Sermon Illustrations For Lent 2 (2017)
Illustration
Genesis 12:1-4a
Taking a step into the unknown is a hard thing. In July of 1969, spurred on by President Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon before the decade was out, NASA made a bold decision to send Apollo 11 to land on the moon. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were the astronauts aboard Apollo 11. It was an exciting time for the nation and the world. Humanity would land on and walk on the moon! It was unprecedented. In subsequent interviews about the moon landing and walk, Armstrong and Aldrin talked about how challenging and uncertain the landing was. The words “the Eagle has landed” sent mission control into euphoric shouts of celebration and relief. When Armstrong puts his foot onto the moon’s surface, millions on earth watched the television broadcast. His words echoed through that day and history: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The first moon landing was a long time ago. I think many may have forgotten the significance of that event and what an amazing feat it was. Mankind took a step into uncertainty. It was a bold and brave step. Taking a step into the unknown can be hard, but rewarding. In our text today we find Abraham taking a step into the unknown as well. God has told him to leave his home in Haran and go to a land that he will show him. It is a journey of uncertainty. It is a journey of risk. It is a journey of faith. Abraham is willing to take that step, and as we read through the rest of Genesis we learn what it meant to him and to those who followed him.
What about you? Is God calling you to take a step?
Bill T.
Genesis 12:1-4a
The sort of response Abraham made to God’s call is well explained by cutting-edge neurobiological research. It seems that spiritual exercises like believing in a loving God give rise to activity in parts of the brain that facilitates compassion, social engagement, and has a calming effect (Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman, How God Changes Your Brain, pp. 123ff). Medically, it seems, the predisposition to good works follows spontaneously from faith! Speaking of the faithful person, Martin Luther says much the same thing: “The life of such a person and whatever he does, whether great or small and no matter what it is called, is nothing but fruit and cannot be without fruit.... Everything such a person does comes easy to him, not troublesome or vexatious. Nothing is too arduous for him or too difficult to suffer and bear” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 24, p. 230).
Mark E.
Genesis 12:1-4a
In 2012, on the 12th anniversary of the publication of his best-selling book The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren used his Twitter account to solicit stories on how his book has changed lives. He wanted the stories in order to write a second book that would verify that his first book really did change lives.
Application: If we are obedient to the Lord, that should be sufficient knowledge for us.
Ron L.
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
One of the great dichotomies of our faith is that righteousness does not earn grace. Grace is a gift, and living in righteousness is our response of gratitude for the grace unearned and freely given. In all the years I have been leading and teaching about faith, this has been the most difficult concept for us humans to grasp -- for we live in a world where we get what we earn, where little or nothing is just given to us.
We do not earn grace! Grace is a gift from a loving and merciful God who seeks our redemption and restoration as God’s children. One of my greatest challenges as a pastor is to help people know they have value and worth no matter who they are, no matter from where they have come, and no matter what they feel they haven’t done to earn God’s love. We are worthy and valued because we are children of God, because God loves us. We received grace because we are children of God, because God loves us. It is truly as simple, and as complicated, as that.
Bonnie B.
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
What does the story of Abraham mean to us? Christians, Jews, and Muslims all honor Abraham and look to him as a patriarch of their faith. So there are different ways of interpreting Abraham’s life, even within the pages of our Bible. Here in Romans, Paul interprets Abraham’s response to God’s command as indicative of our ability to respond to God’s command beyond laws, thanks to the innate understanding of right and wrong that comes standard with being human. Unstated, but implicit, is the recognition that Abraham endured. Endurance is a key ingredient to Christian living. Not everything comes to pass immediately -- not for Abraham, not for us.
Frank R.
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
When we work hard to obey the law the reward comes to us as earned, but it is not enough. We can never work hard enough to earn our salvation. It comes only through faith. If we have faith we will want to obey the law as far as we can -- it is never enough!
In Lent we discover that we only gain our salvation through Christ’s sacrifice -- not ours. God is Father of all. Even if we live only by law, he is still our Father. We know God’s will through his commandments -- but while we want to obey them out of love for the Father, he still gives makes us his children by faith.
When we were kids and were told to obey our parents and do all that we were told to do, we could not shout out “I’ve earned it!” and expect our reward. Our attitude can sometimes make us lose our reward. We must believe that our folks will reward us if we believe in them. We sometimes find love even if we fail to do all we are asked to do.
