Sermon Illustrations For Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 (2017)
Illustration
Isaiah 49:1-7
Teresa of Avila was born to very devout parents. After her mother died, Teresa had no maternal guidance during her teen years. She became close friends with her cousin, who led her into frivolous interests. In despair over how to control Teresa, her father placed her in an Augustinian convent. After three months she became very ill and returned home to recover. While convalescing she read the writings of the church father Jerome, which convinced her to lead a more spiritual life. Her father refused to allow Teresa to become a nun, so she ran away and joined the Carmelites. Teresa became a leader in the Carmelites, and founded many monasteries. The last thing she said before her death on October 4, 1582, was a quotation from Psalm 51: “A broken and a contrite heart thou wilt not despise.”
Application: Isaiah calls us to be a light to the nations.
Ron L.
Isaiah 49:1-7
God works in surprising ways. He uses a servant to do great things.
Neurobiologists find surprise to be good for the brain, and that it can provide opportunity to exercise the prefrontal cortex and all the associated pleasant brain chemicals which are then secreted when that part of the brain is exercised (Daniele C. Turner, Cerebral Cortex [August, 2004]). Martin Luther believed that the gospel is surprising, contradicts the world’s expectations: “In the eyes of the world the Word of Christ is always foolishness” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 17, p. 169).
It makes sense that the gospel Word of love would surprise. Love itself is surprising, according to pop singer Gloria Estefan, who tells us that “Love is a constant source of inspiration, surprise, and amazement.” Twentieth-century American guru Leo Buscagila has it right too: “...its [love’s] very essence is surprise and amazement.” Surprises can make us happy, we have noted. Novelist Alice Walker supports this with her good advice: “Expect nothing. The best things in life are unexpected.”
Mark E.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
God is faithful. How many of us truly believe that when our lives seem to be in shambles or when our hearts are broken? How many of us can look at the violence and wars in our world and comfortably proclaim that God is faithful? How many of us, after a loved one for whom we have prayed fervently to God for healing dies, can proclaim that God is faithful? When we can, when we can move beyond our circumstances and into the reality that God is faithful, that God does love us and that God is present with us, there is a sense of peace that comes over us.
I remember the day my husband and I discovered that our twin sons had died in utero and that I would need to deliver them -- stillborn. At that moment our miracle babies were gone, and I admit I did not feel that God was faithful! God had broken God’s promise of new life to come into our lives. It was in the days afterward, when love was extended to me by friends and strangers, when the church community rallied around us, when our surviving son cuddled with me on the sofa, it was those moments when I believed that God was faithful. Often God’s faithfulness is demonstrated by the faith-filled who inhabit our lives. What a blessing of faithfulness that is!
Bonnie B.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
For whom are you thankful? It has been said that no one should attempt to live for Jesus Christ as a “Lone Ranger.” We need other people to encourage, motivate, and inspire us. We also need others for whom we can be an encourager, a motivator, and hopefully an inspiration. A friend of mine told me about someone who’d made a difference for him. He did not grow up in the church. His parents had little time for that, but his grandmother was a Christian. She tried hard to get her daughter and son-in-law to consider Jesus, but she had the most success with her grandson. He loved to go to church with her, and talked with her about Jesus often. She was there the Sunday he became a Christian. She told him, from the time he was little, that she prayed for him every day. When he graduated from college and entered seminary, she told him at the graduation celebration that she’d prayed for this day. She didn’t live long enough to see him ordained, but he knew she was proud. He told me he thanked God for his grandmother, for without her he might not be in ministry today.
There is quite a bit of material in this passage, and there is a small part that could go unnoticed but shouldn’t. Paul writes, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus.” Paul is thankful for the Corinthian believers. He thanks God always for them. He acknowledges that they have been enriched in Jesus in knowledge and speech, and that they are not lacking any spiritual gift. Though this is not a huge point, or even the most significant point in this passage, it is one that resonates with me in a couple of ways. Am I thanking God for those who have made a difference to me? Am I living for Christ in such a way that others might thank God for me and the example I set? Just a couple of questions to ponder as we begin a new year.
