Sermon Illustrations for Epiphany 2 (2015)
Illustration
Object:
1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)
The New York Times has a column called the "Corner Office" in which they interview the CEO of a corporation. Paula Long, the CEO of DataGravity, a data management firm, was asked for her leadership advice. The most important advice she offered was directed at her role as a manager and her relationship to her employees when she said, "I like to say we are all subcontractors to each other: 'You and I have a contract that we're going to get something done by a particular time. You need to make sure that you meet that contract with the same level of quality I agree to meet it with.' "
Application: Samuel was able to become a prophet as he was able to listen to the instructions from God and then go forth as a qualified representative of God.
Ron L.
1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)
Our text is all about the surprising ways in which God operates, how God took the little boy Samuel to become a great prophet. God and life are full of surprises. Charlton Heston said it: "Life is full of surprises, isn't it?"
Surprises in life are good things. It is as modern Catholic theologian Henri Nouwen once wrote: "Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let's not be afraid to receive each day's surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or joy. It will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity."
And twentieth-century American anthropologist Ashley Montagu writes: "The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us."
For Martin Luther God's surprising ways are a function of the hidden character of the word. As he put it: "The heritage of Christ is 'splendid' and distinguished inwardly... that is, in mystical and hidden things that were not seen in outward forms..." (Luther's Works, Vol. 10, p. 107).
And as he put it later in his career: "And universally our every assertion of anything good is hidden under the denial of it, so that faith may have its place in God, who is a negative essence of goodness and wisdom and righteousness, who cannot be possessed or touched except by the negation of all our affirmatives" (Ibid., Vol. 25, p. 383).
Mark E.
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
We can see what Paul is complaining about here. The Jews had all kinds of things that were condemned in the laws they added to the ten. Certain foods were not legal (like pork and things sacrificed to idols). There were certain things you could not do on the sabbath, like traveling more than the trip between one meal and the next (a sabbath's day journey). There were restrictions on dress and requirements for personal cleanliness like washing before eating and on and on. Paul is saying that all things are permissible. We can drink alcohol but nothing to the extreme -- whether eating or drinking.
Paul does draw the line at sexual practices that even seemed to be acceptable in his day -- like polygamy or calling on a prostitute now and then when you are far away from home.
The overall concern is that, if we are the Body of Christ, then we don't want to tarnish that body. We need to treat our own body with respect so that we can be raised as he was raised. If our body is a temple, then we have to be very careful what we allow in that temple other than our Lord. Sex can crowd him out. It can take over our minds and hearts.
We were bought for a price, and we don't own ourselves anymore after Christ has purchased us with his blood. Is it hard to think that we are not our own? We belong to Christ but still we have the power to commit acts against our owner. In other words, God always gives us freedom while we are down here on his earth. We should use that freedom to call upon Christ's Spirit to cleanse us and keep us from all sin. He will do what we ask. If we want Christ's salvation, then don't even think about "freedom." He will set us free from urges to do wrong. Church is where we find the support of pastors and friends to keep us focused on our Lord. We can't do it on our own. We need the help of other Christians but especially the help of Christ's Spirit.
Bob O.
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Our sexuality is God-given. He is the inventor of it so it must be good, but the scriptures are very definitive when it comes to the bounds of sexual relationships. I read that human sexuality is too noble and beautiful a thing, too profound a form of experience, to turn into a mere technique of physical relief or a foolish and irrelevant pastime (J.V.I. Casserley).
We live in a society that refuses to recognize that God himself has set the standards for our sexual behavior. They are absolutes not to be ignored, intentionally denied, or rationalized. Just because we do does not validate our behavior. God has called us to sexual purity, and only a fervent love for holiness and purity can save us from impure passion.
Derl K.
John 1:43-51
One point this lesson makes is that Jesus does not want miracles to be the reason for or the root of our faith. A 2013 Harris poll found that 72% of Americans believed in miracles. But that is not making much impact on church attendance, as the percentage of Americans regularly attending worship (37%) is far below that figure. After all, miracles are all around us. This is what Albert Einstein thought: "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
This is not to say that an appreciation of miracles is bad for you, that it cannot help you appreciate life more. The founder of Buddhism, Gautama Siddhartha said it well: "If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." And to this point he added: "Life is so different, so beautiful, when seen as a miracle. You appreciate and cherish the things of life so much more when you see life that way."
Mark E.
John 1:43-51
Jimmy Carter, in his memoir An Hour Before Daylight, recounted the number of tramps that frequented his family's home in depression-era Georgia. He admired his mother who never turned one away, always providing food and water for the unexpected guests. Equally admirable, in the eyes of the future president, was that most of these men were polite, honest, and educated, sincerely on a quest to find gainful employment. Confused by the unusual number of visitors she received, Mrs. Lillian Carter inquired with the matron of the neighboring farm as to the number who frequented her residence. "None," replied the neighbor. The next time a vagrant visited, mother asked why they came to her home and not others along the dirt road. The gentleman replied that they placed a symbol on the mail posts of households that would not mistreat them. After his visit mother and son went to the post and discovered some unobtrusive scratches, and "Mama told us not to change them." The Carter household would always be one of hospitality.
Application: Realizing that good can come out of Nazareth, we recognize the worth of every individual.