If we love God we will also love our church, the church he died for -- his bride!
Bob O.
John 3:1-17
On her upper left arm, actress Angelina Jolie has tattooed the map coordinates of where all of her children were born. Below those coordinates she paid tribute to her former husband, Billy Bob Thornton, by having his name inscribed with a dragon figure below it. After their divorce, she had to have his name surgically removed. Tattoo artist Ami James, who had his own reality television program, said, “Tattoos last a lot longer than most romances. Thank god for laser.”
Application: When we are born again, it is to be a permanent tattoo on our soul.
Ron L.
John 3:1-17
Martin Luther called this text “the gospel in miniature.” Of course, it is not easy to believe this wonderful love of God, the Reformer adds: “That faith in the crucified Christ should bring certain salvation and deliverance from sin and eternal death is something that human reason cannot understand or conceive of. Therefore, the Word must be preached without ceasing and this article effectually driven home, in order to fortify ourselves against the misgivings of our reason” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 221).
Keeping in mind this insight about how surprising it is to reason and logic that God loves us like John 3:16 proclaims may help us to make God’s love more important in our own lives, more joyous. Surprises have a way of doing that to us. It is as British-American anthropologist Ashley Montagu once put it: “The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but they seize us.” We don’t choose God’s love. He chose us!
Mark E.
Matthew 17:1-9
Have you ever seen anything that just took your breath away? That was so fantastic and amazing that you just gasped and stared in disbelief? Some friends of mine were telling me how incredible it was to visit the Grand Canyon. Though nearly everyone has seen it in pictures, to stand there in person and take it in was just beyond words. Others have told me about how it is to go parasailing. Again, we’ve all seen videos, but to experience it was incredible. I understand how seeing the Grand Canyon in person or parasailing might be amazing things. I’m sure you could create quite a list of things that would be beyond belief to see or do. If you did so, I’m also guessing there’s something that wouldn’t appear on too many lists, but would be even more incredible than being at the Grand Canyon. What would it be like to see the glory of Jesus?
That’s a mind-boggling question, isn’t it? In this scripture we find that Peter, James, and John can do just that. While Jesus stood before them, he was transfigured and Moses and Elijah stood with him. It had to be one of the most remarkable things to have ever happened. The three apostles were awestruck by what they saw. “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Then they heard the voice from heaven and they were filled with fear and fell to the ground. Why wouldn’t they? This was an incredible scene!
The transfiguration of Jesus was a remarkable thing. It affected the three who saw it. When it ended, Jesus told them to tell no one about what they’d seen and heard until he’d been raised from the dead. I’m sure they did what he told them, but I am also sure that they never forgot it. How can you forget seeing the glory of Christ? It makes me wonder, have we seen it?
Bill T.
Matthew 17:1-9
The story of the transfiguration reminds us of Easter, what Lent is all about. John Calvin told us that we need this story in order “that no man might take offence at the weakness of Christ” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XVI/2, p. 309). In Christ we see the power of God, are reminded that he is everywhere. As Martin Luther once put it: “But the power of God cannot be so determined and measured, for it is uncircumscribed and immeasurable, beyond and above all there is or may be.... On the other hand, it must be essentially present at all places, even in the tiniest tree leaf.... Therefore, indeed, he himself must be present in every single creature in its innermost and outmost being, on all sides, through and below and above, before and behind, so that nothing can be more truly present and within all creatures than God himself and his power” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 37, pp. 57-58).
This idea of God being in many places at once (in a different dimension from what we ordinarily experience) is in line with cutting-edge scientific insights from the new discipline of string theory (a field of physics that posits that electrons and other sub-atomic particles of an atom are oscillating strings). This theory implies that there are many dimensions to reality beyond the three that we know from observation (Elias Kritsis, String Theory in a Nutshell). Famed modern Catholic theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin offers a reflection on how Christ’s presence everywhere has implications for Easter’s word of forgiveness in face of the Lenten awareness of sin: “The principle of unity that saves our guilty world, wherein all is in process of return to dust is Christ?. Jesus establishes again at the heart of the world the harmony of all endeavors and the convergence of all beings” (Hymn of the Universe, p. 147).