Bill T.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
The opening of this letter includes greetings from both Paul and Sosthenes. Since Paul is writing to the house churches of Corinth, it seems at least possible that this is the same Sosthenes who is identified as an official of the Corinthian synagogue who was beaten by some of the Corinthians because of his association with the apostle. If so, we see that Sosthenes, despite the beating he took, did not abandon either his faith in Jesus or his friendship with Paul, but seems to have traveled with him to Rome. Indeed, because he is mentioned in the letter’s opening he may have even written this letter to the Corinthian house churches at the dictation of Paul. There’s a cost to discipleship, but friendship is beyond any price, and salvation in Jesus, well...
Frank R.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Paul usually begins on a positive note. It is later that he gives the secondary reason for his writing. But first he justifies his calling as an apostle of Christ Jesus. He mentions his brother Sosthenes, who can support him there in Corinth and also may be his secretary who writes for him. Then he addresses all the others who pray to Jesus. Paul goes on to compliment them for the Spirit of Christ who confirms their faith.
Church members also look forward to praise from the pastor if they have not neglected any of God’s commands.
We all wait eagerly for Jesus to be revealed, and that he will give us strength to the end. That is universal for all Christians. We all live for the last chapter! We have much to do before we leave this earth. The knowledge that Jesus will be with us on the way to and in the end gives us the strength we need to serve him.
The Bible is one of the only books that tells us what will happen to us if we are faithful to the end. It gives us the last chapter!
Now we have the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ to support us until that last chapter comes -- and it will!
Paul seems to emphasize that it is only Christ who makes us worthy. It is Christ who gives us his Spirit, and only through his Spirit can we testify about him to anyone else.
Bob O.
John 1:29-42
Americans see themselves as self-made people, big on individual responsibility. A 2011 survey by the Pew Research Center found that Americans deem freedom to pursue their own interests as more important than making sure the state guarantees nobody is in need by an almost 2-to-1 margin (58% to 35%). Citizens of European nations reverse this priority, by almost the same margins. Oh how blind we are John Calvin once noted, commenting on “how great is the blindness of the human mind...” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XX/1, p. 396). Martin Luther powerfully describes the nature of our sin and bondage to it: “Sin is at your throat; it drives you and lies heavy on you. Reason knows of no other counsel and advice. As soon as reason sees that it has sinned, it declares: “I will reform and become pious!” ...At the same time you are too feeble to remove it; you cannot overcome sin” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 22, p. 165).
We are like damsels in distress! We need to be rescued, like the daughter needing the rescue by her helicopter pilot father in San Anders or the rescue needed from the First Order in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And our text and Martin Luther make clear that we have one: “I cannot bear my sin or render satisfaction for it, but that God has chosen a sacrifice which was slaughtered, roasted on the cross, and eaten.... I, too, will find refuge in him” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 22, p. 167).
Mark E.
John 1:29-42
Maximus was born in the Middle East around 580. He was well educated, and became the secretary to Emperor Heraclius. In 626 Maximus had a religious experience and abruptly left government service to join a monastic order. There was religious disunity in the region. One of the major components was a movement that did not believe in the humanity of Jesus; they believed that Jesus’ divine will swallowed up his human will. Maximus opposed this, believing that only if Jesus was fully human and divine could he be our salvation. The emperor wanted the factions to compromise, but Maximus remained steadfast in his doctrinal beliefs. In order to get Maximus to change his position, the 75-year-old monk was placed in prison on September 24, 656. At his trial Maximus said, “I would sooner agree to die than, having fallen away in any way from the right faith, endure the torments of my conscience.” After years of suffering in prison, Maximus was brought before the emperor in 662. Maximus again refused to recant. The emperor then had Maximus’ tongue cut out and his right hand cut off to prevent him from sharing his beliefs with anyone else. For his steadfast belief in orthodox theology he became known as “Maximus the Confessor.”
Application: When Jesus calls us to follow, it is to follow with uncompromising commitment.
