Sermon Illustrations for The Nativity of Our Lord (2012)
Illustration
Object:
Isaiah 9:2-7
This past fall a new TV series was introduced: Revolution. It asks the question: "What would happen to us if all the electricity upon which we relied was taken away from us?" One of the graphics in the introductory trailer showed the earth dangling in space with all the tiny spots of lights representing our cities one by one going out. Our world becomes dark, lit only by sunlight. The whole population of earth remains as a people walking in darkness, living in a land of deep darkness. The stories unfold fifteen years after the darkness descends. The power is off. What empowers the people as they struggle for survival in a world without cell phones, cars, planes, TV, and all the electrical tools we have relied on? The central characters for good come together, driven by the hope to find the solution to this dilemma. Isaiah announces a new character into the human story ("a child has been born for us"), who speaks to our hope for a new world where all is made right after all the wrong that has taken place.
Mark M.
Isaiah 9:2-7
At last the darkness has passed: our shopping is over. The gifts are wrapped. The tree is lit. The dinner is on the table. We have a day off! What more can we ask?
But when we turn on our television we see much of the world in darkness. India was dark for quite a while and that is just physical darkness. There are also nations at war and people suffering from starvation and those who are affected by the euro's problems or other financial difficulties.
There are even those in our country who have lost a home or a job and have no income or insurance if they get sick. There is darkness of that kind all around us. Even when things were great -- or greater -- here at home, there was still darkness in other lands! There has never been an end to it and there never will be on this earth. There will always be wars and rumors of wars to name just one problem that will never end.
Christmas reminds us that a great light is shining that nothing can put out! If Christ is lighting your life, then nothing can throw you back into darkness. You may have minor problems or even tragedies, but they can never overcome you. Even death has been conquered by our Lord. We should have no more fear.
After college I was looking for a job. I traveled to several states before I found even a temporary opportunity, but I was not worried because I knew my folks would look after me and not let me starve or sleep in the streets. It was a great comfort. My folks have gone to be with our Lord, but my heavenly Father has continued to watch over me and provide for me. I only had a couple moments of struggle, but the Lord had given me friends and family who I knew cared for me. The words in our lesson remind us that even if God has given us no one else to help us, he will never let us down. Even in times of pain we can have joy in knowing that our Lord is still watching over us. That is our greatest Christmas joy, which goes far beyond tinsel and choirs.
When I think of the people in Nepal who I served as missionary, they always had a smile on their faces and a song on their lips and in their hearts, though they might have been thrown out by their family because they denied their Hindu heritage. They might have had difficulty finding a job because of their faith -- even faced death -- but they now had a church full of brothers and sisters who cared, and more importantly a God who they knew would not let them down.
That should be our greatest Christmas joy also. The gifts and tinsel will pass, but the faithfulness of our Lord and God will be with us forever!
Bob O.
Titus 2:11-14
"Women and children and unsaved into the lifeboats!" Note in this cry the rescuer's word "unsaved." Those who did not know salvation and the assurance of the kingdom of heaven should be saved from the sinking vessel to await the opportunity for a profound event -- being saved from one's sins. That was the conviction of Scottish evangelist John Harper as he raced across the decks of the sinking Titanic.
Harper was a renowned evangelist who in 1912 was sailing the Atlantic on his way to pastor the illustrious Moody Church in Chicago. Since his wife had recently died, he now traveled with his only child, his six-year-old daughter Nana. Having placed her in a lifeboat he refused a seat for himself, reserving yet one more place for another woman, child, or any individual who had not yet discovered the blessing of salvation. Surrendering his lifejacket to another man, he continued his crusade among the stricken aboard the doomed ocean liner.
Four years after his death, at a conference in Hamilton, Ontario, the final moments in the life of John Harper became public. A man stood before the assembly and offered this testimony: "I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought Mr. Harper, of Glasgow, also on a piece of wreck, near me. 'Man,' he said, 'are you saved?' 'No,' I said, 'I am not.' He replied, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.' The waves bore him away, but strange to say, brought him back a little later, and he said, 'Are you saved now?' 'No,' I said, 'I cannot honestly say that I am.' He said again, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,' and shortly after that he went down; and there, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed. I am John Harper's last convert."
