Sermon Illustrations for Lent 2 (2013)
Illustration
Object:
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Jeremiah Denton, a Navy pilot who was held captive in the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War, understood the need for the comforting presence of a heavenly parent as he endured a hell administered by heartless demons. He wrote poetry, memorized it, recited it to other pilots who in turn memorized the lines, and like stealth bombers the words of comfort would fly about the camp, undetected by Satan's emissaries.
On Easter of 1969, he wrote a poem titled "La Pieta." "La Pieta" is any poem or statue or similar piece of artistic expression that depicts the crucified Jesus lying on the lap of his mother, embraced in her arms. Once the poem became a part of the camp's vernacular, Denton was designated as the president of the Optimist Club.
The soldiers stare, then drift away,
Young John finds nothing to say,
The veil is rent; the deed is done;
And Mary holds her only son.
His limbs grow stiff, the night grows cold,
But naught can lose that mother's hold,
Her gentle, anguished eyes seem blind,
Who knows what thoughts run through her mind?
Perhaps she thinks of last week's palms,
With cheering thousands off'ring alms
Or dreams of Cana on the day
She nagged him till she got her way.
Her face shows grief but not despair,
Her head though bowed has faith to spare,
For even now she could suppose
His thorns might somehow yield a rose.
Her life with Him was full of signs
That God writes straight with crooked lines.
Dark clouds can bide the rising sun,
And all seem lost, when all be won!
As Abraham knew that one day he would be liberated and his children would number as the stars in the heaven, so Denton and the others held captive at the Hanoi Hilton knew their day of liberation was coming.
Ron L.
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
The American Dream seems to be in shambles today. A 2010 "Annual Report of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class" indicates that the challenges include expensive childcare obligations, mounting student debt, failure of the middle class adequately to save for retirement, and the shrinking job pool with salaries adequate to sustain a middle-class lifestyle. Add to this the rising costs of health care and inflation in general (as today it costs about $486 to purchase what you could buy in 1973 with $100). But in this lesson God makes a promise to Abraham that has never failed. God never fails his people, and so we can have hope in the midst of our tough times. John Calvin well illustrates these points: "... whatever benevolence, love, zeal, attention, or service, might be found among men, they are far inferior to the paternal mercy with which God encircles His people... for sooner shall the laws of nature be overturned a hundred times, that God shall fail his people" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. IV/2, p. 459).
We can't put up enough obstacles to stop God from fulfilling his promises. His love encircles us.
Mark E.
Philippians 3:17--4:1
It has been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Comedians imitate popular and political personalities for the sake of laughs. Paul writes about an imitation for the sake of life. To imitate what is good can sharpen one's own ability to live well. Artists in training will do this to sharpen their ability to create well. Jonathan Jones, art critic for The Guardian, writes: "Copying great drawings by great artists is part of the fun of learning to draw." He adds illustratively, "If there is one artist everyone should copy at least once, it is Van Gogh -- because his conception of art is so lucid that you really can get inside it, and learn from it the emotional weight of things." Paul is encouraging disciples in the faith to discover "the emotional weight of things" by imitating the lives of other worthy disciples in order to discover one's own unique discipleship within... one's own "emotional weight" that would deepen the Christian life one is called to live.
Mark M.
Philippians 3:17--4:1
Where is your citizenship? Day to day we think only of what we are going to do this day. How many of you think of what we will do when our time is ended on this earth? Is our other citizenship in order? Most of us Christians have dual citizenship but how many times do we think of our other citizenship in heaven?
We had a home in Hawaii a few years ago, and we often thought of it. It was beautiful and we went back and forth every year to take a break. Some of our kids were there and they minded the place when we were gone.
What if you were looking for a job or a place of retirement and had never left the US? Then suppose you went off to check out the property and the environment. Those who were left behind would be sad to see us leave, but they also would have joy in knowing that sometime they would be going there to live also. Wouldn't that affect our feelings of loss for a loved one, knowing we would meet again in a fantastically wonderful place?
The big difference is that we have seen pictures of Hawaii and talked with some who visited there and returned. The only one I know who has been to heaven and told us about it was Jesus. His words were short: "Rejoice!" Paul tells us to "hang in there!" Our day to rejoice is coming if we don't muff up!
