Sermon Illustrations for Epiphany of the Lord (2013)
Illustration
Isaiah 60:1-6
Epiphany is a story of the light, the star, which leads the wise men to the light of the world. This lesson refers to God bringing his light into our lives (v. 1). We need that light in view of all the hardships and despair caused by the Great Recession. A Pugh Research Center report released in late August 2012 revealed that for the first time since World War II the American middle class is losing ground. The light of God in Christ shines in our darkness and loss of hope. This light allows us to say with American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson that "when it is darkest, we see the stars." And Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of God's light as giving rise to the light of creative altruism, which overcomes the darkness of destructive selfishness and is the cause of all forms of oppression. The shining light of God at Epiphany ignites a lot of candles of self-giving hope.
Mark E.
Isaiah 60:1-6
Colin Powell, as Secretary of State, tried to negotiate peace between Palestine and Israel. Realizing the daunting task before him, Powell commented, "We're at the beginning of a new long hallway. At the end is a negotiation for peace. But first we must get the door open. It's going to take two keys." Sadly, people lack the keys to open the doors to new understanding. Thus it was the case for the first-century temple leaders who failed to unlock the door for the Son of David. Palm Sunday, he rode upon the back of a donkey, the sign that a king comes in peace, rather than mounted on a white stallion, the mark of war, only to find one the one adorned in palm branches arrived with a key, the second being absent.
We can only hope that one day individuals and nations shall find the second key and in the words of Isaiah, "Nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn."
Ron L.
Ephesians 3:1-12
Almost all of us have read the Bible or heard it read, but how many have had a revelation? What is a revelation and how does it come? Paul had his first revelation on the road to Damascus but few have had a similar revelation since then. I know some Evangelicals claim that you can't know the Lord unless you have had an "experience." They may use it as their "testimony," but some make one up in order to be part of their group. Few Lutherans claim a "revelation" for fear of being thought crazy, but I wonder if you can be a real Christian unless you have had some kind of personal experience.
I was about thirty when I faced a temptation that forced me to examine my faith. I had not gone to church too often since I left home. A passage on my dresser that I got from my folks encouraged me to seek and I will find, knock and it will be opened. I decided to knock since a lot of money was at stake. For three days I prayed but with no results. I guess I expected a voice to come from the ceiling! On the fourth day I glanced down and saw a new translation of the Bible my folks had given me. I had flipped the pages so it would look like I read it. I had a strong feeling that God was answering me in that Bible! So I asked him a question and then started to read in Matthew. I started to read the Bible beginning in Genesis when I was younger. It started out fairly interesting but I got bored in all the laws and lists and did not pick it up for almost ten years until that day. The first chapter had the answer to my question which surprised me. The same thing happened the second day, but when it happened again the third day, I knew someone was guiding me. I was so overcome that I fell on the floor asking for God's forgiveness!
From that day on, I knew that the Bible held the answer to my questions. Only shortly after that, at the age of thirty, God led me to become a pastor. God speaks to us through the Bible and if we are guided by His Holy Spirit, I would call it a revelation.
When I was as a missionary to Nepal, I bailed out a number of fellow Christians who were jailed because of their faith. When they came out, they had a powerful testimony. They were very humble about their experience, but they became servants. Because of their testimonies the church there had grown from the first convert, who we knew, to about 2 million! He spent time in prison, but his testimony there was so powerful that they had to let him go or the whole prison would have been converted! Go thou and do likewise!
Bob O.
Ephesians 3:1-12
In our system of government, as well as in many other systems around the world, there is the position of Secretary of State. This individual is commissioned by the president to represent the nation (its people, policies, and practices) to other countries. The Secretary of State engages other leaders and representatives to develop a dialog of understanding so that relationships can be built to advance healthy, working partnerships that can make peace, keep peace, and build peace, depending upon the challenging situations being addressed. For example, this past summer, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to nine countries to share U.S. interests in a host of international issues. Often the Secretary of State delivers top secret messages from the president to broker new understandings and reach beyond impasses in the ongoing conversation. Paul is like such a secretary of state to the Gentile nations, commissioned by God to share the mystery of God's revelation through Jesus.
Mark M.
Ephesians 3:1-12
Romance stories touch my heart, but give me a "mystery," one with good suspense. Great reading! I really get into it. Be it a book, television show, movie, or even a board game, a mystery is fascinating. How about Peter Falk playing Charlie Chan in Clue? That mystery film followed players in search of a "Who done it?" Elimination reveals it was Ms. Scarlet, in the library, with the wrench. Ta-da! You win. Then there's Mr. Monk of television: that fussy, germaphobic detective who eventually unveils clues pointing once more to "Who done it?" Finally, there are authors like John Grisham and David Balducci who draw readers through intriguing plots to "Who is the perpetrator?"
God is involved in mystery. His plan, though hidden, can be solved if one follows the clues. Detectives like Paul, Peter, and John examined the evidence and put two and two together. God's mystery is solved "...for God so loved the world" (John 3:16).
