Sermon Illustrations for Lent 3 (2025)
Illustration
Isaiah 55:1-9
John Calvin powerfully noted the misery in which we find ourselves:
Those who are puffed up with vain confidence and satiated, or who, intoxicated by earthly appetites, do not feel thirst of the soul, will not receive Christ. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VIII/2, p.156)
But Calvin also makes clear that God is still in control, that even repentance is God’s work as he claimed that “Besides, God does not command us to return to him before he has applied a remedy to revolt…” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VIII/2, p.167) This point is even more clearly made by famed 19th-century English Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon. He wrote:
Do not sit down and try to pump up repentance from the dry well of a corrupt nature. It is contrary to the laws of your mind to suppose that you can force your soul into that gracious state. Take your heart in prayer to him who understands it and say, "Lord, cleanse it. Lord, renew it. Lord, work repentance in it." The more you try to produce penitent emotions in yourself, the more you will be disappointed. However, if you believingly think of Jesus dying for you, repentance will burst forth.
Mark E.
* * *
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
They say when it comes to real estate the three most important things to look for is “Location, location, location.” When it comes to scripture, it’s “Context, context, context.”
This passage is part of a larger section that includes chapters 8-11, and involves important questions about eating together. One of the miraculous things about the first Christians – one that aroused the suspicions of the larger Roman empire – is that people from all classes of life ignored the distinctions of economics, religious, and gender, and ate at one table. It wasn’t always easy to do. One sees, in the Acts of the Apostles, for instance, difficulties in seeing that widows from various backgrounds get cared for with regards to the quantity of food available. And Peter, putt off at first by a vision in which God commands him to eat animals he considered unclean, found himself hosted at the home of the centurion Cornelius.
Paul addresses a number of issues in the larger context. First of all, the meat available to city dwellers had most likely been technically offered to a pagan idol – I say technically because only a tiny morsel ended up being part of the offering. The rest was put up for sale in the marketplace, so that in effect the offering in the temple was really a health inspection to determine if the meat was safe to eat. Rather than determine who was right the apostle suggested they individuals ask themselves who was the stronger person in the gathering who could therefore bend to the wishes of the weaker.
Paul then speaks about the importance of putting others first in these controversies, because we are all seeking the prize together. Supporting others in their scruples is a good way to insure we reach the finish line together.
Which leads to this passage. Paul draws upon examples from the Hebrew Scriptures to remind them that despite the miraculous manna and water from the rock, most of them were struck down in the desert because of their unbelief. Since in the next chapter he will give more detailed instructions about the love feast, the communion meal that the early Christians shared together, and which was coming into abuse, we must be careful about making sure we are coming together as equals around the table of the Lord, without showing favoritism.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Setting an example is important Readers Digest, January 1996 shares this story. Just getting out of the driveway was a major feat during last year’s snow and ice storms. A man was relating how he used his seven-year-old daughter’s softball bat to smash the slick coat of ice on his driveway. He got cold and went inside for a cup of coffee before attempting to clear the car. Several minutes later, his daughter, who had been outside with him, came in. “Dad,” she said, “I got the ice off the car.” “How did you do that?” her father asked. “Same way you did,” the girl shrugged, “with the baseball bat.”
Paul is reminding the Corinthian Christians that what happened to the people of God in the Old Testament serves as an example for them. He writes, “Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did” (vs. 6). He reiterates to them that nothing they face is too difficult for them and God to handle and that they should not quit or give in to the temptation (vs. 13).
Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to learn from the examples set for them. Certainly, the man’s little girl learned from him. Will we learn from the examples that were set for us?
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 13:1-9
I remain fascinated by these verses, no matter how many times I return to them. They center around incidents that were well-known at the time but which not surprisingly are not attested in the few contemporary accounts of the period. I’m reminded how fleeting contemporary catastrophes can become. Obviously those directly affect will never forget, but if you’ve ever opened a box that has been sealed for a few years and pulled out the newspaper you may have used to provide some cushion for protection, you may have read headlines focusing on local mishaps and be surprised that you remember nothing about them.
Now the event first brought to the attention of Jesus might have been the result of bad choices – the religious zealots who rebelled against paying the Imperial taxes as well as those made by Pontius Pilate, who ruled in the name of the emperor, in response.
