Sermon Illustrations for Lent 2 (2014)
Illustration
Object:
Genesis 12:1-4a
The dog bounds into the car as soon as the door is open. It's tempting to think that Rover understood your promise of a trip to the park or to Grandma's, but that's not very likely. The dog doesn't know where it's going but that's not the point. It's not the destination that has the dog's interest. The dog goes with you, looking blankly out the window, sniffing in the exciting aroma of the unknown, for no other reason than the dog trusts you.
Scott B.
Genesis 12:1-4a
God elected/loved Abraham without reservation. Americans have a hard time believing in this sort of God. According to a 2006 study conducted by Baylor University only 1 in 4 of us believe in a loving God, while 7 in 10 of us find him more judgmental or critical. Martin Luther nicely describes God's friendly interaction with Abraham as an indication of his friendliness with us: "For God speaks with Abraham in a manner that is no different from the way a friend speaks with a close acquaintance and another friend. It is God's practice to do so, and this is his nature" (Luther's Works, Vol. 3, p. 17).
John Calvin made a similar point: "Here the extraordinary kindness of God manifests itself, in that he familiarly makes a covenant with Abram, as men are wont to do with their companions and equals… There is, then, no reason why the ingratitude of the world should dishearten us" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. I/1, p. 348).
How does knowing God's love matter in everyday life? Medieval mystic Julian of Norwich also offers a compelling response: "And so it goes with all of us who are sinners. But though it is true that we do this frequently, his goodness never allows us to be alone. Continuously he is with us, tenderly he excuses us, and always he shields us from blame in his sight" (The Revelation of Divine Love in Sixteen Showings, p. 203).
Mark E.
Genesis 12:1-4a
The Hebrew word "blessed" suggests the idea of strength. In our weakness God comes alongside to give us his incredible strength. Someone shared that the root meaning of "blessed" is "to kneel, praise and salute." Accordingly, one of the nouns derived from this root is the Hebrew word for "knee," which is one of the weakest parts of the body. As a child I was taught to kneel for my bedtime prayers and at church we knelt as we prayed. It was a reminder to us that our kneeling was an act of humbling ourselves before God where we found our greatest strength in him. He empowers us to do things we think are impossible!
Derl K.
Genesis 12:1-4a
Martin Luther, the sixteenth century pastor and theologian, began the Protestant Reformation in response to the inequalities perpetrated by the Roman Catholic church. Luther said, "I never work better than when I am inspired by anger; for when I am angry I can write, pray, and preach well, for then my whole temperance is quickened, my understanding sharpened, and all mundane vexations and temptations depart." This was not misdirected anger and could be defined as "righteous indignation."
Application: Martin Luther did what he knew was right even if it meant confrontation as Abraham discovered.
Ron L.
Romans 4:1-6
All Israelites today and in Jesus' day bragged about Abraham. But in spite of his greatness, he still had a few faults which were included in the Old Testament. The law came later so he might have had an excuse but that misses the point. It was because he believed God that he was counted as righteous. In other words, it sounds like a person could be saved long before Jesus if they put all their faith in God. Of course he did good works but that was not what saved him. It was faith and trust.
Laws are usually there to tell us what we should not do! Yes the first part commands us to love God, but we show our love by obeying the rest of the law. God is more concerned about our motivation!
How sad our parents would feel if they felt that we obeyed them just so we could inherit their estate when they died! God feels the same. Even if we fail to obey any of his laws, we are still saved by our faith in God. Because God so loved the world!
We can't predict God; "He will show mercy on whom he will show mercy." Instead of trying to figure God out -- like a scientist, we should just put our trust in him and believe that "all things work together for good to those who trust the Lord."
We try to make our salvation such a complicated thing to accomplish. How much peace it should give us to know that all we have to do is believe and have faith in our Lord!
We all know some who feel that they are saved because they are Lutheran, they go to church every Sunday, or they contribute generously. Saint Paul wrote, "If you give away all you have and deliver your body to be burned, but have not love, you gain nothing!"