Ron L.
Teresa of Avila was born to very devout parents. After her mother died, Teresa had no maternal guidance during her teen years. She became close friends with her cousin, who led her into frivolous interests. In despair over how to control Teresa, her father placed her in an Augustinian convent. After three months she became very ill and returned home to recover. While convalescing she read the writings of the church father Jerome, which convinced her to lead a more spiritual life. Her father refused to allow Teresa to become a nun, so she ran away and joined the Carmelites. Teresa became a leader in the Carmelites, and founded many monasteries. The last thing she said before her death on October 4, 1582, was a quotation from Psalm 51: “A broken and a contrite heart thou wilt not despise.”
Application: Isaiah calls us to be a light to the nations.
Ron L.
Isaiah 49:1-7
God works in surprising ways. He uses a servant to do great things.
Neurobiologists find surprise to be good for the brain, and that it can provide opportunity to exercise the prefrontal cortex and all the associated pleasant brain chemicals which are then secreted when that part of the brain is exercised (Daniele C. Turner, Cerebral Cortex [August, 2004]). Martin Luther believed that the gospel is surprising, contradicts the world’s expectations: “In the eyes of the world the Word of Christ is always foolishness” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 17, p. 169).
It makes sense that the gospel Word of love would surprise. Love itself is surprising, according to pop singer Gloria Estefan, who tells us that “Love is a constant source of inspiration, surprise, and amazement.” Twentieth-century American guru Leo Buscagila has it right too: “...its [love’s] very essence is surprise and amazement.” Surprises can make us happy, we have noted. Novelist Alice Walker supports this with her good advice: “Expect nothing. The best things in life are unexpected.”
Mark E.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
God is faithful. How many of us truly believe that when our lives seem to be in shambles or when our hearts are broken? How many of us can look at the violence and wars in our world and comfortably proclaim that God is faithful? How many of us, after a loved one for whom we have prayed fervently to God for healing dies, can proclaim that God is faithful? When we can, when we can move beyond our circumstances and into the reality that God is faithful, that God does love us and that God is present with us, there is a sense of peace that comes over us.
I remember the day my husband and I discovered that our twin sons had died in utero and that I would need to deliver them -- stillborn. At that moment our miracle babies were gone, and I admit I did not feel that God was faithful! God had broken God’s promise of new life to come into our lives. It was in the days afterward, when love was extended to me by friends and strangers, when the church community rallied around us, when our surviving son cuddled with me on the sofa, it was those moments when I believed that God was faithful. Often God’s faithfulness is demonstrated by the faith-filled who inhabit our lives. What a blessing of faithfulness that is!
Bonnie B.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
For whom are you thankful? It has been said that no one should attempt to live for Jesus Christ as a “Lone Ranger.” We need other people to encourage, motivate, and inspire us. We also need others for whom we can be an encourager, a motivator, and hopefully an inspiration. A friend of mine told me about someone who’d made a difference for him. He did not grow up in the church. His parents had little time for that, but his grandmother was a Christian. She tried hard to get her daughter and son-in-law to consider Jesus, but she had the most success with her grandson. He loved to go to church with her, and talked with her about Jesus often. She was there the Sunday he became a Christian. She told him, from the time he was little, that she prayed for him every day. When he graduated from college and entered seminary, she told him at the graduation celebration that she’d prayed for this day. She didn’t live long enough to see him ordained, but he knew she was proud. He told me he thanked God for his grandmother, for without her he might not be in ministry today.
There is quite a bit of material in this passage, and there is a small part that could go unnoticed but shouldn’t. Paul writes, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus.” Paul is thankful for the Corinthian believers. He thanks God always for them. He acknowledges that they have been enriched in Jesus in knowledge and speech, and that they are not lacking any spiritual gift. Though this is not a huge point, or even the most significant point in this passage, it is one that resonates with me in a couple of ways. Am I thanking God for those who have made a difference to me? Am I living for Christ in such a way that others might thank God for me and the example I set? Just a couple of questions to ponder as we begin a new year.
