers.
One of the more surprising elements of the resurrection narratives in all four gospels is that the women are in one way or another the first witnesses to the resurrection. God demonstrates no partiality in this matter as well. Why is this surprising? Because in the Roman world women were not considered reliable witnesses. The second-century theologian Origen is aware that some who oppose Christianity, such as his opponent in his book Against Celsus,ridicule the resurrection because the first witness is a “half-frantic woman,” who with other women “were engaged in the same system of delusion, who had either dreamed so, owing to a peculiar state of mind, or under the influence of a wandering imagination” had convinced themselves they had seen the Risen Lord (Against Celsus, Book II, Chapter 55).
No, the good news of the resurrection breaks down the social barriers put up by men against women. If you are to believe in the good news, you are going to have to believe those who were not believed in that time. You are going to have to believe on God’s terms, not society’s.
Frank R.
Acts 10:34-43
This lesson recounts Peter’s Easter faith. This faith is ours. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Martin Luther defines faith as permitting the Word to work in us (Complete Sermons, Vol. 4/1, p. 197). In another context, the first reformer called it “a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.” Late 17th-century French Catholic reformer Jeanne Guyon said that in faith “the soul sees now that whatever it owned formerly had been in its own possession; now it no longer possesses, but is possessed...” (In Her Words, p. 247). St. Augustine gets us to the heart of this lesson. “Faith,” he says, “is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” In faith, the risen Jesus Christ is present to us.
Mark E.
Acts 10:34-43
This is the most important day of the year. It even beats Christmas (but there is only one gift -- eternal life).
Even the Muslims believe in Jesus, but the only doubt they have is the resurrection. We only receive salvation if we believe in the resurrection. Many in the New Testament saw Jesus after he was raised from the dead. Most of the New Testament was written by some eyewitnesses. Many other of the world’s religions were started by one man who wrote his story (Muhammad, Buddha, etc.) with no other witnesses!
This passage is born out by the many missionaries who preach the gospel. When it is accepted by the people, they become his people because he shows no favoritism. Everyone who believes in Jesus, who fears him and does what is right, becomes one of God’s people.
It began with John’s baptism where God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit. From there Jesus went about speaking and doing miracles. Those who wrote this message in the Bible were witnesses to it. All God’s prophets testify to it, not just one!
Not all the people were witnesses, but if they believed the message they heard from those who were witnesses, their sins were forgiven, and they received the reward of life after death.
If those in the pews at church were not witnesses, but believed the pastor’s sermon on this day of resurrection, their sins were forgiven and they received life through Jesus name.
In a history class in school, we heard about many things that happened around the world. If we trusted the ones who told or wrote about them, we believed them. I’m speaking of actual historical events. I’m not talking about the theory of climate change, which you can believe or not depending on who told you about it and whether you trust their wisdom.
Those who believe in the story of the resurrection do so because they trust those who are telling it, whether they wrote about it in the Bible or preached about it from a pulpit.
Bob O.
Colossians 3:1-4
Desmond Doss was a World War II medic in the 77th Army Division and served on Okinawa, a small island off the coast of Japan. Mel Gibson has made a movie about his story called Hacksaw Ridge. Doss’s story is powerful and moving. Doss was convinced that his faith in God prevented him from carrying a weapon or using it to kill another person. However, he was also convicted to serve his country. He decided to do that by being a medic. His convictions made it tough in boot camp. While there, his fellow soldiers made life difficult because he honored God. Even amid trials and torment, Doss held firm to his convictions. He persevered. During the battle at Hacksaw Ridge he saved the lives of 75 men by carrying or dragging several of them over 100 yards, near the enemy’s front lines, then lowering them to safety. Soldiers who’d once ridiculed him respected and honored the humble medic who’d given them a chance to live. The story is incredible, and the movie, while graphic, is powerful.
Praising, honoring, and respecting the one who gives you a chance to live -- it makes sense. Today we celebrate the one who conquers death so that people have a chance not just to live, but to live eternally. He has snatched us from near the enemy lines and has defeated death and risen again. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God. “When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.” What an incredible, powerful, and amazing promise! Today we honor the one who rescued us from death and gives us life -- Jesus Christ.