Over and over throughout the Bible in both the Old Testament and the New Testament we discover that we are saved by faith alone. When we see the sins of David, which were many, we know he was not a man after God's own heart because he was perfect!
So if we care about ourselves and our offspring, we must live a life of faith in Jesus!
Bob O.
John 3:1-17
The religion of Hinduism understands the entrapment of living a self-centered life. Hinduism is the oldest established religion in the world and the third largest. At the end of the first century C.E., the laws of Manu were established. These laws report the four basic goals that motivate humanity, thus they have also come to be called the "Four Ends of Human Life." A young man should transcend from a lower level to the next until he discovers the true meaning of life. The journey begins with kama or pleasure, to discover purpose by gratifying the senses. At this stage kama-sutra may be a familiar phrase to us having become a part of the English lexicon. Kama-sutra is the often quoted text for its picturesque descriptions of various positions for sexual intercourse. It is here, at kama, as a hedonist, that one begins the journey of life. Unfulfilled, the young man moves to artha, which means financial success or wealth. This is the first attempt to set some real goals, but it reflects a misplaced ambition. He continues to sense an inner disquiet because as well as being successful he equally desires to be respected. Therefore he strives for dharma, which is righteous living. As a viable contributor to the community he knows he is doing good for others, yet there still remains an emptiness. His goal now becomes moksha, which means liberation or spiritual freedom, and it is here that the real purpose of life is realized. Moksha is attained by dis-identification with the body and mind, which becomes the realization of our true identity.
Application: Sin is not an abstract concept, as we all dwell behind the dark curtain of kama. To end our cycle of sin, we do need to be born from above, accepting Jesus as our Savior.
Ron L.
John 3:1-17
Decades ago the story was told of a poor widow who contributed to the Dorpatian Branch of the Russian Bible Society the sum of one ruble. Someone asked her if that was too much for a lady in her financial circumstances. Her reply was classic: "Love is not afraid of giving too much!"
Isaac Watts wrote, "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." This is the essence of what Jesus discussed with Nicodemus one night 2,000 years ago when he stated, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son..." God's love gave everything!
Derl K.
John 3:1-17
Windmills grind grain. They can set all sorts of industrial machinery in motion and can generate electricity. But none of this comes from the windmill itself. It is the wind that does it. All that a windmill does is catch the wind. It is the whole purpose of a windmill to be moved by the wind. Sailing ships in ages past traveled the face of the whole earth. They transported goods and merchandise and made the exotic familiar. They moved cultures and languages and ideas from one continent to another. The sailing ship shaped the modern world. But none of this came from the ships themselves. It was the wind that did it. The ships hoisted their sails to catch the wind.
Scott B.
John 3:1-17
We all have a lot of Dr. Gregory House's self-righteousness in us. At least as recently as in 2009, a Barna Research Group poll revealed that 7 in 10 Americans believed that they must do works to be saved. This is probably why John 3:16 does not move us much. John Calvin well describes our situation and modern attitudes: "... for such is the wicked ambition which belongs to our nature, that when the question relates to the origin of our salvation we quickly form diabolical imaginations about our own merits. Accordingly, we imagine that God is reconciled to us, because he has reckoned us worthy that he should look upon us. But scripture everywhere extols his pure and unmingled mercy, which sets aside all merits" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. VII/2, p. 123).
Martin Luther offers an image regarding God's love that can help us appreciate the wonderful love of God: "God himself is love, and his being is nothing but pure love. Therefore if anyone wanted to draw and picture God in a telling way, he would have to draw a picture that showed nothing but love, as though the divine nature were nothing but an intense fire and fervor of a love that has filled heaven and earth" (What Luther Says, p. 810).
Martin Luther King Jr. offers a comment that helps us appreciate why and how God's love for the world matters: "The confidence that God is mindful of the individual is of tremendous value in dealing with the disease of fear, for it gives us a sense of worth, or belonging, and of at-homeness in the universe" (A Testament of Hope, p. 517).
