Sermon Illustrations for Lent 3 (2013)
Illustration
Object:
Isaiah 55:1-9
Water is life! Anyone who has run a marathon (or even watched one) knows the importance of water in order to finish the race. Many stations are set up along the route with volunteers providing bottles of water for the runners, who grab them as they run by to drink and pour over their heads. There are even mist stations the runners can run through to cool off. A marathon, 26 miles 385 yards, is a long way to run in one stretch. The body needs hydration in order to do it well. The race of life is a long way to go. How grateful we can be that God provides spiritual waters along the way to refresh us.
Mark M.
Isaiah 55:1-9
Reading this passage, you wonder if your thoughts can contain what God has said. To the average person -- even the average Christian -- it would seem the height of foolishness to buy food without money. Most would think you meant begging or stealing! But is God talking about the bread of heaven? Is it spiritual food? Passages like this make me afraid to take God too literally! I don't even care if creation took place in seven 24-hour days, or a few thousand or even millions of years! For my soul to find riches I will have to ask God to give us his Spirit, or we will miss the whole point. As a missionary to Nepal I had to deal with a people whose thoughts were on a different level, but when we turned to the Lord's words, his truth opened to us. We suddenly became brothers and sisters in Christ. I taught in the seminary there, but with our language barrier I felt it was more important to turn to the parables than to try to explain doctrines. There were too few Nepali words that fit our doctrinal statements. But when I translated Jesus' parables into Nepali, I could see several "Aha!" moments. Jesus spoke only in parables so the common people might understand -- he also lived them. That way nations we do not know will come to him. Our ways are not his ways! That is something you can learn in a classroom or preach from a pulpit!
Bob O.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
This is a Sunday historically related to the theme of repentance, when candidates for Baptism held on Easter in the ancient church scrutinized their lives. An African theologian of that era, Clement of Alexandria, tells us why we need to examine our lives critically in this way, to repent, for we are all addicts: "Repentance, then, is an effect of faith. For unless a man believes that to which he was addicted to be sin, he will not abandon it..." (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2, p. 353).
There is a joy that comes with repentance. Famed modern theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer compellingly describes its outcome: "Let us leave this... repentance worship service not with despondent hearts, but with joyous and believing hearts. Come judgment day -- joyfully we wait for you since we shall see the merciful Lord and take his hand and he will love us" (A Testament of Faith, p. 230).
Mark E.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
George Washington, though he may have had a dour look because of his false teeth, was a man who enjoyed life. Washington enjoyed gambling, horse racing, fox hunts, card playing, dice games, billiards, and dancing. In fact, so many people came to his home in Mount Vernon for recreation that some referred to it as a "well-resorted" tavern. Yet life was more than fun and games, as Washington was the commander of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States.
Paul was concerned that the Christians in Corinth were being idolaters, for they "sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play." Paul's concern was not eating and playing but that they never rose up to do any work for the Lord.
Ron L.
Luke 13:1-9
When the Twin Towers collapsed in New York City after the 9/11 terrorist attack, many were wondering why some survived and others didn't. Claims were made that sinners were punished; judgments were even cast against the United States as a whole. It is tempting to play judge when terrible things happen. Jesus avoids this regarding two incidences when people died -- one at the hand of Pilate and the other in the collapse of the Tower of Siloam. Instead, he focuses on the tenuous nature of life itself and encourages everyone to tend to first things first while one has time. The first thing among many things that are important in life is one's relationship with God.
Mark M.
Luke 13:1-9
The innocent often die with the guilty. The Old Testament is full of stories of a whole nation perishing or being sent into exile for the sins of the king or of some of the people -- but they all suffer. When a bomb falls on an apartment all may die, including women and children. That doesn't mean they are more guilty than anyone else! One preacher said that Hurricane Katrina came because of the government's accepting gay marriage, but not everyone who died favored gay marriage! The innocent and the guilty often die together. I don't think that all who turned to the Lord and repented would have been saved from the Sandy disaster. I don't think the Lord is talking about perishing in this life! I think he was referring to eternal life. This passage also points up God's patience. He will give us time to change and bear fruit. If not this year, then maybe next year! Don't chop down the tree. Give it another year! It does sound like there is an end to the Lord's patience, so that should be a warning to us. His love will never end, but his patience will.
