Emphasis Preaching Journal
Sermon Illustrations for Proper 14 | OT 19 (2022)
Illustration
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Martin Luther will not let us get away with just having good feelings for the poor or pity for them while we pray for them. As he once put it in a lecture:
Many live for themselves. Meanwhile they neglect the poor, devote themselves to prayer, and consider themselves saints. Yet it is not enough not to have harmed one’s neighbor. God also demands positive uplifting of the needy through love. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 16, p.19)
Martin Luther will not let us get away with just having good feelings for the poor or pity for them while we pray for them. As he once put it in a lecture:
Many live for themselves. Meanwhile they neglect the poor, devote themselves to prayer, and consider themselves saints. Yet it is not enough not to have harmed one’s neighbor. God also demands positive uplifting of the needy through love. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 16, p.19)
