Emphasis Preaching Journal

1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Promises are for keeping. Every bride knows that, as she walks down the aisle to offer her vows: as does her groom, who’s there waiting for her. The promise of faithfulness that resides at the very heart of marriage is a beautiful one — and essential to our society.

Promises are for keeping. That’s what each one of us affirms, as well, every time we sign a check to pay some debt. Mortgage payment, student loan or credit-card bill: Every check signed, sealed, and dropped into the mailbox brings us that much closer to fulfilling some promise we have made.

Where would any of us be, in life, without promises? Some anthropologists declare that the promise is one of the most important innovations in human history. Without promises, there could be no banking, no insurance, no law (other than brute force). The only commerce would consist of “cash on the barrelhead” — and not paper currency, only silver or gold.

In short, a life without promises would be a life barely worth living: a savage, brutal, dog-eat-dog existence.

Solomon celebrates the greatest promise of all: the covenant of God.


1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
People in the church knew for several years that they had outgrown their building. A building committee was formed and charged with the task of contacting local architects to devise a new building that would be inviting and welcoming to people who did not know Jesus.

There was much excitement on ground-breaking day as members walked around the site where the new sanctuary would be constructed. During the next couple of months people watched as the new building went up.

When the sanctuary was nearly complete, people took markers and wrote their names along with a favorite Bible verse on the concrete floor. Pictures were taken that would be on display for several months. The pastor prayed for the people who would come to Jesus in that new sanctuary.

The day came when the new building was complete. The sanctuary was filled with people. The excitement was contagious as the glory of the Lord filled that place “so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.” Like King Solomon brought the people together with the new temple, complete with the historic Ark of the Covenant that his father David brought to Jerusalem years before, so this new building would bring people to Jesus for many years to come.


1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Julie was going through one of those difficult times in her life. Daily she struggled with her teenage daughter over just about everything. It was during this time that she realized how much she needed her faith in God. She joined a women’s prayer group at church. She listened to the other women speak of answered prayer. “I realized that prayer had the power to change people’s lives.” One of the women recommended that she read, Stormie Omartian’s book, The Praying Wife, which she did.

Julie began praying for her husband that he could break his destructive habits. She explains, “I prayed that Joe would lose his desire to drink and gamble.” She also prayed for her eighteen-year-old daughter.

Julie prayed for over two years before she saw her prayers answered. One night Joe mentioned a friend who played the piano. He was trying to remember one song. Julie told him she had a tape of the friend playing the particular song in question. After listening to three songs, “Joe broke down and came back to the Lord. He asked me to pour all the liquor down the drain. Joe also lost all his desire for drinking and gambling.” Julie is amazed at the change in her husband. “I believe in the power of prayer to change lives,” Julie says.

It was one of those defining moments for the people as they celebrated the completion of the temple. King Solomon, standing before the people, prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart....” The presence of God was felt in a powerful way by all the people that day. Solomon prayed that all people would come to know God.


1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Joanne went home with her college roommate. On Sunday, she accompanied their family to worship in a highly liturgical church. Joanne was not used to all the goings on that she found there, but one thing impressed her: the incense. On the altar some incense was placed. When the prayers of the people began, the incense was lit. As Joanne listened to and participated in the prayers, her eyes were drawn to the curls of smoke from the incense, which spiralled upward to be lost in the beams of the open-style ceiling.

When Joanne returned home, she told her pastor, “It was as if the incense gathered up the prayers and bore them to heaven. I had no doubt that they reached heaven and the very ears of an attentive God. It was a wonderful feeling.”

That was the prayer of Solomon: Lord, hear our prayer.


Ephesians 6:10-20
The legend continues to be passed on that the armor of medieval knights weighed so much that the knight had to be lifted by crane onto his horse. The legend began with a theatrical production that portrayed a knight in heavy armor lifted onto his horse. Actually the heaviest armor that any knight put on didn’t weigh more than combat soldiers today carry into battle. But the very idea of armor sounds bulky and heavy.

Paul’s allegorical listing of Christian armor isn’t cataloging all that could slow or hinder our life for God. We can be flexible in living faithfully because we know that we have the deepest internal protection that we need: God’s love. Imagining ourselves putting on external armor is a way to externalize all the strength God gives us from within.


Ephesians 6:10-20
The writer uses military images to describe the need for a Christian to be prepared for the enemy’s assaults. Forewarned is forearmed. Someone should have forewarned the British fleet at the battle of Jutland, a sea contest fought in the North Atlantic in 1916. The British, used to winning sea battles, had prepared their warships with heavy side armor, but no real protection for the decks. The centuries-old, time-honored method of conflict at sea had been to fire into the sides of the enemy’s fleet and try to sink it. The Germans, however, had developed a new generation of firepower, capable of lofting explosives, rather than propelling them sideways. Consequently, the bombs came in from above, landing on the decks of the British ships, and quickly sinking the Lion, the Indefatigable, and the Queen Mary. The British eventually fought the Germans to a standoff, but David Beatty, the British admiral, was left to mutter, “There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today.”


Ephesians 6:10-20
Many people find it just plain difficult to digest emotionally the abundance of bad news in the media. Many therefore shut it out. It is true that in the face of perceived danger the best course may be a strategic withdrawal. But that does not resolve the issue, because the evil persists. Someone has said that the best way to guarantee the proliferation of evil is for good people to do nothing. If evil has mind, will, and power — and I believe it does — then it must be confronted with equal power and determination. That is why all the good intentions in the world will not suffice. We must be armed and ready with power that is of God and of God alone. It is spiritual readiness that confounds the might of legions.