The man who offered this testimony was only one of six people retrieved from the freezing waters of the North Sea by lifeboats, as 1,522 others, including Harper, died amidst the floating ice. We know for sure that one of those rescued entered into the presence of Christ through a door held open by the evangelist.
John Harper lived a life that was "upright and godly."
Ron L.
Titus 2:11-14
The Christmas spirit. How we feel like doing loving things this time of year. No one has to tell us to give presents or to do something for charity. Good just seems to flow. The lesson captures these sentiments in referring to our being zealous for good works (v. 14). Martin Luther well articulates the reason Christians, at our best, have this zeal. It is the zeal that comes from living with Jesus, like married couples have zeal to please each other.
It further follows from this that a Christian man living in this faith has no need of a teacher of good works. We may see this in an everyday example. When a husband and wife really love one another, have pleasure in each other, and thoroughly believe in their love, who teaches them how they are to behave one to another, what they are to do or to do, say or not to say, what they are to think?
Sure, there will be worldly passions and temptations to confront (v. 12). But our marriage to Jesus, Luther says, entails these passions and temptations are no more threatening to faith then being in a bar must inevitably lead to getting drunk or being among a bad crowd entails you will become a murderer (Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/2, p. 129).
Mark E.
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
Why did they have to bring up taxes? Where was the Tea Party back then? Have you noticed that sometimes, like they say, it is darkest before the dawn? It was not just the taxes! Joseph and Mary had to travel a long way to register for those taxes! Even her pregnancy couldn't be used as an excuse to call off the trip.
Today it might raise a few eyebrows if she were pregnant and they weren't married, but mainly among faithful Christians. Back in the day when Jesus was born, it was not that uncommon for a woman to get pregnant during the engagement. In fact, it might even be a cause to call the marriage off if she could not bear children. So there was no need for Joseph to feel embarrassed. But what a humble place did they find for the king of kings to be born!
They had a little trouble finding a place to stay and ended up in that stable. When I visited one village in Nepal, my room was a place of honor, but it was over the stable and the cows complained during the night. The family even built an outhouse for me! Don't ask where the rest of the family went!
Mary and Joseph let God take care of sending around the birth announcements, but who do you think should have been invited? King Herod? The governor? But God's ways are not our ways. He sent the announcement to a bunch of shepherds. Shepherds were very low on the social scale, but they left the sheep and came. One thing that it accomplished was that since they were always moving, the shepherds got the word around that something great had happened!
One comment that I read indicated that Christ's birth could have been a different year or even a different time of the year. Most scholars place his birth at about 3 or 4 BC. They had no birth records in those days. The date or dates set for Christmas are thought to be based on the winter solstice or the date of a pagan festival. It was common practice in those days to choose dates that were already well known.
When we toured Europe, we often found that there were ancient pagan ruins underneath a number of churches and cathedrals. They must have presumed that since people were already coming to those places, why not put the church there to help increase the membership.
It seems that God had more priorities than struggling with dates and places! The important thing about this season is that the Son of God came and we need to find a place for Him in our hearts.
As pastors we have many books with infinite picayune details. It sometimes made me wonder if Ph.D.s could be saved. Maybe they are wondering if non-Ph.D.s can be saved! God knows!
Bob O.
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
The angels announced to the shepherds that Jesus is the savior. There is only one other place in the New Testament gospels where Jesus is identified as the savior (John 4:42). In that instance, it was an unlikely group of Samaritans who announced it. Angels... Samaritans: both sources of this knowledge were outside the normal experiences of daily Jewish life. Would the average people of God in those days not even recognize Jesus as the savior had it not been told to them? What about us? Would we see in Jesus the savior of the world if it had not been announced to us? Christmas is about heralding these glad tidings for all to hear. What now remains to be seen is how people respond to this good news. How do you respond?