Bill T.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
The opening of this letter includes greetings from both Paul and Sosthenes. Since Paul is writing to the house churches of Corinth, it seems at least possible that this is the same Sosthenes who is identified as an official of the Corinthian synagogue who was beaten by some of the Corinthians because of his association with the apostle. If so, we see that Sosthenes, despite the beating he took, did not abandon either his faith in Jesus or his friendship with Paul, but seems to have traveled with him to Rome. Indeed, because he is mentioned in the letter’s opening he may have even written this letter to the Corinthian house churches at the dictation of Paul. There’s a cost to discipleship, but friendship is beyond any price, and salvation in Jesus, well...
Frank R.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Paul usually begins on a positive note. It is later that he gives the secondary reason for his writing. But first he justifies his calling as an apostle of Christ Jesus. He mentions his brother Sosthenes, who can support him there in Corinth and also may be his secretary who writes for him. Then he addresses all the others who pray to Jesus. Paul goes on to compliment them for the Spirit of Christ who confirms their faith.
Church members also look forward to praise from the pastor if they have not neglected any of God’s commands.
We all wait eagerly for Jesus to be revealed, and that he will give us strength to the end. That is universal for all Christians. We all live for the last chapter! We have much to do before we leave this earth. The knowledge that Jesus will be with us on the way to and in the end gives us the strength we need to serve him.
The Bible is one of the only books that tells us what will happen to us if we are faithful to the end. It gives us the last chapter!
Now we have the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ to support us until that last chapter comes -- and it will!
Paul seems to emphasize that it is only Christ who makes us worthy. It is Christ who gives us his Spirit, and only through his Spirit can we testify about him to anyone else.
Bob O.
John 1:29-42
Americans see themselves as self-made people, big on individual responsibility. A 2011 survey by the Pew Research Center found that Americans deem freedom to pursue their own interests as more important than making sure the state guarantees nobody is in need by an almost 2-to-1 margin (58% to 35%). Citizens of European nations reverse this priority, by almost the same margins. Oh how blind we are John Calvin once noted, commenting on “how great is the blindness of the human mind...” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XX/1, p. 396). Martin Luther powerfully describes the nature of our sin and bondage to it: “Sin is at your throat; it drives you and lies heavy on you. Reason knows of no other counsel and advice. As soon as reason sees that it has sinned, it declares: “I will reform and become pious!” ...At the same time you are too feeble to remove it; you cannot overcome sin” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 22, p. 165).
We are like damsels in distress! We need to be rescued, like the daughter needing the rescue by her helicopter pilot father in San Anders or the rescue needed from the First Order in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And our text and Martin Luther make clear that we have one: “I cannot bear my sin or render satisfaction for it, but that God has chosen a sacrifice which was slaughtered, roasted on the cross, and eaten.... I, too, will find refuge in him” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 22, p. 167).
Mark E.
John 1:29-42
Maximus was born in the Middle East around 580. He was well educated, and became the secretary to Emperor Heraclius. In 626 Maximus had a religious experience and abruptly left government service to join a monastic order. There was religious disunity in the region. One of the major components was a movement that did not believe in the humanity of Jesus; they believed that Jesus’ divine will swallowed up his human will. Maximus opposed this, believing that only if Jesus was fully human and divine could he be our salvation. The emperor wanted the factions to compromise, but Maximus remained steadfast in his doctrinal beliefs. In order to get Maximus to change his position, the 75-year-old monk was placed in prison on September 24, 656. At his trial Maximus said, “I would sooner agree to die than, having fallen away in any way from the right faith, endure the torments of my conscience.” After years of suffering in prison, Maximus was brought before the emperor in 662. Maximus again refused to recant. The emperor then had Maximus’ tongue cut out and his right hand cut off to prevent him from sharing his beliefs with anyone else. For his steadfast belief in orthodox theology he became known as “Maximus the Confessor.”
Application: When Jesus calls us to follow, it is to follow with uncompromising commitment.
Ron L.
