Sermon Illustrations for Good Friday (2013)
Illustration
Object:
Isaiah 52:13--53:12
The Revolutionary War was not going well for the Americans, as the British were continually defeating the Continental Army on the fields of battle. A victory was needed, and George Washington saw his opportunity to defeat the Hessian mercenaries in Trenton on the day after Christmas. Prior to the battle, Washington wrote himself a note that simply read "Victory or death."
Washington and his troops, after crossing the Delaware River on that cold winter's night, did secure victory in the Battle of Trenton.
Ron L.
Isaiah 52:13--53:12
The lesson portrays the Servant who suffers for us, the Messiah on the cross, as undesirable in appearance and disfigured (52:14-15; 53:2). Yet Pope Benedict XVI has reminded us that on the cross, despite its apparent ugliness, we see the future of humankind! For on the cross, in the wounds Jesus endured and through the opening of his flesh, all the walls and personal privacy that divide us are torn down as his blood flows on us and becomes our own. The wounds Jesus bears open him and us up -- to each other. His outstretched arms on the cross welcome us all into him. His embrace of us on the cross represents the future of all humankind -- a life lived for others, not for ourselves, a life no longer lived in isolation but in mutual embrace. If we want to know where we are going as human beings, the Servant on the cross shows us (Introduction to Christianity, pp. 239-240).
Mark E.
Hebrews 10:16-25
God makes contracts with us, but he plants them in our hearts and minds. It's not just memory work as in Catechism, he plants his law in our hearts! That can change our country and the world. Since Jesus died for people and not principles, it can change both political parties and Christian denominations.
Then God puts in a postscript indicating that he will remember their sins no more. And because of that there is no more need for other sacrifices for sin. All he asks is that we come to him with sincerity. That can be harder than it sounds. Try it! How many of our thank-yous are spoken with deep feelings of gratitude?
It seems that we can't do it alone. We need to support each other. Ask the fellow who only wants to meet God alone out in the mountain wilderness. When I asked one of those hikers if they do pray and if they carry their Bibles with them, they look embarrassed and turn away. It is just an excuse for being lazy! The other thing they can't do on the mountain is help strengthen other believers! In other words, it is selfishness as well as laziness. Quote this verse for those non-churchgoers: "Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing!" It seems that they have not followed the "contract." It sounds like God's law is not in their hearts and certainly not written in their minds.
It seems like it is the duty of every churchgoing Christian to encourage the non-churchgoers to come back to God's house to gain strength and to give strength to others. We should all be missionaries at home or abroad.
Let us all hurry to sign that contract so that God will fulfill his part and forgive all our sins! What a bargain! The day is approaching, so don't waste your time.
Bob O.
Hebrews 10:16-25
Archaeologists in the Holy Land and in other scattered Jewish settlements throughout the Middle East have uncovered ritual bathing pools, called mikvehs. An individual would walk down steps into the pool, into which running water would flow. Occasions for this ritual bath might be after sexual activity, after touching a corpse, or after eating meat of an animal that died naturally. There were other times for this also, and the purpose was to spiritually cleanse the body so that one would be pure before the Lord. When the writer to the Hebrews refers to "our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water," he may be alluding to the well-known practice of going to the mikveh. The Christian is assured of being cleansed and pure through one's relationship with Jesus, who is high priest over life.
Mark M.
John 18:1--19:42
During the French and Indian War, George Washington was accompanying General Edward Braddock on his march against Fort Duquesne -- which is present day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- and was caught in an ambush by French soldiers and their Indian allies. During the attack Braddock, the British commander, was mortally wounded. Unable to lead his command, Washington took over as the officer-in-charge.
During the battle the 21-year-old Washington had two horses shot out from underneath him and four musket balls go through his coat. But it was the courage and leadership displayed in this battle that later secured Washington's position as the commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
War, battles, wounded soldiers, and death are awful to contemplate; yet each can carry with it an important story and message. From the wounds and death of Jesus we have the story and message of our salvation.
Ron L.
John 18:1--19:42
Again and again we become Peter, repeating his denials of Jesus with the way we live. Martin Luther spoke of the great comfort that this insight affords: "For it is so very rich in comfort for all poor sinners, that a great man [Peter] suffers such a fall and yet receives grace and forgiveness" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 5, p. 404).
Encountered by a love that can overlook the greatest of falls, it is all the more likely that falls by lesser lights like us will be overlooked. And then we can sing with medieval mystic St. Catherine of Genoa of seeing on the cross a love so pure and clear that it separates us from ourselves, consumes all that we love, and sets us on fire until nothing is left in us but a yearning for God's love (Elmer O'Brien, editor, Varieties of Mystic Experience, p. 191). The Passion story of betrayal and suffering ignites a fire of love, a fire that destroys everything in the way of that fire except the fire itself, until all that is left is that fire of divine love which is burning from the cross.
