Sermon Illustrations for the Fifth Sunday after Easter (2021)
Illustration
Acts 8:26-40
This story of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch is a testimony to the “black presence in the Bible,” a commitment which is quite pressing in many segments of the African-American community. Why does it matter? Community organizer Onleilove Alston well expresses the importance of this witness and why it should reflect in sermons on this story:
Studying the black presence in the Bible can open the door to discussions about racial justice and dispel the myth that the Bible is the "white man's book." It is this myth that has kept many people of color from the gospel.
The lesson's account of how the study of the Bible led to the eunuch's conversion is a significant word for today, as a 2019 Barna Research Group found 57% of Americans either never read the Bible or claim it has no impact on their lives. John Calvin seems to have perceived a similar problem in his lifetime and his response is worthy of attention:
Hereby it cometh to pass that the reading of the Scriptures doth profit so few at this day, because we can scarce find one amongst a hundred who submitteth himself willingly to learn.
This is the true reverence of the Scripture, when as we acknowledge that there is that wisdom which surpasseth all our sense; and yet, notwithstanding, we do not loathe it, but, reading diligently, we depend upon the revelation of the Spirit, and desire to have an interpreter given us. (Calvin’s Commentaries, XVIII/2, p.354)
Mark E.
* * *
Acts 8:26-40
In my faith tradition, we ordain individuals into a role of pastor and teacher. The teaching is important. The leading of worship is important. The performance of our two sacraments, baptism and communion, is important. Philip demonstrates a willingness to serve as pastor and teacher for one who has been ostracized, turned away from the institution of the church. Philip is commanded to travel to Gaza. He did that. He encounters the Ethiopian eunuch. He could ignore him, ostracize him as his Jewish tradition would dictate. But Philip follows Jesus. He baptizes, preaches, and teaches. He is faithful in his path of following Jesus. We are called to do the same — with everyone, in every circumstance. May it be so.
Bonnie B.
* * *
1 John 4:7-21
NBC News in Los Angeles reported this touching story on December 21, 2013. It’s a story of a very unusual military funeral in California. Sgt. First Class Joseph Gantt, who fought in both World War II and the Korean War, was laid to rest. He’d been captured in Korea in 1950 and died the following year. But his body was not returned for many years, and his death was never confirmed by the North Koreans.
His wife, Clara, waited for decades for her husband to return. They’d met by chance on a train heading to California in the 1940’s and pledged their love for one another when they were married. In 2013, Clara was 94 years old when Joseph’s remains were finally brought home for a military funeral with full honors. It wasn’t the homecoming she dreamed of, but she finally knew his fate. Clara told a reporter who interviewed her, “He told me if anything happened to him, he wanted me to remarry. And I told him ‘No, no.’ Here I am, still his wife, and I’m going to remain his wife until the day the Lord calls me home.”
Love is powerful. Christians are called to love one another because love is from God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-8). Will we love as we are loved? Will people know we are followers of Jesus because of our love?
Bill T.
* * *
1 John 4:7-21
The word “love” appears repeatedly so many times in the first letter of John (44 times in its 105 verses) that like anything repeated so often can become mind numbingly numb after a while. Love is considered the ultimate emotion, sacred, or very nearly so.
So, this statement, “We love because God first loved us,” which is pleasing to the ear, rather rhythmic, and seemingly self-evident to the point that it feels powerful and needs no proof, can nevertheless lose its power because we don’t know what it means.
The letters of John are written in Greek, which has four different words for love. John uses agape, the word used to describe the selfless love that acts expecting nothing in return. This is represented by the word chesed in Hebrew, sometimes translated “steadfast love.” Both words are used to refer to the quality of God’s love, and in the Hebraic understanding love is not just a feeling. Love is action. You can’t just say, “I love God” or “I love everyone” without demonstrating the truth of this in action.
That’s why in the very next verse John writes, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars….” If you can’t act in love towards those who have seen, how can you love someone you can’t see? This is especially true of irrational hatred, such as racism or the kind of nationalism that causes to hate other nations.
Frank R.
* * *
John 15:1-8
Abiding with Jesus is tough sometimes. Especially when he is trying to prune away the parts of us that do not align with the realm and will of God. I like some parts of myself, and dislike others, but I want to be the one who chooses which characteristics I change or move away from. I do not surrender well. Do you? Yet, Jesus is reminding us that to abide in Jesus, we may need to let go of some parts of ourselves, prune some things away so we can be more fruitful. That means looking at ourselves through the eyes of God, a task difficult for most of us. The eyes of love can still strive for us to change, to align more clearly with God’s path for us, and to leave behind that which hinders our faith journey. I’m committed to aligning with Jesus, and yes, even to being pruned. What about you?
Bonnie B.
* * *
John 15:1-8
Jesus’ words about the Christian life, how we are branches in His vine are nicely summarized by Martin Luther:
For by such faith in the Word he is grafted into the vine that is Christ and clothed in His purity... And I lay hold of the Word by faith, it creates in me – through the Holy Spirit Who works through it – a new heart and new thoughts, which adhere to it firmly and do not doubt but live and die by it. Because I cleave to it, for this reason whatever impurities and sins still cling to me are not imputed to me... (Luther’s Works, Vol. 24, p.212)
John Wesley nicely explains how God is involved in all that we do, grows us into bearing fruit:
Thus, even the circumstances of the journey were under the direction of God. The kingdom of God suits itself to external circumstances without any violence; as air yields to all bodies and yet pervades all. (Commentary On the Bible, p.479)
When it comes to living in a Christian way and doing good, grace is like the air we breathe, it makes everything else happen.
