Sermon Illustrations for Epiphany 4 (2024)
Illustration
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
The new economy ushered in by globalization and now internet connectivity demands flexibility, a dynamic that undermines traditional values (Richard Sennett, The Corrosion of Character). No surprise, then, that a June 2023 Gallup poll found that 54% of us rate moral values as poor in our nation, and 33% of us say it is only fair. Americans are almost unanimous (83%) in claiming that U.S. morality is in decline. Our lesson’s promise that a new prophet will emerge requires fulfillment in our politics and social life.
Martin Luther helps us understand what the job of the prophets are, what sort of leaders we need:
For in the prophets we see that he who has despised God’s threatening has never succeeded in the end, even though they were the mightiest of emperors and kings or the holiest and most learned on whom the sun ever shone. And, on the other hand, we see that no one who dared rely on God’s comforts and promises has ever been forsaken, though they were the most miserable sinners and the poorest beggars who ever lived on earth... (What Luther Says, p.1146)
Here’s some of what famed 20th-century Jewish scholar and critic of Hitler, Abraham Heschel, said about the prophets:
Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profane riches of the world. It is a form of living, a crossing point of God and man. God is raging in the prophet’s words.
As our election process continues, let’s look for prophetic presidential and congressional candidates who will speak for moral values, who exhibit the commitments to the plight of the poor, get pastors to recommit to these agendas and get parishioners to act on opportunities to critique wealth and speak for the poor on the job and in the streets.
Mark E.
* * *
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Who are the prophets who have been raised up in our lives? Moses echoes the proclamation of God that other prophets would be raised up for the people. Who are our prophets of the contemporary age? If I were to list some I believe are prophets I would name Howard Thurman, Martin Luther King, Jr., Sister Teresa, Diana Butler Bass, Otis Moss III, Rev. Dr. Marvin McMickle (my seminary president). Who would you name? Who are the prophetic voices in your life? Perhaps it is someone well known, perhaps only someone you know. What are the messages of today’s prophets and do they align with the will of God and following in the footsteps of Jesus? Are you a prophet? Do you have a calling to be? If so, step out boldly and proclaim the message God has given you. If not, follow Jesus and the contemporary prophets in your life.
Bonnie B.
* * *
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Just in case this sounds familiar, you read these paragraphs in slightly different form as part of the Emphasis for January 14!
When Christians from Jewish and Gentile backgrounds came together in faith in the first century, it could be difficult to eat around the common table if some considered certain foods not just unappetizing, but prohibited by God, whereas others had eaten such foods since childhood. The display of disdain or disgust could drive people off. Others would wonder what all the fuss was about. Paul’s advice was to take the other person’s feelings into account and act accordingly. Evidently at some point he’d said something like
To complicate things further, the food offered to idols was anathema to certain believers, but in Roman culture all butchering was done in the temples. A small amount of the meat would be given to the god and after the priest of that god inspected the meat and pronounced it healthy, it would be offered for sale in the marketplace. All meat available in some cities had been technically offered to an idol. Some said, those gods didn’t exist, so no harm had been done. Others probably choked at the thought of eating this meat.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
I came across this story and read a full account of it in Sports Illustrated (July 28, 2014). In 2009, veteran Texas skydiving instructor Dave Hartsock was in the middle of a 13,000-feet-high tandem jump with Shirley Dygert, a grandmother and first-time diver, when he discovered that neither of his two parachutes would open all the way to stop their free fall. Red alerts screamed through his brain as he struggled to untangle the parachute lines. They fell thousands of feet, then a few thousand more. With just seconds left to go before impact, Hartsock opted to use control toggles to rotate his body so that he'd cushion Dygert, absorbing the brunt of the force when the two of them hit the ground.
Hartsock's quick thinking saved Dygert's life. While she sustained some injuries, she recovered and is able to function normally. But Hartsock paid a monumental price. The fall paralyzed him from the neck down, most likely permanently, and he now needs help to do things as basic as getting dressed or taking a bath. Dygert, who has kept in touch with Hartsock since the accident, sometimes tears up when she thinks about what a sacrifice her instructor made for her, saying, "How can somebody have that much love for another person?"
Putting others and their needs ahead of you is the point Paul is making in 1 Corinthians 8. Don’t let your freedom to do what you want to become a stumbling block to those who may not be in the same place in their walk as you are. Will you love them enough to make that sacrifice?