Whatever answer Jesus gave would displease someone – either the authorities if he stands up for the rebels, or some of the people if he fails to do so. This is why he threw in the story of the tower’s collapse, asking in effect if their sins were so much worse they deserved what they got.
The other, involving the collapse of a tower, may have simply been bad luck, or bad design, or the fault of those involved in designing or building the tower that collapsed and killed so many.
With regards to the Tower of Siloam, I remember decades ago how my grandfather, Antonio Gomez, talked about a building that collapsed in a Mexico City earthquake. He rubbed his thumb against his pointer and middle fingers, smiled, and said “la mordida,” which means a “bite” or “bribe.” He was saying one way to get around building codes is to give someone a bribe. (La mordida also refers to the custom of pushing someone’s face into their birthday cake so they get the first bite, but that has nothing to do with this story).
Luke doesn’t tell us specifically that the tower was built carelessly, because of negligence, bribes, or even malice, but Jesus in this passage is making it clear that the assumption by some that the deaths of those killed in the tower’s collapse, as well as the deaths of the rebels are deserved, are God’s will, and perhaps a just punishment, is false!
Instead, we should take the news of this or that disaster as a reminder that we’re all on borrowed time. What are you doing with the time you might or might not have?
Mr. Rogers, when asked by a child to make sense of a disaster that took the lives of many, said his mother told him to watch the helpers and see what they do. In the parable that follows the report on current events we see one of those helpers in the gardener who stands up for the fig tree that is not producing in the middle of an olive grove. Rather than remove it as the owner demands the gardener asks for another year to literally “fling poop” at the roots. But that year’s grace reminds us that none of us has forever to make the changes we know we ought.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 13:1-9
Famed German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who lost his life standing up to Hitler, offers penetrating observations about Jesus’ main point in this text:
He [Jesus] is telling them to stop all their guessing, their interpreting, their judging and to put an end to their know-it-all attitude… So for Jesus this distressing newspaper report about the terrible events in the temple is nothing other than God’s renewed unmistakable call to those who hear it to repent and change their ways. (A Testament of Hope, p.244)
From now on our situation will become dangerous. We are no longer spectators, observers, judges of these events. Now we ourselves are the ones addressed, we are the ones affected. (A Testament of Hope, p.244)
But of course this repentance about which Bonhoeffer and Jesus speak is not our work. It is as John Calvin once claimed:
When men despair or doubt as to obtaining pardon, they usually become more hardened and obstinate; but when they feel that God is merciful, this draws and converts them. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VIII/2, p.170)
Martin Luther sees in this text a paradoxical God who hides himself in a wonderful love which is totally generous and giving. He wrote:
The love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it. [But] The love of man comes into begin through that which is pleasing to it. (Luther’s Works, Vol.31, p.41)
And this love changes us, the first reformer claims:
Rather than seeking its own good, the love of God flows forth and bestows good. Therefore sinners are attractive because they are loved; they are not loved because they are attractive. (Luther’s Works, Vol.31, p.57)
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 13:1-9
In 2013, a painting was discovered that many thought to be a lost work of artist Vincent Van Gogh. The painting, “Sunset at Montmajour,” which depicts trees, bushes and sky had spent years in a Norwegian private collector's attic after he had been told the work was not by the Dutch master. Two years of a thorough investigation, including a careful analysis of the pigments on the canvas, revealed that the painting was genuine. A letter to Van Gogh’s brother was found to indicate the date the painting was finished, July 4, 1888. Today, the painting is on display in a museum in the Netherlands.
If something is genuine, the real deal, it is far more valuable. What’s true in art is even more true in our spiritual lives and journeys. In this passage, Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree that does not bear figs is worthless. The owner was frustrated at the worthless tree and told his man to cut it down. The man, though, implored the owner to allow him to work the tree and see if it might bear fruit. The man wanted to give the tree one more season to prove its worth.
The point here is repentance. Turn away from sin and a worthless life to embrace Jesus and meaningful life. Repentance shows the heart and character of a person. “Sunset at Montmajour” was thought to be an insignificant piece of art until it wasn’t.
