Sermon Illustrations for Pentecost
Illustration
Object:
Acts 2:1-21
Leslie Weatherhead was an outstanding English Methodist preacher and writer who tells of a visit to Aldersgate in London where John Wesley had his transforming conversion experience. In this small chapel he saw a plaque on the wall that read: "On this spot on May 24, 1738, John Wesley's heart was strangely warmed."
As Weatherhead prayed and pondered about Wesley's "warmed heart" in one of back pews suddenly the chapel door opened and an old man with a cane proceeded to walk down the aisle. When this man came to the plaque, not seeing Weatherhead in the back pew, he read out loud the words: "On this spot on May 24, 1738, John Wesley's heart was strangely warmed." The old man dropped to his knees and exclaimed, "Do it again, Lord! Do it again for me!"
Time and time again the followers of Jesus have testified to a similar experience and such transformations began on that Day of Pentecost following Jesus' resurrection when his first disciples were moved by the Holy Spirit's flame.
Richard H.
Acts 2:1-21
Why do we live as Christians? Is it something that just came with our family history, like our last name, our blue eyes, or our undying devotion to the Cleveland Browns? Is it something our spouse drug us into? Is it a social norm we are expected to conform to? Is church a social club where we can catch up with our coworkers or perhaps even some of the powerbrokers of our community? Or is our life as Christians born out of a love and passion for Jesus? Are we going through the expected Christian motions or are we living in the power of the Holy Spirit, working in us to accomplish the will of God? Perhaps as we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we should take the time to consider what powers us as believers.
Craig K.
Romans 8:22-27
Paul wrote "that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains" in expectation of a Savior. Often we limit our thinking of the "whole creation" to our earthly environment and to individual salvation, failing to realize the magnitude of God's created order.
In the movie Star Wars, Luke Skywalker's home planet, Tatooine, orbits two suns. Therefore the inhabitants of Tatooine have each day two sunrises and two sunsets. This is interesting science fiction that has recently become scientific fact.
NASA's Kepler spacecraft has recently discovered three planets that orbit two suns. The closet planet is 4,900 light years from earth.
When Paul speaks of all of creation yearning for the coming of a Savior, it is a cosmic revelation.
Ron L.
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
It's funny how looking at the ideal of something shows us how far away we are from it. We see the perfect body on television and we see the flabbiness and sagginess of our own body. We look at the equations of Einstein or Fermat and we see the limitations of our intellect. We listen to an aria by a gifted soprano or tenor like Maria Callas or Luciano Pavarotti and we know we couldn't hit that high C if our lives depended on it.
With the Holy Spirit, we have the spirit of Christ himself, the only sinless human being to ever live, inside us, speaking to us. When placed against Christ, we see how the entire world falls short of his glory and righteousness. No wonder Jesus told us that the Spirit would convict the world of sin (16:8-11).
Craig K.
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Anne Lamott in her best-selling book, Traveling Mercies tells of her fear at the appearance of the slightest mole on her body. Her father had died of a malignant melanoma. Even if her dermatologist frowned just a bit, it made Lamott nervous. Coming to her senses she confessed that she believed in God and wrote on a scrap of paper these words: "I am a little anxious. Help me remember that you are with me even now. I am going to take my sticky fingers off the control panel until I hear from you." Then she put the note in a drawer of the table next to her bed and surrendered her future to God no matter what.
Jesus sought to assure his disciples that they did not have to have their "sticky fingers" on the control panel of their lives. He had sent his Holy Spirit to guide them and all that the Father had given the Son they too would have.
Richard H.
Leslie Weatherhead was an outstanding English Methodist preacher and writer who tells of a visit to Aldersgate in London where John Wesley had his transforming conversion experience. In this small chapel he saw a plaque on the wall that read: "On this spot on May 24, 1738, John Wesley's heart was strangely warmed."
As Weatherhead prayed and pondered about Wesley's "warmed heart" in one of back pews suddenly the chapel door opened and an old man with a cane proceeded to walk down the aisle. When this man came to the plaque, not seeing Weatherhead in the back pew, he read out loud the words: "On this spot on May 24, 1738, John Wesley's heart was strangely warmed." The old man dropped to his knees and exclaimed, "Do it again, Lord! Do it again for me!"
Time and time again the followers of Jesus have testified to a similar experience and such transformations began on that Day of Pentecost following Jesus' resurrection when his first disciples were moved by the Holy Spirit's flame.
Richard H.
Acts 2:1-21
Why do we live as Christians? Is it something that just came with our family history, like our last name, our blue eyes, or our undying devotion to the Cleveland Browns? Is it something our spouse drug us into? Is it a social norm we are expected to conform to? Is church a social club where we can catch up with our coworkers or perhaps even some of the powerbrokers of our community? Or is our life as Christians born out of a love and passion for Jesus? Are we going through the expected Christian motions or are we living in the power of the Holy Spirit, working in us to accomplish the will of God? Perhaps as we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we should take the time to consider what powers us as believers.
Craig K.
Romans 8:22-27
Paul wrote "that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains" in expectation of a Savior. Often we limit our thinking of the "whole creation" to our earthly environment and to individual salvation, failing to realize the magnitude of God's created order.
In the movie Star Wars, Luke Skywalker's home planet, Tatooine, orbits two suns. Therefore the inhabitants of Tatooine have each day two sunrises and two sunsets. This is interesting science fiction that has recently become scientific fact.
NASA's Kepler spacecraft has recently discovered three planets that orbit two suns. The closet planet is 4,900 light years from earth.
When Paul speaks of all of creation yearning for the coming of a Savior, it is a cosmic revelation.
Ron L.
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
It's funny how looking at the ideal of something shows us how far away we are from it. We see the perfect body on television and we see the flabbiness and sagginess of our own body. We look at the equations of Einstein or Fermat and we see the limitations of our intellect. We listen to an aria by a gifted soprano or tenor like Maria Callas or Luciano Pavarotti and we know we couldn't hit that high C if our lives depended on it.
With the Holy Spirit, we have the spirit of Christ himself, the only sinless human being to ever live, inside us, speaking to us. When placed against Christ, we see how the entire world falls short of his glory and righteousness. No wonder Jesus told us that the Spirit would convict the world of sin (16:8-11).
Craig K.
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Anne Lamott in her best-selling book, Traveling Mercies tells of her fear at the appearance of the slightest mole on her body. Her father had died of a malignant melanoma. Even if her dermatologist frowned just a bit, it made Lamott nervous. Coming to her senses she confessed that she believed in God and wrote on a scrap of paper these words: "I am a little anxious. Help me remember that you are with me even now. I am going to take my sticky fingers off the control panel until I hear from you." Then she put the note in a drawer of the table next to her bed and surrendered her future to God no matter what.
Jesus sought to assure his disciples that they did not have to have their "sticky fingers" on the control panel of their lives. He had sent his Holy Spirit to guide them and all that the Father had given the Son they too would have.
Richard H.