Bill T.
Colossians 3:1-4
Easter changes daily life, the way we live. In a sermon on this text Martin Luther once called Christ the energy of the new life (Complete Sermons, Vol. 4/1, p. 218). In his theory of relativity Albert Einstein taught us that energy creates things. Christians are then people who are creative, ready, and willing to make the world better, because they bear in themselves the energy of the universe who is Christ. Luther also talks about another aspect of the Christian life which Easter makes possible, the wonderful comfort a Christian has: “Therefore if you believe in Christ, you must not flee from him or be frightened; for here you perceive and see that his whole heart, mind, or thinking are intent only on rescuing you from all that assails and oppresses you and on placing you with Christ over everything” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 28, pp. 139-140).
Mark E.
Colossians 3:1-4
In June 2011, a Vatican official revealed a 1,400-year-old fresco of the apostle Paul. Discovered in an ancient Roman catacomb in Naples, it showed Paul with a long neck, a slightly pink complexion, and a thinning beard. Paul is approaching a dead body with his right hand raised. He is dressed in a white robe with the letter “I” embroidered on the hem. The letter stands for Iesus, which is Latin for “Jesus.”
Application: If we believe as Paul did that we are raised with Christ, then we will wear the word Iesus with us always.
Ron L.
John 20:1-18
Imagine this. You have mourned the loss of a dear friend and teacher. You have watched him be murdered. Then he has been buried, and you haven’t really had time to prepare or to celebrate his life. Now you have come to the cemetery, only to discover that the grave has been disturbed and the body of your dear friend is missing. All the gospels have a version of the empty tomb story. In some, the story is detailed and continues into the next days and visions of Jesus. In one, we only know the disciples to be afraid. In each, the women come to the graveside because it is their task to prepare their friend for the services of remembrance that are to come. Imagine it. They come to the tomb and find it empty. What emotions would you feel: fear, disbelief, uncertainty, loss, anger?
In John’s gospel Mary goes off to tell Peter, and he and another unnamed disciple run to the tomb. There they find linen wrappings, but no body, no Jesus. Someone must have taken him. The two male disciples head home, not understanding completely what may have or could have happened. But Mary remains, weeping in despair by the tomb, until a man she does not recognize comes up to her. Once he speaks her name, she understands that this is the risen and living Christ. He knows her and she knows him. In the days that follow, Jesus calls many to discipleship. Jesus calls us, also by name, to discipleship. How will we respond?
Bonnie B.
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 John the evangelist uses the verb airo -- which means “take away,” not “roll away.”
(Want to know more? Read “Did a Rolling Stone Close Jesus’ Tomb?” by Amos Kloner in Biblical Archaeological Review, September/October 1999.)
Frank R.
John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28:1-10
It is not surprising that some even today have trouble believing in the resurrection, if those living back then had a problem before they actually saw Jesus. Today some do not believe until they see him in their hearts.
I went to church and took catechism because my folks wanted me to. I read Genesis and Exodus, but the plot fell apart after that. In college I wandered away because I had some doubts like those who came to the tomb, but then when I was about 30 I prayed, asking him to prove himself to me. My prayers led me to pick up the Bible, a gift from my folks, which lay unread on my living room coffee table. When I read the New Testament, he revealed himself to me so that I no longer had any doubts. It was such a real experience that it led me into the ministry, where I encourage others to read God’s Bible and to ask for him to reveal himself. It surprised me how many came to know him when they read his word in the New Testament. If our hearts are open, his Holy Spirit will come to us so that we never doubt again!
In church it is not just by the words that are preached but by the lives of the believers that we feel his presence. When those who I knew as a prison chaplain came to know the Lord, you could see it in the way they began to live -- how their lives changed. Their example was often winning many to the Lord even before they opened their Bibles. It was Jesus’ acts of love and kindness that was wining many to him.
Can friends and family tell if you have the Lord in you? It takes more than a couple words of scripture tossed out to make a person believe.
Easter is not just a time when we wear beautiful clothes, but a time when inner beauty shows through.
Bob O.