Bill T.
John Calvin powerfully noted the misery in which we find ourselves:
Those who are puffed up with vain confidence and satiated, or who, intoxicated by earthly appetites, do not feel thirst of the soul, will not receive Christ. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VIII/2, p.156)
But Calvin also makes clear that God is still in control, that even repentance is God’s work as he claimed that “Besides, God does not command us to return to him before he has applied a remedy to revolt…” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VIII/2, p.167) This point is even more clearly made by famed 19th-century English Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon. He wrote:
Do not sit down and try to pump up repentance from the dry well of a corrupt nature. It is contrary to the laws of your mind to suppose that you can force your soul into that gracious state. Take your heart in prayer to him who understands it and say, "Lord, cleanse it. Lord, renew it. Lord, work repentance in it." The more you try to produce penitent emotions in yourself, the more you will be disappointed. However, if you believingly think of Jesus dying for you, repentance will burst forth.
Mark E.
* * *
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
They say when it comes to real estate the three most important things to look for is “Location, location, location.” When it comes to scripture, it’s “Context, context, context.”
This passage is part of a larger section that includes chapters 8-11, and involves important questions about eating together. One of the miraculous things about the first Christians – one that aroused the suspicions of the larger Roman empire – is that people from all classes of life ignored the distinctions of economics, religious, and gender, and ate at one table. It wasn’t always easy to do. One sees, in the Acts of the Apostles, for instance, difficulties in seeing that widows from various backgrounds get cared for with regards to the quantity of food available. And Peter, putt off at first by a vision in which God commands him to eat animals he considered unclean, found himself hosted at the home of the centurion Cornelius.
Paul addresses a number of issues in the larger context. First of all, the meat available to city dwellers had most likely been technically offered to a pagan idol – I say technically because only a tiny morsel ended up being part of the offering. The rest was put up for sale in the marketplace, so that in effect the offering in the temple was really a health inspection to determine if the meat was safe to eat. Rather than determine who was right the apostle suggested they individuals ask themselves who was the stronger person in the gathering who could therefore bend to the wishes of the weaker.
Paul then speaks about the importance of putting others first in these controversies, because we are all seeking the prize together. Supporting others in their scruples is a good way to insure we reach the finish line together.
Which leads to this passage. Paul draws upon examples from the Hebrew Scriptures to remind them that despite the miraculous manna and water from the rock, most of them were struck down in the desert because of their unbelief. Since in the next chapter he will give more detailed instructions about the love feast, the communion meal that the early Christians shared together, and which was coming into abuse, we must be careful about making sure we are coming together as equals around the table of the Lord, without showing favoritism.
Frank R.
* * *
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Setting an example is important Readers Digest, January 1996 shares this story. Just getting out of the driveway was a major feat during last year’s snow and ice storms. A man was relating how he used his seven-year-old daughter’s softball bat to smash the slick coat of ice on his driveway. He got cold and went inside for a cup of coffee before attempting to clear the car. Several minutes later, his daughter, who had been outside with him, came in. “Dad,” she said, “I got the ice off the car.” “How did you do that?” her father asked. “Same way you did,” the girl shrugged, “with the baseball bat.”
Paul is reminding the Corinthian Christians that what happened to the people of God in the Old Testament serves as an example for them. He writes, “Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did” (vs. 6). He reiterates to them that nothing they face is too difficult for them and God to handle and that they should not quit or give in to the temptation (vs. 13).
Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to learn from the examples set for them. Certainly, the man’s little girl learned from him. Will we learn from the examples that were set for us?
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 13:1-9
I remain fascinated by these verses, no matter how many times I return to them. They center around incidents that were well-known at the time but which not surprisingly are not attested in the few contemporary accounts of the period. I’m reminded how fleeting contemporary catastrophes can become. Obviously those directly affect will never forget, but if you’ve ever opened a box that has been sealed for a few years and pulled out the newspaper you may have used to provide some cushion for protection, you may have read headlines focusing on local mishaps and be surprised that you remember nothing about them.
Now the event first brought to the attention of Jesus might have been the result of bad choices – the religious zealots who rebelled against paying the Imperial taxes as well as those made by Pontius Pilate, who ruled in the name of the emperor, in response.