Mark E.
This story of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch is a testimony to the “black presence in the Bible,” a commitment which is quite pressing in many segments of the African-American community. Why does it matter? Community organizer Onleilove Alston well expresses the importance of this witness and why it should reflect in sermons on this story:
Studying the black presence in the Bible can open the door to discussions about racial justice and dispel the myth that the Bible is the "white man's book." It is this myth that has kept many people of color from the gospel.
The lesson's account of how the study of the Bible led to the eunuch's conversion is a significant word for today, as a 2019 Barna Research Group found 57% of Americans either never read the Bible or claim it has no impact on their lives. John Calvin seems to have perceived a similar problem in his lifetime and his response is worthy of attention:
Hereby it cometh to pass that the reading of the Scriptures doth profit so few at this day, because we can scarce find one amongst a hundred who submitteth himself willingly to learn.
This is the true reverence of the Scripture, when as we acknowledge that there is that wisdom which surpasseth all our sense; and yet, notwithstanding, we do not loathe it, but, reading diligently, we depend upon the revelation of the Spirit, and desire to have an interpreter given us. (Calvin’s Commentaries, XVIII/2, p.354)
Mark E.
* * *
Acts 8:26-40
In my faith tradition, we ordain individuals into a role of pastor and teacher. The teaching is important. The leading of worship is important. The performance of our two sacraments, baptism and communion, is important. Philip demonstrates a willingness to serve as pastor and teacher for one who has been ostracized, turned away from the institution of the church. Philip is commanded to travel to Gaza. He did that. He encounters the Ethiopian eunuch. He could ignore him, ostracize him as his Jewish tradition would dictate. But Philip follows Jesus. He baptizes, preaches, and teaches. He is faithful in his path of following Jesus. We are called to do the same — with everyone, in every circumstance. May it be so.
Bonnie B.
* * *
1 John 4:7-21
NBC News in Los Angeles reported this touching story on December 21, 2013. It’s a story of a very unusual military funeral in California. Sgt. First Class Joseph Gantt, who fought in both World War II and the Korean War, was laid to rest. He’d been captured in Korea in 1950 and died the following year. But his body was not returned for many years, and his death was never confirmed by the North Koreans.
His wife, Clara, waited for decades for her husband to return. They’d met by chance on a train heading to California in the 1940’s and pledged their love for one another when they were married. In 2013, Clara was 94 years old when Joseph’s remains were finally brought home for a military funeral with full honors. It wasn’t the homecoming she dreamed of, but she finally knew his fate. Clara told a reporter who interviewed her, “He told me if anything happened to him, he wanted me to remarry. And I told him ‘No, no.’ Here I am, still his wife, and I’m going to remain his wife until the day the Lord calls me home.”
Love is powerful. Christians are called to love one another because love is from God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-8). Will we love as we are loved? Will people know we are followers of Jesus because of our love?
Bill T.
* * *
1 John 4:7-21
The word “love” appears repeatedly so many times in the first letter of John (44 times in its 105 verses) that like anything repeated so often can become mind numbingly numb after a while. Love is considered the ultimate emotion, sacred, or very nearly so.
So, this statement, “We love because God first loved us,” which is pleasing to the ear, rather rhythmic, and seemingly self-evident to the point that it feels powerful and needs no proof, can nevertheless lose its power because we don’t know what it means.
The letters of John are written in Greek, which has four different words for love. John uses agape, the word used to describe the selfless love that acts expecting nothing in return. This is represented by the word chesed in Hebrew, sometimes translated “steadfast love.” Both words are used to refer to the quality of God’s love, and in the Hebraic understanding love is not just a feeling. Love is action. You can’t just say, “I love God” or “I love everyone” without demonstrating the truth of this in action.
That’s why in the very next verse John writes, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars….” If you can’t act in love towards those who have seen, how can you love someone you can’t see? This is especially true of irrational hatred, such as racism or the kind of nationalism that causes to hate other nations.
Frank R.
* * *
John 15:1-8
Abiding with Jesus is tough sometimes. Especially when he is trying to prune away the parts of us that do not align with the realm and will of God. I like some parts of myself, and dislike others, but I want to be the one who chooses which characteristics I change or move away from. I do not surrender well. Do you? Yet, Jesus is reminding us that to abide in Jesus, we may need to let go of some parts of ourselves, prune some things away so we can be more fruitful. That means looking at ourselves through the eyes of God, a task difficult for most of us. The eyes of love can still strive for us to change, to align more clearly with God’s path for us, and to leave behind that which hinders our faith journey. I’m committed to aligning with Jesus, and yes, even to being pruned. What about you?
Bonnie B.
* * *
John 15:1-8
Jesus’ words about the Christian life, how we are branches in His vine are nicely summarized by Martin Luther:
For by such faith in the Word he is grafted into the vine that is Christ and clothed in His purity... And I lay hold of the Word by faith, it creates in me – through the Holy Spirit Who works through it – a new heart and new thoughts, which adhere to it firmly and do not doubt but live and die by it. Because I cleave to it, for this reason whatever impurities and sins still cling to me are not imputed to me... (Luther’s Works, Vol. 24, p.212)
John Wesley nicely explains how God is involved in all that we do, grows us into bearing fruit:
Thus, even the circumstances of the journey were under the direction of God. The kingdom of God suits itself to external circumstances without any violence; as air yields to all bodies and yet pervades all. (Commentary On the Bible, p.479)
When it comes to living in a Christian way and doing good, grace is like the air we breathe, it makes everything else happen.
Mark E.