Ron L.
The New York Times has a column called the "Corner Office" in which they interview the CEO of a corporation. Paula Long, the CEO of DataGravity, a data management firm, was asked for her leadership advice. The most important advice she offered was directed at her role as a manager and her relationship to her employees when she said, "I like to say we are all subcontractors to each other: 'You and I have a contract that we're going to get something done by a particular time. You need to make sure that you meet that contract with the same level of quality I agree to meet it with.' "
Application: Samuel was able to become a prophet as he was able to listen to the instructions from God and then go forth as a qualified representative of God.
Ron L.
1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)
Our text is all about the surprising ways in which God operates, how God took the little boy Samuel to become a great prophet. God and life are full of surprises. Charlton Heston said it: "Life is full of surprises, isn't it?"
Surprises in life are good things. It is as modern Catholic theologian Henri Nouwen once wrote: "Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let's not be afraid to receive each day's surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or joy. It will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity."
And twentieth-century American anthropologist Ashley Montagu writes: "The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us."
For Martin Luther God's surprising ways are a function of the hidden character of the word. As he put it: "The heritage of Christ is 'splendid' and distinguished inwardly... that is, in mystical and hidden things that were not seen in outward forms..." (Luther's Works, Vol. 10, p. 107).
And as he put it later in his career: "And universally our every assertion of anything good is hidden under the denial of it, so that faith may have its place in God, who is a negative essence of goodness and wisdom and righteousness, who cannot be possessed or touched except by the negation of all our affirmatives" (Ibid., Vol. 25, p. 383).
Mark E.
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
We can see what Paul is complaining about here. The Jews had all kinds of things that were condemned in the laws they added to the ten. Certain foods were not legal (like pork and things sacrificed to idols). There were certain things you could not do on the sabbath, like traveling more than the trip between one meal and the next (a sabbath's day journey). There were restrictions on dress and requirements for personal cleanliness like washing before eating and on and on. Paul is saying that all things are permissible. We can drink alcohol but nothing to the extreme -- whether eating or drinking.
Paul does draw the line at sexual practices that even seemed to be acceptable in his day -- like polygamy or calling on a prostitute now and then when you are far away from home.
The overall concern is that, if we are the Body of Christ, then we don't want to tarnish that body. We need to treat our own body with respect so that we can be raised as he was raised. If our body is a temple, then we have to be very careful what we allow in that temple other than our Lord. Sex can crowd him out. It can take over our minds and hearts.
We were bought for a price, and we don't own ourselves anymore after Christ has purchased us with his blood. Is it hard to think that we are not our own? We belong to Christ but still we have the power to commit acts against our owner. In other words, God always gives us freedom while we are down here on his earth. We should use that freedom to call upon Christ's Spirit to cleanse us and keep us from all sin. He will do what we ask. If we want Christ's salvation, then don't even think about "freedom." He will set us free from urges to do wrong. Church is where we find the support of pastors and friends to keep us focused on our Lord. We can't do it on our own. We need the help of other Christians but especially the help of Christ's Spirit.
Bob O.
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Our sexuality is God-given. He is the inventor of it so it must be good, but the scriptures are very definitive when it comes to the bounds of sexual relationships. I read that human sexuality is too noble and beautiful a thing, too profound a form of experience, to turn into a mere technique of physical relief or a foolish and irrelevant pastime (J.V.I. Casserley).
We live in a society that refuses to recognize that God himself has set the standards for our sexual behavior. They are absolutes not to be ignored, intentionally denied, or rationalized. Just because we do does not validate our behavior. God has called us to sexual purity, and only a fervent love for holiness and purity can save us from impure passion.
Derl K.
John 1:43-51
One point this lesson makes is that Jesus does not want miracles to be the reason for or the root of our faith. A 2013 Harris poll found that 72% of Americans believed in miracles. But that is not making much impact on church attendance, as the percentage of Americans regularly attending worship (37%) is far below that figure. After all, miracles are all around us. This is what Albert Einstein thought: "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
This is not to say that an appreciation of miracles is bad for you, that it cannot help you appreciate life more. The founder of Buddhism, Gautama Siddhartha said it well: "If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." And to this point he added: "Life is so different, so beautiful, when seen as a miracle. You appreciate and cherish the things of life so much more when you see life that way."
Mark E.
John 1:43-51
Jimmy Carter, in his memoir An Hour Before Daylight, recounted the number of tramps that frequented his family's home in depression-era Georgia. He admired his mother who never turned one away, always providing food and water for the unexpected guests. Equally admirable, in the eyes of the future president, was that most of these men were polite, honest, and educated, sincerely on a quest to find gainful employment. Confused by the unusual number of visitors she received, Mrs. Lillian Carter inquired with the matron of the neighboring farm as to the number who frequented her residence. "None," replied the neighbor. The next time a vagrant visited, mother asked why they came to her home and not others along the dirt road. The gentleman replied that they placed a symbol on the mail posts of households that would not mistreat them. After his visit mother and son went to the post and discovered some unobtrusive scratches, and "Mama told us not to change them." The Carter household would always be one of hospitality.
Application: Realizing that good can come out of Nazareth, we recognize the worth of every individual.
Ron L.