Who is our example? An Olympic star? A famous movie star? A wealthy CEO? A great statesman? Or is it your pastor? A great Christian like Billy Graham? The Pope? The list could go on, but I bet it would most likely be someone you know or have seen on TV in your lifetime.
It is harder to idolize someone like Paul or Peter or another biblical character because we only have their writings to go by. If the Lord is our example, as he was to his disciples, then we need even more than the words. Words may help! Two of our children met their future mate on the internet. They communicated with words until one day they met and that clinched it. At least it was a two-way street! When we talk to our Lord, his answer is written in his word! That's where I found him.
There are also some who even call themselves Christian but whose lives are very sad examples. Their lives may even turn people off so that they don't even want to meet their Lord. One was the fellow in Norway who killed all those children. He said he was a Christian who hated Muslims! What kind of examples was he following? What kind of example was he setting?
Be careful who you choose and then check God's word to see if they conform -- then you be an example for others!
Bob O.
Luke 13:31-35
John Calvin calls attention to the implication that Jesus' reference to being like a hen who gathers her brood under her wings (v. 34) is a reference to the Lord's "maternal kindness" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 107). The love of Jesus is like a mother's love! In continuing to give an account of Jesus' prediction of his passion and lament over the inadequacies of Jerusalem, the text also offers an important insight about faith's (and Jesus') attitude toward the good things in life. Saint Augustine thoughtfully summarizes our Lord's viewpoint on this matter: "The world is loved; but let him be preferred by whom the world was made. Great is the world; but sweeter is he by whom the world was made" (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 6, p. 410).
The maternal kindness of God is even better than the best and most beautiful things the world has to offer!
Mark E.
Luke 13:31-35
July 18, 1965. Engulfed as the jet plane piloted by Jeremiah Denton came crashing to the ground in a ball of flames, setting the stage for seven and a half years of captivity in Hoa Lo Prision in Hanoi, better known as the Hanoi Hilton. There, along with 700 other Navy and Air Force airmen, he suffered isolation, malnutrition, disease, and torture. He, like the others, endured the trauma by shouldering some very basic principles -- patriotism, fellowship sustained by coded taps through the walls of solitary confinement, memories of family, and a faith in God. It would be hard to say which was most important, for each sustained the dignity of a man's humanity and self-worth.
Denton recounted his ordeal while confined in the Hanoi Hilton in a must-read book titled When Hell Was in Session. Of the many stories he recounts, one remains with me as none other. On his way to the latrine, Ed Davis passed word that he had a gift. There he found a cross woven from strips taken from a broom. Denton wrote, "I was deeply touched by the cross; it was my only really personal possession..." The officer kept it hidden in the pages of his propaganda pamphlet, thinking that would be the most unlikely place suspected or inspected. It was an unfortunate assumption as one day the guards inspected his cell, discovering and confiscating the forbidden cross. The guard threw the cross upon the filthy cement, stomped it with his boot, and then threw it into the open sewer.
A Vietnamese work crew was sent in to repair the tousled cell, as the culprit stood outside, bayonet pricking his neck. Denton, returning to his cell, outraged, began to rip apart the pamphlet, only to feel a lump among the pages. There, woven out of straw, was a beautiful cross. The workers, in collaboration with one another and at great personal risk, re-created Denton's symbol of faith and hope. The cross was a reminder of his personal relationship with God, and as the workers knew, a universal expression of hope. The members of the camp came to call the cross and accompanying story "Denton's Cross."
There is a special need for us to feel especially close to God. A relationship transcending friendship, for we are kindred -- truly a child of the beloved. In our private apartments at our personal Hanoi Hilton, we are able to grasp the cross and utter the word "Daddy." Childish? Then Jesus is the most boorish babe of us all.
Nailed to the cross, Jesus spoke the word "Abba," which in the Aramaic means "Daddy." It was the desperate plea of a child to a parent. It was a cry for solace and comfort. It came from excruciating agony, tears mingled in blood. It was the final act of a child recognizing one's father. It was the ultimate expression that Jesus understood himself to be, like none other on earth, the Son of God.
Jesus, as a hen who gathers her brood, longed for the children of Israel to be able to say "Abba."
