Sermon Illustrations for Proper 10 | OT 15 (2012)
Illustration
Object:
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
With reference to the lesson's description of David and his contemporaries worshiping joyfully it is significant that a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life poll revealed recently that only about 1 in 3 Americans worship regularly. This may account in part for why we are a less happy, morally responsible nation. Studies of the relationship between Evolution and Religion reveal that the worship experience, in which we lose ourselves (like David did) has provided an evolutionary advantage for the faithful. For in the experience of worship a spirit of cooperation and exhilarating emotions are nurtured, which in turn gives us joy and makes us more sociable (Nicholas Wade, The Faith Instinct, pp. 79-81).
Mark E.
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
John Paul Jones, a captain in the U.S. Navy during the Revolutionary War, declared, "I am a citizen of the world." Having sailed the Atlantic and being familiar with two continents, he was confident in his knowledge of the culture and geography of the countries involved in a mighty struggle for sovereignty.
As we read of David and his worship service, which contains his understanding of the history and the travels of the ark, he too could say that, "I am a citizen of the world."
Ron L.
Ephesians 1:3-14
People of faith are often confused and unclear about being "chosen" by God as Paul expresses the conviction in his letter to the Ephesians. Robert McAfee Brown seeks to clarify the term. He writes: "The music of one of the greatest Protestant composers provides us with an analogy, Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor consists of a number of variations on a short theme. At first the theme is distinct and clear. As the variations unfold, and the music gets more complicated, the theme is harder and harder to distinguish. Soon the music seems to have no direction or purpose whatever. But if one is acquainted with the theme, he can hear it through all the apparent chaos, holding the music together, giving it direction and force."
Brown continues: "What we see and hear often seems to be sheer chaos. Life apparently has no direction or purpose. But the Christian who is already acquainted with the theme, having seen and heard it in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, knows that the direction and purpose are undergirding the apparent chaos, sustaining it, holding it together."
Richard H.
Mark 6:14-29
John was a prophet standing up to the corrupt establishment. What might we prophesy about today? Traditional moral values are in decline, at least according to half the American public polled in a 2009 Gallup poll survey. Thus according to the most recent statistical estimates 15% of wives and 25% of American husbands have engaged in extramarital affairs and between 40% and 50% of marriages end in divorce. We are irresponsible in our use of money. The Federal Reserve reports that 40% of American households spend more than they earn. Regarding racism, consider the summer 2011 unemployment statistics, indicating that while 8.1% of the white population was without a job, 16.2% of the African-American community was unemployed. A 2010 Rasmussen Report found that 4 in 10 Americans are not in favor of immigrant-friendly policies.
Mark E.
Mark 6:14-29
Ali Ferzat spent years drawing political cartoons that denounced the autocratic reign of Syria's leader President Bashar Assad. In the Fall of 2011, when the democratic movement began in earnest by the people, thousands of whom were killed by the military as they protested in the streets, Ferzat became even more ardent in his drawings.
One day masked men from the regime broke into Ferzat's home, beat him unmercifully, and broke all his fingers so he could not draw again.
The fingers healed, and Ferzat resumed his political cartoons. This time, though, the cartoons received worldwide attention as the violation of his human rights became public. That which was intended to silence him, only increased his audience.
With the beheading, it was thought that John the Baptist would be silenced. Instead, it was the watershed moment when Jesus began his public ministry in earnest and John's followers became even more outspoken.
Ron L.
With reference to the lesson's description of David and his contemporaries worshiping joyfully it is significant that a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life poll revealed recently that only about 1 in 3 Americans worship regularly. This may account in part for why we are a less happy, morally responsible nation. Studies of the relationship between Evolution and Religion reveal that the worship experience, in which we lose ourselves (like David did) has provided an evolutionary advantage for the faithful. For in the experience of worship a spirit of cooperation and exhilarating emotions are nurtured, which in turn gives us joy and makes us more sociable (Nicholas Wade, The Faith Instinct, pp. 79-81).
Mark E.
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
John Paul Jones, a captain in the U.S. Navy during the Revolutionary War, declared, "I am a citizen of the world." Having sailed the Atlantic and being familiar with two continents, he was confident in his knowledge of the culture and geography of the countries involved in a mighty struggle for sovereignty.
As we read of David and his worship service, which contains his understanding of the history and the travels of the ark, he too could say that, "I am a citizen of the world."
Ron L.
Ephesians 1:3-14
People of faith are often confused and unclear about being "chosen" by God as Paul expresses the conviction in his letter to the Ephesians. Robert McAfee Brown seeks to clarify the term. He writes: "The music of one of the greatest Protestant composers provides us with an analogy, Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor consists of a number of variations on a short theme. At first the theme is distinct and clear. As the variations unfold, and the music gets more complicated, the theme is harder and harder to distinguish. Soon the music seems to have no direction or purpose whatever. But if one is acquainted with the theme, he can hear it through all the apparent chaos, holding the music together, giving it direction and force."
Brown continues: "What we see and hear often seems to be sheer chaos. Life apparently has no direction or purpose. But the Christian who is already acquainted with the theme, having seen and heard it in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, knows that the direction and purpose are undergirding the apparent chaos, sustaining it, holding it together."
Richard H.
Mark 6:14-29
John was a prophet standing up to the corrupt establishment. What might we prophesy about today? Traditional moral values are in decline, at least according to half the American public polled in a 2009 Gallup poll survey. Thus according to the most recent statistical estimates 15% of wives and 25% of American husbands have engaged in extramarital affairs and between 40% and 50% of marriages end in divorce. We are irresponsible in our use of money. The Federal Reserve reports that 40% of American households spend more than they earn. Regarding racism, consider the summer 2011 unemployment statistics, indicating that while 8.1% of the white population was without a job, 16.2% of the African-American community was unemployed. A 2010 Rasmussen Report found that 4 in 10 Americans are not in favor of immigrant-friendly policies.
Mark E.
Mark 6:14-29
Ali Ferzat spent years drawing political cartoons that denounced the autocratic reign of Syria's leader President Bashar Assad. In the Fall of 2011, when the democratic movement began in earnest by the people, thousands of whom were killed by the military as they protested in the streets, Ferzat became even more ardent in his drawings.
One day masked men from the regime broke into Ferzat's home, beat him unmercifully, and broke all his fingers so he could not draw again.
The fingers healed, and Ferzat resumed his political cartoons. This time, though, the cartoons received worldwide attention as the violation of his human rights became public. That which was intended to silence him, only increased his audience.
With the beheading, it was thought that John the Baptist would be silenced. Instead, it was the watershed moment when Jesus began his public ministry in earnest and John's followers became even more outspoken.
Ron L.