Bill T.
* * *
Mark 1:21-28
Has anyone ever been astounded by what you taught or preached? I’m not sure that ever happened to me. I study and prepare to lead a class. Does my preparation bear fruit? I’m not sure. I pray, research, read, and write as I prepare to preach. Does my preaching bear fruit? I’m not sure. How is the Spirit of God proclaimed and professed in my teaching and preaching? I am not called to be a healer, as Jesus was. I am not called to be a church planter, as Paul was. What I am called to be is faithful in my pursuit of teaching and preaching about the presence of God in my heart, in my life, and in the world. That may be enough.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Mark 1:21-28
Authority has fallen on hard times in America. Respect for authority figures is at an all-time low. A December 2022 Gallup poll indicated that only 62% of American had a very high or high respect for medical doctors. Teachers, police, judges, clergy, and lawyers ranked lower at 53%, 50%, 39%, 34%, and 21% respectively. Journalists checked in at 23% and members of Congress at 9% (below car salespeople). We don’t respect people who tell us what to do. All this freedom from authority is not making us happy. Social analyst Christopher Lasch nicely noted that without the presence of authoritative limits, the human personality falls in bondage to blind desires (The Culture of Narcissism, p.343).
American Christians are not inclined to see Jesus as an authority but focus more on his kindness or his example. But his contemporaries experienced him as having authority (v.27). They were hungry for it. Mormon leader Dieter F. Uchtdorf puts it well:
Christ is the source of all true priesthood authority and power on earth. It is his work, in which we are privileged to assist... Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.
Evangelical author and missionary Elisabeth Elliot elaborated on this point, helping us understand what it would entail to accept Jesus’ authority. She writes:
Until the will and the affections are brought under the authority of Christ, we have not begun to understand, let alone to accept, his lordship.
Remember in childhood the great security we had when authorities like our parents or respected elders took us somewhere. We were not then haunted by worries or anxieties in travel or in life like we often feel today as adults as we have to rely on ourselves. With Jesus in charge, we are still under that sort of loving authority and so under his charge and the child-like peace of mind that comes with it the anxieties and doubts that arise when you are on your own begin to wither away.
Mark E.
The new economy ushered in by globalization and now internet connectivity demands flexibility, a dynamic that undermines traditional values (Richard Sennett, The Corrosion of Character). No surprise, then, that a June 2023 Gallup poll found that 54% of us rate moral values as poor in our nation, and 33% of us say it is only fair. Americans are almost unanimous (83%) in claiming that U.S. morality is in decline. Our lesson’s promise that a new prophet will emerge requires fulfillment in our politics and social life.
Martin Luther helps us understand what the job of the prophets are, what sort of leaders we need:
For in the prophets we see that he who has despised God’s threatening has never succeeded in the end, even though they were the mightiest of emperors and kings or the holiest and most learned on whom the sun ever shone. And, on the other hand, we see that no one who dared rely on God’s comforts and promises has ever been forsaken, though they were the most miserable sinners and the poorest beggars who ever lived on earth... (What Luther Says, p.1146)
Here’s some of what famed 20th-century Jewish scholar and critic of Hitler, Abraham Heschel, said about the prophets:
Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profane riches of the world. It is a form of living, a crossing point of God and man. God is raging in the prophet’s words.
As our election process continues, let’s look for prophetic presidential and congressional candidates who will speak for moral values, who exhibit the commitments to the plight of the poor, get pastors to recommit to these agendas and get parishioners to act on opportunities to critique wealth and speak for the poor on the job and in the streets.
Mark E.
* * *
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Who are the prophets who have been raised up in our lives? Moses echoes the proclamation of God that other prophets would be raised up for the people. Who are our prophets of the contemporary age? If I were to list some I believe are prophets I would name Howard Thurman, Martin Luther King, Jr., Sister Teresa, Diana Butler Bass, Otis Moss III, Rev. Dr. Marvin McMickle (my seminary president). Who would you name? Who are the prophetic voices in your life? Perhaps it is someone well known, perhaps only someone you know. What are the messages of today’s prophets and do they align with the will of God and following in the footsteps of Jesus? Are you a prophet? Do you have a calling to be? If so, step out boldly and proclaim the message God has given you. If not, follow Jesus and the contemporary prophets in your life.
Bonnie B.