Cynthia C.
Matthew 2:1-12
Currently seated Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens enlisted in the Navy several hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He served as a cryptographer, assigned to breaking Japanese codes. The team, of which he was a member, was responsible for decoding the orders that informed American officials the flight plan of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander of the Japanese Navy and the architect of the Pearl Harbor aerial assault. Based on this information, Navy pilots, on the orders of President Roosevelt, shot down Yamamoto's plane in April 1943. Stevens was troubled by this military action. Yamamoto, a highly intelligent officer who had lived in the United States and became friends with many American officers, was shot down with so little deliberation and humanitarian consideration. Amongst the frenzied leaders of "The Land of the Rising Sun," could he not have been the voice of reason? Into the waters of the Pacific did we not possibly lose the cornerstone of peace negotiations?
Stevens, decades hence, still reflects upon this incident, causing him to alter his position on the death penalty in his court deliberations. The justice related, "I was sitting on the desk, on watch, when I got word that they had shot down Yamamoto in the Solomon Islands, and I remember thinking: This is a particular individual they went out to intercept. There is a very different notion when you're thinking about killing an individual, as opposed to killing a soldier in the line of fire." Partly as a result of his World War II experience, Stevens expressed, that regarding the death penalty, the court must narrow the category of those who are eligible for capital punishment, adding that it is imposed fairly, accurately, and with earnest deliberation.
One may agree or take issue with Stevens' interpretation of the orders to assassinate Yamamoto, but the question for us is how often do we reflect on past assumptions, allowing the knowledge gained to alter our present course of action? When Herod met the wise men, he was unable to ask the correct questions and made the wrong assumptions.
Ron L.
Matthew 2:1-12
Reason and our sense of propriety are easily offended by the lowly state of the baby whom the wise men met. We think we are too good for his lowliness. For as Martin Luther once said: We "stink of pure self-esteem and self-conceit" (Luther's Works, Vol. 52, p. 213). Or as 19th-century English author William Hazlitt observed: "We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit." God deliberately uses lowly means like the baby Jesus, all-too-ordinary souls like us, to do his work, because "he does not wish to use such self-assured and presumptuous spirits for this work, but people who have been through the mill, have been tested and crushed... No, God must always retain the honor" (Luther's Works, Vol. 28, pp. 86-87).
It's good God offends our sense of what is "proper," even undermines our presumption. It makes us better vehicles with which to honor him.
Mark E.
Epiphany is a story of the light, the star, which leads the wise men to the light of the world. This lesson refers to God bringing his light into our lives (v. 1). We need that light in view of all the hardships and despair caused by the Great Recession. A Pugh Research Center report released in late August 2012 revealed that for the first time since World War II the American middle class is losing ground. The light of God in Christ shines in our darkness and loss of hope. This light allows us to say with American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson that "when it is darkest, we see the stars." And Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of God's light as giving rise to the light of creative altruism, which overcomes the darkness of destructive selfishness and is the cause of all forms of oppression. The shining light of God at Epiphany ignites a lot of candles of self-giving hope.
Mark E.
Isaiah 60:1-6
Colin Powell, as Secretary of State, tried to negotiate peace between Palestine and Israel. Realizing the daunting task before him, Powell commented, "We're at the beginning of a new long hallway. At the end is a negotiation for peace. But first we must get the door open. It's going to take two keys." Sadly, people lack the keys to open the doors to new understanding. Thus it was the case for the first-century temple leaders who failed to unlock the door for the Son of David. Palm Sunday, he rode upon the back of a donkey, the sign that a king comes in peace, rather than mounted on a white stallion, the mark of war, only to find one the one adorned in palm branches arrived with a key, the second being absent.
We can only hope that one day individuals and nations shall find the second key and in the words of Isaiah, "Nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn."
Ron L.
Ephesians 3:1-12
Almost all of us have read the Bible or heard it read, but how many have had a revelation? What is a revelation and how does it come? Paul had his first revelation on the road to Damascus but few have had a similar revelation since then. I know some Evangelicals claim that you can't know the Lord unless you have had an "experience." They may use it as their "testimony," but some make one up in order to be part of their group. Few Lutherans claim a "revelation" for fear of being thought crazy, but I wonder if you can be a real Christian unless you have had some kind of personal experience.
I was about thirty when I faced a temptation that forced me to examine my faith. I had not gone to church too often since I left home. A passage on my dresser that I got from my folks encouraged me to seek and I will find, knock and it will be opened. I decided to knock since a lot of money was at stake. For three days I prayed but with no results. I guess I expected a voice to come from the ceiling! On the fourth day I glanced down and saw a new translation of the Bible my folks had given me. I had flipped the pages so it would look like I read it. I had a strong feeling that God was answering me in that Bible! So I asked him a question and then started to read in Matthew. I started to read the Bible beginning in Genesis when I was younger. It started out fairly interesting but I got bored in all the laws and lists and did not pick it up for almost ten years until that day. The first chapter had the answer to my question which surprised me. The same thing happened the second day, but when it happened again the third day, I knew someone was guiding me. I was so overcome that I fell on the floor asking for God's forgiveness!