When we have a loving God we feel more at home in the world.
Mark E.
The dog bounds into the car as soon as the door is open. It's tempting to think that Rover understood your promise of a trip to the park or to Grandma's, but that's not very likely. The dog doesn't know where it's going but that's not the point. It's not the destination that has the dog's interest. The dog goes with you, looking blankly out the window, sniffing in the exciting aroma of the unknown, for no other reason than the dog trusts you.
Scott B.
Genesis 12:1-4a
God elected/loved Abraham without reservation. Americans have a hard time believing in this sort of God. According to a 2006 study conducted by Baylor University only 1 in 4 of us believe in a loving God, while 7 in 10 of us find him more judgmental or critical. Martin Luther nicely describes God's friendly interaction with Abraham as an indication of his friendliness with us: "For God speaks with Abraham in a manner that is no different from the way a friend speaks with a close acquaintance and another friend. It is God's practice to do so, and this is his nature" (Luther's Works, Vol. 3, p. 17).
John Calvin made a similar point: "Here the extraordinary kindness of God manifests itself, in that he familiarly makes a covenant with Abram, as men are wont to do with their companions and equals… There is, then, no reason why the ingratitude of the world should dishearten us" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. I/1, p. 348).
How does knowing God's love matter in everyday life? Medieval mystic Julian of Norwich also offers a compelling response: "And so it goes with all of us who are sinners. But though it is true that we do this frequently, his goodness never allows us to be alone. Continuously he is with us, tenderly he excuses us, and always he shields us from blame in his sight" (The Revelation of Divine Love in Sixteen Showings, p. 203).
Mark E.
Genesis 12:1-4a
The Hebrew word "blessed" suggests the idea of strength. In our weakness God comes alongside to give us his incredible strength. Someone shared that the root meaning of "blessed" is "to kneel, praise and salute." Accordingly, one of the nouns derived from this root is the Hebrew word for "knee," which is one of the weakest parts of the body. As a child I was taught to kneel for my bedtime prayers and at church we knelt as we prayed. It was a reminder to us that our kneeling was an act of humbling ourselves before God where we found our greatest strength in him. He empowers us to do things we think are impossible!
Derl K.
Genesis 12:1-4a
Martin Luther, the sixteenth century pastor and theologian, began the Protestant Reformation in response to the inequalities perpetrated by the Roman Catholic church. Luther said, "I never work better than when I am inspired by anger; for when I am angry I can write, pray, and preach well, for then my whole temperance is quickened, my understanding sharpened, and all mundane vexations and temptations depart." This was not misdirected anger and could be defined as "righteous indignation."
Application: Martin Luther did what he knew was right even if it meant confrontation as Abraham discovered.
Ron L.
Romans 4:1-6
All Israelites today and in Jesus' day bragged about Abraham. But in spite of his greatness, he still had a few faults which were included in the Old Testament. The law came later so he might have had an excuse but that misses the point. It was because he believed God that he was counted as righteous. In other words, it sounds like a person could be saved long before Jesus if they put all their faith in God. Of course he did good works but that was not what saved him. It was faith and trust.
Laws are usually there to tell us what we should not do! Yes the first part commands us to love God, but we show our love by obeying the rest of the law. God is more concerned about our motivation!
How sad our parents would feel if they felt that we obeyed them just so we could inherit their estate when they died! God feels the same. Even if we fail to obey any of his laws, we are still saved by our faith in God. Because God so loved the world!
We can't predict God; "He will show mercy on whom he will show mercy." Instead of trying to figure God out -- like a scientist, we should just put our trust in him and believe that "all things work together for good to those who trust the Lord."
We try to make our salvation such a complicated thing to accomplish. How much peace it should give us to know that all we have to do is believe and have faith in our Lord!
We all know some who feel that they are saved because they are Lutheran, they go to church every Sunday, or they contribute generously. Saint Paul wrote, "If you give away all you have and deliver your body to be burned, but have not love, you gain nothing!"