Bob O.
Water is life! Anyone who has run a marathon (or even watched one) knows the importance of water in order to finish the race. Many stations are set up along the route with volunteers providing bottles of water for the runners, who grab them as they run by to drink and pour over their heads. There are even mist stations the runners can run through to cool off. A marathon, 26 miles 385 yards, is a long way to run in one stretch. The body needs hydration in order to do it well. The race of life is a long way to go. How grateful we can be that God provides spiritual waters along the way to refresh us.
Mark M.
Isaiah 55:1-9
Reading this passage, you wonder if your thoughts can contain what God has said. To the average person -- even the average Christian -- it would seem the height of foolishness to buy food without money. Most would think you meant begging or stealing! But is God talking about the bread of heaven? Is it spiritual food? Passages like this make me afraid to take God too literally! I don't even care if creation took place in seven 24-hour days, or a few thousand or even millions of years! For my soul to find riches I will have to ask God to give us his Spirit, or we will miss the whole point. As a missionary to Nepal I had to deal with a people whose thoughts were on a different level, but when we turned to the Lord's words, his truth opened to us. We suddenly became brothers and sisters in Christ. I taught in the seminary there, but with our language barrier I felt it was more important to turn to the parables than to try to explain doctrines. There were too few Nepali words that fit our doctrinal statements. But when I translated Jesus' parables into Nepali, I could see several "Aha!" moments. Jesus spoke only in parables so the common people might understand -- he also lived them. That way nations we do not know will come to him. Our ways are not his ways! That is something you can learn in a classroom or preach from a pulpit!
Bob O.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
This is a Sunday historically related to the theme of repentance, when candidates for Baptism held on Easter in the ancient church scrutinized their lives. An African theologian of that era, Clement of Alexandria, tells us why we need to examine our lives critically in this way, to repent, for we are all addicts: "Repentance, then, is an effect of faith. For unless a man believes that to which he was addicted to be sin, he will not abandon it..." (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2, p. 353).
There is a joy that comes with repentance. Famed modern theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer compellingly describes its outcome: "Let us leave this... repentance worship service not with despondent hearts, but with joyous and believing hearts. Come judgment day -- joyfully we wait for you since we shall see the merciful Lord and take his hand and he will love us" (A Testament of Faith, p. 230).
Mark E.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
George Washington, though he may have had a dour look because of his false teeth, was a man who enjoyed life. Washington enjoyed gambling, horse racing, fox hunts, card playing, dice games, billiards, and dancing. In fact, so many people came to his home in Mount Vernon for recreation that some referred to it as a "well-resorted" tavern. Yet life was more than fun and games, as Washington was the commander of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States.
Paul was concerned that the Christians in Corinth were being idolaters, for they "sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play." Paul's concern was not eating and playing but that they never rose up to do any work for the Lord.
Ron L.
Luke 13:1-9
When the Twin Towers collapsed in New York City after the 9/11 terrorist attack, many were wondering why some survived and others didn't. Claims were made that sinners were punished; judgments were even cast against the United States as a whole. It is tempting to play judge when terrible things happen. Jesus avoids this regarding two incidences when people died -- one at the hand of Pilate and the other in the collapse of the Tower of Siloam. Instead, he focuses on the tenuous nature of life itself and encourages everyone to tend to first things first while one has time. The first thing among many things that are important in life is one's relationship with God.
Mark M.
Luke 13:1-9
The innocent often die with the guilty. The Old Testament is full of stories of a whole nation perishing or being sent into exile for the sins of the king or of some of the people -- but they all suffer. When a bomb falls on an apartment all may die, including women and children. That doesn't mean they are more guilty than anyone else! One preacher said that Hurricane Katrina came because of the government's accepting gay marriage, but not everyone who died favored gay marriage! The innocent and the guilty often die together. I don't think that all who turned to the Lord and repented would have been saved from the Sandy disaster. I don't think the Lord is talking about perishing in this life! I think he was referring to eternal life. This passage also points up God's patience. He will give us time to change and bear fruit. If not this year, then maybe next year! Don't chop down the tree. Give it another year! It does sound like there is an end to the Lord's patience, so that should be a warning to us. His love will never end, but his patience will.
Bob O.