Ephesians 6:10-20
Armor is made out of material we trust. In medieval times, armor was made from leather, and later made from bronze, iron, or steel. Medieval folk trusted these materials to protect them from enemy blows. In more recent times — the year 2003 — a group of teenagers constructed “armor” made of Mountain Dew cans. Why? Because they like to drink Mountain Dew. They put their trust in Mountain Dew to quench their thirst and give them energy; and perhaps a suit of Mountain Dew armor would neither quench nor invigorate, they built it as a tribute to the drink they enjoy. Likewise, we forge our armor out of our belief in God. We trust in God; shouldn’t we also feel safe if we are protected by him?


Ephesians 6:10-20
New hymnals appear about every 25 years, with a hymnal committee deciding which hymns to keep, what to delete, and new compositions to be included. One denominational committee got into a terrible fight over “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Some loved the hymn and felt it had to be included, but the majority declared that it was militaristic and should be discarded.

After a leak to the press, hostile articles appeared in newspapers across the country. As a result, the hymnal committee received over 4,000 letters and phone calls. Due to all the outside pressure, the committee reversed its decision and retained “Onward Christian Soldiers.”

The Bible is filled with stories of war. So, are we Christian soldiers, marching as to war, or aren’t we? The hymn does use militaristic language, but it is symbolic. We are marching as to war, not marching off to war. The Christian life is not always a tiptoe through the tulips. It is more often an out-and-out battle against hatred, oppression, sin, and evil, for which we need the appropriate “weapons.”


John 6:56-69
The English painter J. M. W. Turner once sold one of his immense canvases to a close friend, who invited him to his home to help hang it. Although the room was spacious and airy, try as they might, the two men — the painter and the collector — just couldn’t get that painting to look right. Finally, the artist turned to his friend and declared it was a useless enterprise. There was only one solution, he said: The room would have to be rebuilt to fit the painting.

There are many, who come to church hoping to bring home a little bit of Jesus to adorn their lives, inspirational thoughts to hang, as a pretty picture, on the wall. Yet, Jesus Christ can never be mere decoration for a human life. He’s got to be at the center of it, the focal point from which everything else derives its purpose.

There comes a time — perhaps many times — in the life of a Christian, when a decision must be made, when all around us, would-be disciples are turning away and departing. When the Lord turns to us and asks, “Do you also wish to go away?” What will we say? Will we hang our heads and look down at the ground, then turn and shuffle off like so many others? Or, will we have the faith to look him in the eye and answer, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life!”


John 6:56-69
Before being sent into battle, one of the most basic things that soldiers are taught is how to identify the enemy. They are taught what the enemy looks like and what their allies look like, so that on the battlefield there is no question about who is friend and who is foe. Many people look at Jesus as being their enemy. But in truth, he is their biggest ally.


John 6:56-69
The story is told of an artist who set himself to paint the Last Supper. The project would take him many years to complete. Beginning with the figure of Christ, he found a man with a face of such purity that he chose him for the model. One by one, he painted all the disciples around the table. All, that is, except Judas. He had looked far and wide but never seemed to be able to find one whose face reflected the tragedy of Judas. He searched in the lowest haunts of society and at last found a man so depraved that he took him for a model. When the sittings were finished, the man said to the artist, “You painted me before.” “Surely not,” said the artist. “Yes,” said the man sadly. “You painted me as Christ.” He had started out so well but had drifted so far!


John 6:56-69
Steve was attending a business meeting in New York City. Late one afternoon Steve decided to attend a vespers service at one of the churches. Throughout the service Steve noticed an elderly woman sitting several pews in front of him. When the time came to go to the altar to receive communion, an usher asked if he could help the woman to the altar. He was told that she was legally blind and would need assistance. Steve agreed and helped her to the altar. Together they ate the bread, drank the juice, and remembered the words of Jesus, “This is my body ... this is my blood....” Steve then helped the woman back to her pew and sat with her until the service was over. He also helped her leave the church. Once outside she began talking to him about the worship service. She told him how she attended that service several times each week and how the service with communion strengthens her faith.

Steve had never heard another speak of their faith being strengthened by communion. In fact, he admits that he really never gave much thought to communion. He thanked the woman for sharing her faith with him. He told her he was from out of town. He asked if he could walk her to her apartment. However, she insisted she would be all right and only lived on the next block. As they stood there saying good-bye the woman said something that Steve would never forgot, “Tell your mother what a good job she has done.”

Following the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus exclaimed that he is the bread of life. Further Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” Communion connects us to each other and more importantly to Jesus.


John 6:56-69
At first it seemed that everyone was in favor of building the new church. Committees were formed, plans were drawn up, analyzed, and sent back for refinements. Then came the fund-raising campaigns, and suddenly there was some discontent. Voices started wondering if such a big church was needed or if the extended wing should be left out and built at a later date. When the church moved ahead and people were asked to pledge for the building project, several families simply left the church. They were not willing to be part of a difficult and costly project such as this.

Jesus had the same problem. When it became apparent what following Jesus really meant, some disciples, and notice that John does not call them anything else, simply stayed back. They were not willing to sacrifice to follow Jesus.

I suspect that this is true today and will be until Jesus comes.