Ron L.
Jeremiah Denton, a Navy pilot who was held captive in the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War, understood the need for the comforting presence of a heavenly parent as he endured a hell administered by heartless demons. He wrote poetry, memorized it, recited it to other pilots who in turn memorized the lines, and like stealth bombers the words of comfort would fly about the camp, undetected by Satan's emissaries.
On Easter of 1969, he wrote a poem titled "La Pieta." "La Pieta" is any poem or statue or similar piece of artistic expression that depicts the crucified Jesus lying on the lap of his mother, embraced in her arms. Once the poem became a part of the camp's vernacular, Denton was designated as the president of the Optimist Club.
The soldiers stare, then drift away,
Young John finds nothing to say,
The veil is rent; the deed is done;
And Mary holds her only son.
His limbs grow stiff, the night grows cold,
But naught can lose that mother's hold,
Her gentle, anguished eyes seem blind,
Who knows what thoughts run through her mind?
Perhaps she thinks of last week's palms,
With cheering thousands off'ring alms
Or dreams of Cana on the day
She nagged him till she got her way.
Her face shows grief but not despair,
Her head though bowed has faith to spare,
For even now she could suppose
His thorns might somehow yield a rose.
Her life with Him was full of signs
That God writes straight with crooked lines.
Dark clouds can bide the rising sun,
And all seem lost, when all be won!
As Abraham knew that one day he would be liberated and his children would number as the stars in the heaven, so Denton and the others held captive at the Hanoi Hilton knew their day of liberation was coming.
Ron L.
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
The American Dream seems to be in shambles today. A 2010 "Annual Report of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class" indicates that the challenges include expensive childcare obligations, mounting student debt, failure of the middle class adequately to save for retirement, and the shrinking job pool with salaries adequate to sustain a middle-class lifestyle. Add to this the rising costs of health care and inflation in general (as today it costs about $486 to purchase what you could buy in 1973 with $100). But in this lesson God makes a promise to Abraham that has never failed. God never fails his people, and so we can have hope in the midst of our tough times. John Calvin well illustrates these points: "... whatever benevolence, love, zeal, attention, or service, might be found among men, they are far inferior to the paternal mercy with which God encircles His people... for sooner shall the laws of nature be overturned a hundred times, that God shall fail his people" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. IV/2, p. 459).
We can't put up enough obstacles to stop God from fulfilling his promises. His love encircles us.
Mark E.
Philippians 3:17--4:1
It has been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Comedians imitate popular and political personalities for the sake of laughs. Paul writes about an imitation for the sake of life. To imitate what is good can sharpen one's own ability to live well. Artists in training will do this to sharpen their ability to create well. Jonathan Jones, art critic for The Guardian, writes: "Copying great drawings by great artists is part of the fun of learning to draw." He adds illustratively, "If there is one artist everyone should copy at least once, it is Van Gogh -- because his conception of art is so lucid that you really can get inside it, and learn from it the emotional weight of things." Paul is encouraging disciples in the faith to discover "the emotional weight of things" by imitating the lives of other worthy disciples in order to discover one's own unique discipleship within... one's own "emotional weight" that would deepen the Christian life one is called to live.
Mark M.
Philippians 3:17--4:1
Where is your citizenship? Day to day we think only of what we are going to do this day. How many of you think of what we will do when our time is ended on this earth? Is our other citizenship in order? Most of us Christians have dual citizenship but how many times do we think of our other citizenship in heaven?
We had a home in Hawaii a few years ago, and we often thought of it. It was beautiful and we went back and forth every year to take a break. Some of our kids were there and they minded the place when we were gone.
What if you were looking for a job or a place of retirement and had never left the US? Then suppose you went off to check out the property and the environment. Those who were left behind would be sad to see us leave, but they also would have joy in knowing that sometime they would be going there to live also. Wouldn't that affect our feelings of loss for a loved one, knowing we would meet again in a fantastically wonderful place?
The big difference is that we have seen pictures of Hawaii and talked with some who visited there and returned. The only one I know who has been to heaven and told us about it was Jesus. His words were short: "Rejoice!" Paul tells us to "hang in there!" Our day to rejoice is coming if we don't muff up!