Mark M.
This past fall a new TV series was introduced: Revolution. It asks the question: "What would happen to us if all the electricity upon which we relied was taken away from us?" One of the graphics in the introductory trailer showed the earth dangling in space with all the tiny spots of lights representing our cities one by one going out. Our world becomes dark, lit only by sunlight. The whole population of earth remains as a people walking in darkness, living in a land of deep darkness. The stories unfold fifteen years after the darkness descends. The power is off. What empowers the people as they struggle for survival in a world without cell phones, cars, planes, TV, and all the electrical tools we have relied on? The central characters for good come together, driven by the hope to find the solution to this dilemma. Isaiah announces a new character into the human story ("a child has been born for us"), who speaks to our hope for a new world where all is made right after all the wrong that has taken place.
Mark M.
Isaiah 9:2-7
At last the darkness has passed: our shopping is over. The gifts are wrapped. The tree is lit. The dinner is on the table. We have a day off! What more can we ask?
But when we turn on our television we see much of the world in darkness. India was dark for quite a while and that is just physical darkness. There are also nations at war and people suffering from starvation and those who are affected by the euro's problems or other financial difficulties.
There are even those in our country who have lost a home or a job and have no income or insurance if they get sick. There is darkness of that kind all around us. Even when things were great -- or greater -- here at home, there was still darkness in other lands! There has never been an end to it and there never will be on this earth. There will always be wars and rumors of wars to name just one problem that will never end.
Christmas reminds us that a great light is shining that nothing can put out! If Christ is lighting your life, then nothing can throw you back into darkness. You may have minor problems or even tragedies, but they can never overcome you. Even death has been conquered by our Lord. We should have no more fear.
After college I was looking for a job. I traveled to several states before I found even a temporary opportunity, but I was not worried because I knew my folks would look after me and not let me starve or sleep in the streets. It was a great comfort. My folks have gone to be with our Lord, but my heavenly Father has continued to watch over me and provide for me. I only had a couple moments of struggle, but the Lord had given me friends and family who I knew cared for me. The words in our lesson remind us that even if God has given us no one else to help us, he will never let us down. Even in times of pain we can have joy in knowing that our Lord is still watching over us. That is our greatest Christmas joy, which goes far beyond tinsel and choirs.
When I think of the people in Nepal who I served as missionary, they always had a smile on their faces and a song on their lips and in their hearts, though they might have been thrown out by their family because they denied their Hindu heritage. They might have had difficulty finding a job because of their faith -- even faced death -- but they now had a church full of brothers and sisters who cared, and more importantly a God who they knew would not let them down.
That should be our greatest Christmas joy also. The gifts and tinsel will pass, but the faithfulness of our Lord and God will be with us forever!
Bob O.
Titus 2:11-14
"Women and children and unsaved into the lifeboats!" Note in this cry the rescuer's word "unsaved." Those who did not know salvation and the assurance of the kingdom of heaven should be saved from the sinking vessel to await the opportunity for a profound event -- being saved from one's sins. That was the conviction of Scottish evangelist John Harper as he raced across the decks of the sinking Titanic.
Harper was a renowned evangelist who in 1912 was sailing the Atlantic on his way to pastor the illustrious Moody Church in Chicago. Since his wife had recently died, he now traveled with his only child, his six-year-old daughter Nana. Having placed her in a lifeboat he refused a seat for himself, reserving yet one more place for another woman, child, or any individual who had not yet discovered the blessing of salvation. Surrendering his lifejacket to another man, he continued his crusade among the stricken aboard the doomed ocean liner.
Four years after his death, at a conference in Hamilton, Ontario, the final moments in the life of John Harper became public. A man stood before the assembly and offered this testimony: "I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought Mr. Harper, of Glasgow, also on a piece of wreck, near me. 'Man,' he said, 'are you saved?' 'No,' I said, 'I am not.' He replied, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.' The waves bore him away, but strange to say, brought him back a little later, and he said, 'Are you saved now?' 'No,' I said, 'I cannot honestly say that I am.' He said again, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,' and shortly after that he went down; and there, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed. I am John Harper's last convert."