A Christ who is everywhere brings us all together despite our sin.
Mark E.
Taking a step into the unknown is a hard thing. In July of 1969, spurred on by President Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon before the decade was out, NASA made a bold decision to send Apollo 11 to land on the moon. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were the astronauts aboard Apollo 11. It was an exciting time for the nation and the world. Humanity would land on and walk on the moon! It was unprecedented. In subsequent interviews about the moon landing and walk, Armstrong and Aldrin talked about how challenging and uncertain the landing was. The words “the Eagle has landed” sent mission control into euphoric shouts of celebration and relief. When Armstrong puts his foot onto the moon’s surface, millions on earth watched the television broadcast. His words echoed through that day and history: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The first moon landing was a long time ago. I think many may have forgotten the significance of that event and what an amazing feat it was. Mankind took a step into uncertainty. It was a bold and brave step. Taking a step into the unknown can be hard, but rewarding. In our text today we find Abraham taking a step into the unknown as well. God has told him to leave his home in Haran and go to a land that he will show him. It is a journey of uncertainty. It is a journey of risk. It is a journey of faith. Abraham is willing to take that step, and as we read through the rest of Genesis we learn what it meant to him and to those who followed him.
What about you? Is God calling you to take a step?
Bill T.
Genesis 12:1-4a
The sort of response Abraham made to God’s call is well explained by cutting-edge neurobiological research. It seems that spiritual exercises like believing in a loving God give rise to activity in parts of the brain that facilitates compassion, social engagement, and has a calming effect (Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman, How God Changes Your Brain, pp. 123ff). Medically, it seems, the predisposition to good works follows spontaneously from faith! Speaking of the faithful person, Martin Luther says much the same thing: “The life of such a person and whatever he does, whether great or small and no matter what it is called, is nothing but fruit and cannot be without fruit.... Everything such a person does comes easy to him, not troublesome or vexatious. Nothing is too arduous for him or too difficult to suffer and bear” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 24, p. 230).
Mark E.
Genesis 12:1-4a
In 2012, on the 12th anniversary of the publication of his best-selling book The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren used his Twitter account to solicit stories on how his book has changed lives. He wanted the stories in order to write a second book that would verify that his first book really did change lives.
Application: If we are obedient to the Lord, that should be sufficient knowledge for us.
Ron L.
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
One of the great dichotomies of our faith is that righteousness does not earn grace. Grace is a gift, and living in righteousness is our response of gratitude for the grace unearned and freely given. In all the years I have been leading and teaching about faith, this has been the most difficult concept for us humans to grasp -- for we live in a world where we get what we earn, where little or nothing is just given to us.
We do not earn grace! Grace is a gift from a loving and merciful God who seeks our redemption and restoration as God’s children. One of my greatest challenges as a pastor is to help people know they have value and worth no matter who they are, no matter from where they have come, and no matter what they feel they haven’t done to earn God’s love. We are worthy and valued because we are children of God, because God loves us. We received grace because we are children of God, because God loves us. It is truly as simple, and as complicated, as that.
Bonnie B.
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
What does the story of Abraham mean to us? Christians, Jews, and Muslims all honor Abraham and look to him as a patriarch of their faith. So there are different ways of interpreting Abraham’s life, even within the pages of our Bible. Here in Romans, Paul interprets Abraham’s response to God’s command as indicative of our ability to respond to God’s command beyond laws, thanks to the innate understanding of right and wrong that comes standard with being human. Unstated, but implicit, is the recognition that Abraham endured. Endurance is a key ingredient to Christian living. Not everything comes to pass immediately -- not for Abraham, not for us.
Frank R.
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
When we work hard to obey the law the reward comes to us as earned, but it is not enough. We can never work hard enough to earn our salvation. It comes only through faith. If we have faith we will want to obey the law as far as we can -- it is never enough!
In Lent we discover that we only gain our salvation through Christ’s sacrifice -- not ours. God is Father of all. Even if we live only by law, he is still our Father. We know God’s will through his commandments -- but while we want to obey them out of love for the Father, he still gives makes us his children by faith.
When we were kids and were told to obey our parents and do all that we were told to do, we could not shout out “I’ve earned it!” and expect our reward. Our attitude can sometimes make us lose our reward. We must believe that our folks will reward us if we believe in them. We sometimes find love even if we fail to do all we are asked to do.