Who is our example? An Olympic star? A famous movie star? A wealthy CEO? A great statesman? Or is it your pastor? A great Christian like Billy Graham? The Pope? The list could go on, but I bet it would most likely be someone you know or have seen on TV in your lifetime.
It is harder to idolize someone like Paul or Peter or another biblical character because we only have their writings to go by. If the Lord is our example, as he was to his disciples, then we need even more than the words. Words may help! Two of our children met their future mate on the internet. They communicated with words until one day they met and that clinched it. At least it was a two-way street! When we talk to our Lord, his answer is written in his word! That's where I found him.
There are also some who even call themselves Christian but whose lives are very sad examples. Their lives may even turn people off so that they don't even want to meet their Lord. One was the fellow in Norway who killed all those children. He said he was a Christian who hated Muslims! What kind of examples was he following? What kind of example was he setting?
Be careful who you choose and then check God's word to see if they conform -- then you be an example for others!
Bob O.
Luke 13:31-35
John Calvin calls attention to the implication that Jesus' reference to being like a hen who gathers her brood under her wings (v. 34) is a reference to the Lord's "maternal kindness" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/1, p. 107). The love of Jesus is like a mother's love! In continuing to give an account of Jesus' prediction of his passion and lament over the inadequacies of Jerusalem, the text also offers an important insight about faith's (and Jesus') attitude toward the good things in life. Saint Augustine thoughtfully summarizes our Lord's viewpoint on this matter: "The world is loved; but let him be preferred by whom the world was made. Great is the world; but sweeter is he by whom the world was made" (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 6, p. 410).
The maternal kindness of God is even better than the best and most beautiful things the world has to offer!
Mark E.
Luke 13:31-35
July 18, 1965. Engulfed as the jet plane piloted by Jeremiah Denton came crashing to the ground in a ball of flames, setting the stage for seven and a half years of captivity in Hoa Lo Prision in Hanoi, better known as the Hanoi Hilton. There, along with 700 other Navy and Air Force airmen, he suffered isolation, malnutrition, disease, and torture. He, like the others, endured the trauma by shouldering some very basic principles -- patriotism, fellowship sustained by coded taps through the walls of solitary confinement, memories of family, and a faith in God. It would be hard to say which was most important, for each sustained the dignity of a man's humanity and self-worth.
Denton recounted his ordeal while confined in the Hanoi Hilton in a must-read book titled When Hell Was in Session. Of the many stories he recounts, one remains with me as none other. On his way to the latrine, Ed Davis passed word that he had a gift. There he found a cross woven from strips taken from a broom. Denton wrote, "I was deeply touched by the cross; it was my only really personal possession..." The officer kept it hidden in the pages of his propaganda pamphlet, thinking that would be the most unlikely place suspected or inspected. It was an unfortunate assumption as one day the guards inspected his cell, discovering and confiscating the forbidden cross. The guard threw the cross upon the filthy cement, stomped it with his boot, and then threw it into the open sewer.
A Vietnamese work crew was sent in to repair the tousled cell, as the culprit stood outside, bayonet pricking his neck. Denton, returning to his cell, outraged, began to rip apart the pamphlet, only to feel a lump among the pages. There, woven out of straw, was a beautiful cross. The workers, in collaboration with one another and at great personal risk, re-created Denton's symbol of faith and hope. The cross was a reminder of his personal relationship with God, and as the workers knew, a universal expression of hope. The members of the camp came to call the cross and accompanying story "Denton's Cross."
There is a special need for us to feel especially close to God. A relationship transcending friendship, for we are kindred -- truly a child of the beloved. In our private apartments at our personal Hanoi Hilton, we are able to grasp the cross and utter the word "Daddy." Childish? Then Jesus is the most boorish babe of us all.
Nailed to the cross, Jesus spoke the word "Abba," which in the Aramaic means "Daddy." It was the desperate plea of a child to a parent. It was a cry for solace and comfort. It came from excruciating agony, tears mingled in blood. It was the final act of a child recognizing one's father. It was the ultimate expression that Jesus understood himself to be, like none other on earth, the Son of God.
Jesus, as a hen who gathers her brood, longed for the children of Israel to be able to say "Abba."
Ron L.