The man who offered this testimony was only one of six people retrieved from the freezing waters of the North Sea by lifeboats, as 1,522 others, including Harper, died amidst the floating ice. We know for sure that one of those rescued entered into the presence of Christ through a door held open by the evangelist.
John Harper lived a life that was "upright and godly."
Ron L.
Titus 2:11-14
The Christmas spirit. How we feel like doing loving things this time of year. No one has to tell us to give presents or to do something for charity. Good just seems to flow. The lesson captures these sentiments in referring to our being zealous for good works (v. 14). Martin Luther well articulates the reason Christians, at our best, have this zeal. It is the zeal that comes from living with Jesus, like married couples have zeal to please each other.
It further follows from this that a Christian man living in this faith has no need of a teacher of good works. We may see this in an everyday example. When a husband and wife really love one another, have pleasure in each other, and thoroughly believe in their love, who teaches them how they are to behave one to another, what they are to do or to do, say or not to say, what they are to think?
Sure, there will be worldly passions and temptations to confront (v. 12). But our marriage to Jesus, Luther says, entails these passions and temptations are no more threatening to faith then being in a bar must inevitably lead to getting drunk or being among a bad crowd entails you will become a murderer (Complete Sermons, Vol. 3/2, p. 129).
Mark E.
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
Why did they have to bring up taxes? Where was the Tea Party back then? Have you noticed that sometimes, like they say, it is darkest before the dawn? It was not just the taxes! Joseph and Mary had to travel a long way to register for those taxes! Even her pregnancy couldn't be used as an excuse to call off the trip.
Today it might raise a few eyebrows if she were pregnant and they weren't married, but mainly among faithful Christians. Back in the day when Jesus was born, it was not that uncommon for a woman to get pregnant during the engagement. In fact, it might even be a cause to call the marriage off if she could not bear children. So there was no need for Joseph to feel embarrassed. But what a humble place did they find for the king of kings to be born!
They had a little trouble finding a place to stay and ended up in that stable. When I visited one village in Nepal, my room was a place of honor, but it was over the stable and the cows complained during the night. The family even built an outhouse for me! Don't ask where the rest of the family went!
Mary and Joseph let God take care of sending around the birth announcements, but who do you think should have been invited? King Herod? The governor? But God's ways are not our ways. He sent the announcement to a bunch of shepherds. Shepherds were very low on the social scale, but they left the sheep and came. One thing that it accomplished was that since they were always moving, the shepherds got the word around that something great had happened!
One comment that I read indicated that Christ's birth could have been a different year or even a different time of the year. Most scholars place his birth at about 3 or 4 BC. They had no birth records in those days. The date or dates set for Christmas are thought to be based on the winter solstice or the date of a pagan festival. It was common practice in those days to choose dates that were already well known.
When we toured Europe, we often found that there were ancient pagan ruins underneath a number of churches and cathedrals. They must have presumed that since people were already coming to those places, why not put the church there to help increase the membership.
It seems that God had more priorities than struggling with dates and places! The important thing about this season is that the Son of God came and we need to find a place for Him in our hearts.
As pastors we have many books with infinite picayune details. It sometimes made me wonder if Ph.D.s could be saved. Maybe they are wondering if non-Ph.D.s can be saved! God knows!
Bob O.
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
The angels announced to the shepherds that Jesus is the savior. There is only one other place in the New Testament gospels where Jesus is identified as the savior (John 4:42). In that instance, it was an unlikely group of Samaritans who announced it. Angels... Samaritans: both sources of this knowledge were outside the normal experiences of daily Jewish life. Would the average people of God in those days not even recognize Jesus as the savior had it not been told to them? What about us? Would we see in Jesus the savior of the world if it had not been announced to us? Christmas is about heralding these glad tidings for all to hear. What now remains to be seen is how people respond to this good news. How do you respond?
Mark M.