Over and over throughout the Bible in both the Old Testament and the New Testament we discover that we are saved by faith alone. When we see the sins of David, which were many, we know he was not a man after God's own heart because he was perfect!
So if we care about ourselves and our offspring, we must live a life of faith in Jesus!
Bob O.
John 3:1-17
The religion of Hinduism understands the entrapment of living a self-centered life. Hinduism is the oldest established religion in the world and the third largest. At the end of the first century C.E., the laws of Manu were established. These laws report the four basic goals that motivate humanity, thus they have also come to be called the "Four Ends of Human Life." A young man should transcend from a lower level to the next until he discovers the true meaning of life. The journey begins with kama or pleasure, to discover purpose by gratifying the senses. At this stage kama-sutra may be a familiar phrase to us having become a part of the English lexicon. Kama-sutra is the often quoted text for its picturesque descriptions of various positions for sexual intercourse. It is here, at kama, as a hedonist, that one begins the journey of life. Unfulfilled, the young man moves to artha, which means financial success or wealth. This is the first attempt to set some real goals, but it reflects a misplaced ambition. He continues to sense an inner disquiet because as well as being successful he equally desires to be respected. Therefore he strives for dharma, which is righteous living. As a viable contributor to the community he knows he is doing good for others, yet there still remains an emptiness. His goal now becomes moksha, which means liberation or spiritual freedom, and it is here that the real purpose of life is realized. Moksha is attained by dis-identification with the body and mind, which becomes the realization of our true identity.
Application: Sin is not an abstract concept, as we all dwell behind the dark curtain of kama. To end our cycle of sin, we do need to be born from above, accepting Jesus as our Savior.
Ron L.
John 3:1-17
Decades ago the story was told of a poor widow who contributed to the Dorpatian Branch of the Russian Bible Society the sum of one ruble. Someone asked her if that was too much for a lady in her financial circumstances. Her reply was classic: "Love is not afraid of giving too much!"
Isaac Watts wrote, "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." This is the essence of what Jesus discussed with Nicodemus one night 2,000 years ago when he stated, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son..." God's love gave everything!
Derl K.
John 3:1-17
Windmills grind grain. They can set all sorts of industrial machinery in motion and can generate electricity. But none of this comes from the windmill itself. It is the wind that does it. All that a windmill does is catch the wind. It is the whole purpose of a windmill to be moved by the wind. Sailing ships in ages past traveled the face of the whole earth. They transported goods and merchandise and made the exotic familiar. They moved cultures and languages and ideas from one continent to another. The sailing ship shaped the modern world. But none of this came from the ships themselves. It was the wind that did it. The ships hoisted their sails to catch the wind.
Scott B.
John 3:1-17
We all have a lot of Dr. Gregory House's self-righteousness in us. At least as recently as in 2009, a Barna Research Group poll revealed that 7 in 10 Americans believed that they must do works to be saved. This is probably why John 3:16 does not move us much. John Calvin well describes our situation and modern attitudes: "... for such is the wicked ambition which belongs to our nature, that when the question relates to the origin of our salvation we quickly form diabolical imaginations about our own merits. Accordingly, we imagine that God is reconciled to us, because he has reckoned us worthy that he should look upon us. But scripture everywhere extols his pure and unmingled mercy, which sets aside all merits" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. VII/2, p. 123).
Martin Luther offers an image regarding God's love that can help us appreciate the wonderful love of God: "God himself is love, and his being is nothing but pure love. Therefore if anyone wanted to draw and picture God in a telling way, he would have to draw a picture that showed nothing but love, as though the divine nature were nothing but an intense fire and fervor of a love that has filled heaven and earth" (What Luther Says, p. 810).
Martin Luther King Jr. offers a comment that helps us appreciate why and how God's love for the world matters: "The confidence that God is mindful of the individual is of tremendous value in dealing with the disease of fear, for it gives us a sense of worth, or belonging, and of at-homeness in the universe" (A Testament of Hope, p. 517).
When we have a loving God we feel more at home in the world.
Mark E.