* * *
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Just in case this sounds familiar, you read these paragraphs in slightly different form as part of the Emphasis for January 14!
When Christians from Jewish and Gentile backgrounds came together in faith in the first century, it could be difficult to eat around the common table if some considered certain foods not just unappetizing, but prohibited by God, whereas others had eaten such foods since childhood. The display of disdain or disgust could drive people off. Others would wonder what all the fuss was about. Paul’s advice was to take the other person’s feelings into account and act accordingly. Evidently at some point he’d said something like
To complicate things further, the food offered to idols was anathema to certain believers, but in Roman culture all butchering was done in the temples. A small amount of the meat would be given to the god and after the priest of that god inspected the meat and pronounced it healthy, it would be offered for sale in the marketplace. All meat available in some cities had been technically offered to an idol. Some said, those gods didn’t exist, so no harm had been done. Others probably choked at the thought of eating this meat.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
I came across this story and read a full account of it in Sports Illustrated (July 28, 2014). In 2009, veteran Texas skydiving instructor Dave Hartsock was in the middle of a 13,000-feet-high tandem jump with Shirley Dygert, a grandmother and first-time diver, when he discovered that neither of his two parachutes would open all the way to stop their free fall. Red alerts screamed through his brain as he struggled to untangle the parachute lines. They fell thousands of feet, then a few thousand more. With just seconds left to go before impact, Hartsock opted to use control toggles to rotate his body so that he'd cushion Dygert, absorbing the brunt of the force when the two of them hit the ground.
Hartsock's quick thinking saved Dygert's life. While she sustained some injuries, she recovered and is able to function normally. But Hartsock paid a monumental price. The fall paralyzed him from the neck down, most likely permanently, and he now needs help to do things as basic as getting dressed or taking a bath. Dygert, who has kept in touch with Hartsock since the accident, sometimes tears up when she thinks about what a sacrifice her instructor made for her, saying, "How can somebody have that much love for another person?"
Putting others and their needs ahead of you is the point Paul is making in 1 Corinthians 8. Don’t let your freedom to do what you want to become a stumbling block to those who may not be in the same place in their walk as you are. Will you love them enough to make that sacrifice?
Bill T.
* * *
Mark 1:21-28
Has anyone ever been astounded by what you taught or preached? I’m not sure that ever happened to me. I study and prepare to lead a class. Does my preparation bear fruit? I’m not sure. I pray, research, read, and write as I prepare to preach. Does my preaching bear fruit? I’m not sure. How is the Spirit of God proclaimed and professed in my teaching and preaching? I am not called to be a healer, as Jesus was. I am not called to be a church planter, as Paul was. What I am called to be is faithful in my pursuit of teaching and preaching about the presence of God in my heart, in my life, and in the world. That may be enough.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Mark 1:21-28
Authority has fallen on hard times in America. Respect for authority figures is at an all-time low. A December 2022 Gallup poll indicated that only 62% of American had a very high or high respect for medical doctors. Teachers, police, judges, clergy, and lawyers ranked lower at 53%, 50%, 39%, 34%, and 21% respectively. Journalists checked in at 23% and members of Congress at 9% (below car salespeople). We don’t respect people who tell us what to do. All this freedom from authority is not making us happy. Social analyst Christopher Lasch nicely noted that without the presence of authoritative limits, the human personality falls in bondage to blind desires (The Culture of Narcissism, p.343).
American Christians are not inclined to see Jesus as an authority but focus more on his kindness or his example. But his contemporaries experienced him as having authority (v.27). They were hungry for it. Mormon leader Dieter F. Uchtdorf puts it well:
Christ is the source of all true priesthood authority and power on earth. It is his work, in which we are privileged to assist... Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.
Evangelical author and missionary Elisabeth Elliot elaborated on this point, helping us understand what it would entail to accept Jesus’ authority. She writes:
Until the will and the affections are brought under the authority of Christ, we have not begun to understand, let alone to accept, his lordship.
Remember in childhood the great security we had when authorities like our parents or respected elders took us somewhere. We were not then haunted by worries or anxieties in travel or in life like we often feel today as adults as we have to rely on ourselves. With Jesus in charge, we are still under that sort of loving authority and so under his charge and the child-like peace of mind that comes with it the anxieties and doubts that arise when you are on your own begin to wither away.
Mark E.