From that day on, I knew that the Bible held the answer to my questions. Only shortly after that, at the age of thirty, God led me to become a pastor. God speaks to us through the Bible and if we are guided by His Holy Spirit, I would call it a revelation.
When I was as a missionary to Nepal, I bailed out a number of fellow Christians who were jailed because of their faith. When they came out, they had a powerful testimony. They were very humble about their experience, but they became servants. Because of their testimonies the church there had grown from the first convert, who we knew, to about 2 million! He spent time in prison, but his testimony there was so powerful that they had to let him go or the whole prison would have been converted! Go thou and do likewise!
Bob O.
Ephesians 3:1-12
In our system of government, as well as in many other systems around the world, there is the position of Secretary of State. This individual is commissioned by the president to represent the nation (its people, policies, and practices) to other countries. The Secretary of State engages other leaders and representatives to develop a dialog of understanding so that relationships can be built to advance healthy, working partnerships that can make peace, keep peace, and build peace, depending upon the challenging situations being addressed. For example, this past summer, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to nine countries to share U.S. interests in a host of international issues. Often the Secretary of State delivers top secret messages from the president to broker new understandings and reach beyond impasses in the ongoing conversation. Paul is like such a secretary of state to the Gentile nations, commissioned by God to share the mystery of God's revelation through Jesus.
Mark M.
Ephesians 3:1-12
Romance stories touch my heart, but give me a "mystery," one with good suspense. Great reading! I really get into it. Be it a book, television show, movie, or even a board game, a mystery is fascinating. How about Peter Falk playing Charlie Chan in Clue? That mystery film followed players in search of a "Who done it?" Elimination reveals it was Ms. Scarlet, in the library, with the wrench. Ta-da! You win. Then there's Mr. Monk of television: that fussy, germaphobic detective who eventually unveils clues pointing once more to "Who done it?" Finally, there are authors like John Grisham and David Balducci who draw readers through intriguing plots to "Who is the perpetrator?"
God is involved in mystery. His plan, though hidden, can be solved if one follows the clues. Detectives like Paul, Peter, and John examined the evidence and put two and two together. God's mystery is solved "...for God so loved the world" (John 3:16).
Cynthia C.
Matthew 2:1-12
Currently seated Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens enlisted in the Navy several hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He served as a cryptographer, assigned to breaking Japanese codes. The team, of which he was a member, was responsible for decoding the orders that informed American officials the flight plan of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander of the Japanese Navy and the architect of the Pearl Harbor aerial assault. Based on this information, Navy pilots, on the orders of President Roosevelt, shot down Yamamoto's plane in April 1943. Stevens was troubled by this military action. Yamamoto, a highly intelligent officer who had lived in the United States and became friends with many American officers, was shot down with so little deliberation and humanitarian consideration. Amongst the frenzied leaders of "The Land of the Rising Sun," could he not have been the voice of reason? Into the waters of the Pacific did we not possibly lose the cornerstone of peace negotiations?
Stevens, decades hence, still reflects upon this incident, causing him to alter his position on the death penalty in his court deliberations. The justice related, "I was sitting on the desk, on watch, when I got word that they had shot down Yamamoto in the Solomon Islands, and I remember thinking: This is a particular individual they went out to intercept. There is a very different notion when you're thinking about killing an individual, as opposed to killing a soldier in the line of fire." Partly as a result of his World War II experience, Stevens expressed, that regarding the death penalty, the court must narrow the category of those who are eligible for capital punishment, adding that it is imposed fairly, accurately, and with earnest deliberation.
One may agree or take issue with Stevens' interpretation of the orders to assassinate Yamamoto, but the question for us is how often do we reflect on past assumptions, allowing the knowledge gained to alter our present course of action? When Herod met the wise men, he was unable to ask the correct questions and made the wrong assumptions.
Ron L.
Matthew 2:1-12
Reason and our sense of propriety are easily offended by the lowly state of the baby whom the wise men met. We think we are too good for his lowliness. For as Martin Luther once said: We "stink of pure self-esteem and self-conceit" (Luther's Works, Vol. 52, p. 213). Or as 19th-century English author William Hazlitt observed: "We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit." God deliberately uses lowly means like the baby Jesus, all-too-ordinary souls like us, to do his work, because "he does not wish to use such self-assured and presumptuous spirits for this work, but people who have been through the mill, have been tested and crushed... No, God must always retain the honor" (Luther's Works, Vol. 28, pp. 86-87).
It's good God offends our sense of what is "proper," even undermines our presumption. It makes us better vehicles with which to honor him.
Mark E.