Whatever answer Jesus gave would displease someone – either the authorities if he stands up for the rebels, or some of the people if he fails to do so. This is why he threw in the story of the tower’s collapse, asking in effect if their sins were so much worse they deserved what they got.
The other, involving the collapse of a tower, may have simply been bad luck, or bad design, or the fault of those involved in designing or building the tower that collapsed and killed so many.
With regards to the Tower of Siloam, I remember decades ago how my grandfather, Antonio Gomez, talked about a building that collapsed in a Mexico City earthquake. He rubbed his thumb against his pointer and middle fingers, smiled, and said “la mordida,” which means a “bite” or “bribe.” He was saying one way to get around building codes is to give someone a bribe. (La mordida also refers to the custom of pushing someone’s face into their birthday cake so they get the first bite, but that has nothing to do with this story).
Luke doesn’t tell us specifically that the tower was built carelessly, because of negligence, bribes, or even malice, but Jesus in this passage is making it clear that the assumption by some that the deaths of those killed in the tower’s collapse, as well as the deaths of the rebels are deserved, are God’s will, and perhaps a just punishment, is false!
Instead, we should take the news of this or that disaster as a reminder that we’re all on borrowed time. What are you doing with the time you might or might not have?
Mr. Rogers, when asked by a child to make sense of a disaster that took the lives of many, said his mother told him to watch the helpers and see what they do. In the parable that follows the report on current events we see one of those helpers in the gardener who stands up for the fig tree that is not producing in the middle of an olive grove. Rather than remove it as the owner demands the gardener asks for another year to literally “fling poop” at the roots. But that year’s grace reminds us that none of us has forever to make the changes we know we ought.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 13:1-9
Famed German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who lost his life standing up to Hitler, offers penetrating observations about Jesus’ main point in this text:
He [Jesus] is telling them to stop all their guessing, their interpreting, their judging and to put an end to their know-it-all attitude… So for Jesus this distressing newspaper report about the terrible events in the temple is nothing other than God’s renewed unmistakable call to those who hear it to repent and change their ways. (A Testament of Hope, p.244)
From now on our situation will become dangerous. We are no longer spectators, observers, judges of these events. Now we ourselves are the ones addressed, we are the ones affected. (A Testament of Hope, p.244)
But of course this repentance about which Bonhoeffer and Jesus speak is not our work. It is as John Calvin once claimed:
When men despair or doubt as to obtaining pardon, they usually become more hardened and obstinate; but when they feel that God is merciful, this draws and converts them. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VIII/2, p.170)
Martin Luther sees in this text a paradoxical God who hides himself in a wonderful love which is totally generous and giving. He wrote:
The love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it. [But] The love of man comes into begin through that which is pleasing to it. (Luther’s Works, Vol.31, p.41)
And this love changes us, the first reformer claims:
Rather than seeking its own good, the love of God flows forth and bestows good. Therefore sinners are attractive because they are loved; they are not loved because they are attractive. (Luther’s Works, Vol.31, p.57)
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 13:1-9
In 2013, a painting was discovered that many thought to be a lost work of artist Vincent Van Gogh. The painting, “Sunset at Montmajour,” which depicts trees, bushes and sky had spent years in a Norwegian private collector's attic after he had been told the work was not by the Dutch master. Two years of a thorough investigation, including a careful analysis of the pigments on the canvas, revealed that the painting was genuine. A letter to Van Gogh’s brother was found to indicate the date the painting was finished, July 4, 1888. Today, the painting is on display in a museum in the Netherlands.
If something is genuine, the real deal, it is far more valuable. What’s true in art is even more true in our spiritual lives and journeys. In this passage, Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree that does not bear figs is worthless. The owner was frustrated at the worthless tree and told his man to cut it down. The man, though, implored the owner to allow him to work the tree and see if it might bear fruit. The man wanted to give the tree one more season to prove its worth.
The point here is repentance. Turn away from sin and a worthless life to embrace Jesus and meaningful life. Repentance shows the heart and character of a person. “Sunset at Montmajour” was thought to be an insignificant piece of art until it wasn’t.
Bill T.