Mark E.
The Revolutionary War was not going well for the Americans, as the British were continually defeating the Continental Army on the fields of battle. A victory was needed, and George Washington saw his opportunity to defeat the Hessian mercenaries in Trenton on the day after Christmas. Prior to the battle, Washington wrote himself a note that simply read "Victory or death."
Washington and his troops, after crossing the Delaware River on that cold winter's night, did secure victory in the Battle of Trenton.
Ron L.
Isaiah 52:13--53:12
The lesson portrays the Servant who suffers for us, the Messiah on the cross, as undesirable in appearance and disfigured (52:14-15; 53:2). Yet Pope Benedict XVI has reminded us that on the cross, despite its apparent ugliness, we see the future of humankind! For on the cross, in the wounds Jesus endured and through the opening of his flesh, all the walls and personal privacy that divide us are torn down as his blood flows on us and becomes our own. The wounds Jesus bears open him and us up -- to each other. His outstretched arms on the cross welcome us all into him. His embrace of us on the cross represents the future of all humankind -- a life lived for others, not for ourselves, a life no longer lived in isolation but in mutual embrace. If we want to know where we are going as human beings, the Servant on the cross shows us (Introduction to Christianity, pp. 239-240).
Mark E.
Hebrews 10:16-25
God makes contracts with us, but he plants them in our hearts and minds. It's not just memory work as in Catechism, he plants his law in our hearts! That can change our country and the world. Since Jesus died for people and not principles, it can change both political parties and Christian denominations.
Then God puts in a postscript indicating that he will remember their sins no more. And because of that there is no more need for other sacrifices for sin. All he asks is that we come to him with sincerity. That can be harder than it sounds. Try it! How many of our thank-yous are spoken with deep feelings of gratitude?
It seems that we can't do it alone. We need to support each other. Ask the fellow who only wants to meet God alone out in the mountain wilderness. When I asked one of those hikers if they do pray and if they carry their Bibles with them, they look embarrassed and turn away. It is just an excuse for being lazy! The other thing they can't do on the mountain is help strengthen other believers! In other words, it is selfishness as well as laziness. Quote this verse for those non-churchgoers: "Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing!" It seems that they have not followed the "contract." It sounds like God's law is not in their hearts and certainly not written in their minds.
It seems like it is the duty of every churchgoing Christian to encourage the non-churchgoers to come back to God's house to gain strength and to give strength to others. We should all be missionaries at home or abroad.
Let us all hurry to sign that contract so that God will fulfill his part and forgive all our sins! What a bargain! The day is approaching, so don't waste your time.
Bob O.
Hebrews 10:16-25
Archaeologists in the Holy Land and in other scattered Jewish settlements throughout the Middle East have uncovered ritual bathing pools, called mikvehs. An individual would walk down steps into the pool, into which running water would flow. Occasions for this ritual bath might be after sexual activity, after touching a corpse, or after eating meat of an animal that died naturally. There were other times for this also, and the purpose was to spiritually cleanse the body so that one would be pure before the Lord. When the writer to the Hebrews refers to "our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water," he may be alluding to the well-known practice of going to the mikveh. The Christian is assured of being cleansed and pure through one's relationship with Jesus, who is high priest over life.
Mark M.
John 18:1--19:42
During the French and Indian War, George Washington was accompanying General Edward Braddock on his march against Fort Duquesne -- which is present day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- and was caught in an ambush by French soldiers and their Indian allies. During the attack Braddock, the British commander, was mortally wounded. Unable to lead his command, Washington took over as the officer-in-charge.
During the battle the 21-year-old Washington had two horses shot out from underneath him and four musket balls go through his coat. But it was the courage and leadership displayed in this battle that later secured Washington's position as the commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
War, battles, wounded soldiers, and death are awful to contemplate; yet each can carry with it an important story and message. From the wounds and death of Jesus we have the story and message of our salvation.
Ron L.
John 18:1--19:42
Again and again we become Peter, repeating his denials of Jesus with the way we live. Martin Luther spoke of the great comfort that this insight affords: "For it is so very rich in comfort for all poor sinners, that a great man [Peter] suffers such a fall and yet receives grace and forgiveness" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 5, p. 404).
Encountered by a love that can overlook the greatest of falls, it is all the more likely that falls by lesser lights like us will be overlooked. And then we can sing with medieval mystic St. Catherine of Genoa of seeing on the cross a love so pure and clear that it separates us from ourselves, consumes all that we love, and sets us on fire until nothing is left in us but a yearning for God's love (Elmer O'Brien, editor, Varieties of Mystic Experience, p. 191). The Passion story of betrayal and suffering ignites a fire of love, a fire that destroys everything in the way of that fire except the fire itself, until all that is left is that fire of divine love which is burning from the cross.
Mark E.