If we love God we will also love our church, the church he died for -- his bride!
Bob O.
John 3:1-17
On her upper left arm, actress Angelina Jolie has tattooed the map coordinates of where all of her children were born. Below those coordinates she paid tribute to her former husband, Billy Bob Thornton, by having his name inscribed with a dragon figure below it. After their divorce, she had to have his name surgically removed. Tattoo artist Ami James, who had his own reality television program, said, “Tattoos last a lot longer than most romances. Thank god for laser.”
Application: When we are born again, it is to be a permanent tattoo on our soul.
Ron L.
John 3:1-17
Martin Luther called this text “the gospel in miniature.” Of course, it is not easy to believe this wonderful love of God, the Reformer adds: “That faith in the crucified Christ should bring certain salvation and deliverance from sin and eternal death is something that human reason cannot understand or conceive of. Therefore, the Word must be preached without ceasing and this article effectually driven home, in order to fortify ourselves against the misgivings of our reason” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 221).
Keeping in mind this insight about how surprising it is to reason and logic that God loves us like John 3:16 proclaims may help us to make God’s love more important in our own lives, more joyous. Surprises have a way of doing that to us. It is as British-American anthropologist Ashley Montagu once put it: “The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but they seize us.” We don’t choose God’s love. He chose us!
Mark E.
Matthew 17:1-9
Have you ever seen anything that just took your breath away? That was so fantastic and amazing that you just gasped and stared in disbelief? Some friends of mine were telling me how incredible it was to visit the Grand Canyon. Though nearly everyone has seen it in pictures, to stand there in person and take it in was just beyond words. Others have told me about how it is to go parasailing. Again, we’ve all seen videos, but to experience it was incredible. I understand how seeing the Grand Canyon in person or parasailing might be amazing things. I’m sure you could create quite a list of things that would be beyond belief to see or do. If you did so, I’m also guessing there’s something that wouldn’t appear on too many lists, but would be even more incredible than being at the Grand Canyon. What would it be like to see the glory of Jesus?
That’s a mind-boggling question, isn’t it? In this scripture we find that Peter, James, and John can do just that. While Jesus stood before them, he was transfigured and Moses and Elijah stood with him. It had to be one of the most remarkable things to have ever happened. The three apostles were awestruck by what they saw. “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Then they heard the voice from heaven and they were filled with fear and fell to the ground. Why wouldn’t they? This was an incredible scene!
The transfiguration of Jesus was a remarkable thing. It affected the three who saw it. When it ended, Jesus told them to tell no one about what they’d seen and heard until he’d been raised from the dead. I’m sure they did what he told them, but I am also sure that they never forgot it. How can you forget seeing the glory of Christ? It makes me wonder, have we seen it?
Bill T.
Matthew 17:1-9
The story of the transfiguration reminds us of Easter, what Lent is all about. John Calvin told us that we need this story in order “that no man might take offence at the weakness of Christ” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XVI/2, p. 309). In Christ we see the power of God, are reminded that he is everywhere. As Martin Luther once put it: “But the power of God cannot be so determined and measured, for it is uncircumscribed and immeasurable, beyond and above all there is or may be.... On the other hand, it must be essentially present at all places, even in the tiniest tree leaf.... Therefore, indeed, he himself must be present in every single creature in its innermost and outmost being, on all sides, through and below and above, before and behind, so that nothing can be more truly present and within all creatures than God himself and his power” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 37, pp. 57-58).
This idea of God being in many places at once (in a different dimension from what we ordinarily experience) is in line with cutting-edge scientific insights from the new discipline of string theory (a field of physics that posits that electrons and other sub-atomic particles of an atom are oscillating strings). This theory implies that there are many dimensions to reality beyond the three that we know from observation (Elias Kritsis, String Theory in a Nutshell). Famed modern Catholic theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin offers a reflection on how Christ’s presence everywhere has implications for Easter’s word of forgiveness in face of the Lenten awareness of sin: “The principle of unity that saves our guilty world, wherein all is in process of return to dust is Christ?. Jesus establishes again at the heart of the world the harmony of all endeavors and the convergence of all beings” (Hymn of the Universe, p. 147).
A Christ who is everywhere brings us all together despite our sin.
Mark E.
