Sermon Illustrations for Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30
Illustration
Object:
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
It makes me think of my ultimate reward as I look ahead to where future generations will end up, but I will be buried before most of them will arrive. All I can do is to let them know that they will love it -- that I have looked ahead and seen it from my mountaintop. When Jesus returned after the resurrection his first word was "Rejoice!" What else do we need?
Moses died not because he had lost his strength, but because God willed it -- partly because of his sin at the well. Even his death was a reward, as we see he is in heaven in the New Testament story of Jesus on the mount. Death is not the end for him or us.
We must take the word of those who have the vision to look ahead to guide us in our lives. We only have to decide which ones have the right vision! Check with Bill Moyers (sorry!) We should first check with our pastor and our fellow members to determine who has been blessed with God's Spirit to make sure we are not being taken in.
We have to be careful not to revere the burial site rather than the message. That can be true of many great leaders like Martin Luther King and others. I don't even visit my own parents' grave because I know they are no longer there. I do read some of their letters, which I have saved. They were trying to make sure I was heading in the right direction in my life.
I worry about those who say they feel closer to God when they climb a mountain alone and that they don't need a church. If they did get a message from the Lord, then the first thing they should do is come down off the mountain and share it -- if for no other reason than to confirm that it was really from the Lord. Saint Paul warns us not to accept anyone who preaches a message different than the one he is preaching. He said that they will be damned, even if they say it was from a heavenly angel.
The book of Joshua follows with a continuation of what happened after Moses' death when Joshua was appointed Moses' successor to lead the people into the Promised Land. I should mention that the name Joshua in Greek is Jesus. He also led the people into a promised land much grander than Joshua's.
Moses never came down from the mountain, but he passed the word of God on to Joshua, who passed it on to others all the way down to today when he is passing it on to you and through you. God only does that through his people the church, so don't be led astray.
Bob O.
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Reading the scriptures from the beginning of Moses' life, one would think he was going to make a great leader. He was educated by the scholars of Egypt in his developmental years in all the academic disciplines. His first forty years offered such potential. After his fall from grace by the act of killing an Egyptian, he ran for his life into the desert, and those qualities lay latent for another forty years. God calls him back into a life of leadership to lead his fellow Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.
There are numerous secular leadership tips that Christian leaders need and can glean from books, seminars, and mentors, but Christian leadership must have at its core the call of Christ.
Dr. Jesse Middendorf, director for the center for pastoral leadership at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, wrote: "... there comes a place at which the church is altogether distinct and other. In a post-Christian era, the nature of Christian leadership has to be redefined, rearticulated, and engaged within the understanding of the incarnation."
(Quoted from NCN News http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?id=10013455)
Derl K.
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Paul speaks of his gentleness with the Thessalonians. Chinese author Elizabeth Comber has commented on the power of this trait: "There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness." Such sentiments were expressed early in the seventeenth century by the French Catholic saint Francis de Sales: "Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength." The Bible makes clear that God operates with this gentleness (Psalm 18:35). Of course we are not inclined to think of God this way. But the great nineteenth-century American congregational preacher Horace Bushnell praises this virtue in God so well:
... the great God and Creator of the world, the God of revelation, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, contrives to be a gentle being; even hiding his power, and withholding the stress of his will, that he may put confidence and courage in the feeling of his children.
Bushnell goes on to say that this sort of gentleness is of great spiritual beauty. After years of contemplating the gentleness of our all-powerful Lord we are likely to agree with Bushnell.
Mark E.
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Aldhelm was a gifted musician. He would appear in public places, markets, at the foot of bridges, and begin to play and sing. When a crowd would gather he would introduce religious themes into his songs. It was his desire for those gathered to awaken their interest in the gospel. At the age of 65, against his vehement protest, the king made Aldhelm the first bishop of Shelbourne. For the next four years he would walk from one end of his parish to the other, preaching in every village and town until his death on May 25, 709, at the age of 69. Aldhelm died on his preaching tour of 709.
Application: We have been entrusted with the gospel, and with that trust we must awaken individuals' interest in its teachings.
Ron L.
Matthew 22:34-36
One of my favorite novelists is Jan Karon, author of the Mitford series featuring Father Tim Kavanagh, an Episcopal priest. In her novel In the Company of Others, Father Tim and his wife visit Ireland staying at a bed and breakfast. Bella, the owners' daughter, is filled with bitterness and brokenness in her life. Innkeeper Anna knows that Father Tim's adopted son, Dooley, also came to him with brokenness in his life. Anna questions the priest on how he dealt with the anger that Dooley brought when he first moved in with him. Father Tim said, "It's not the sort of thing romantics wish to hear, but I found that in the end, love must be a kind of discipline. If we love only with our feelings, we're sunk -- we may feel love one day and something quite other the next." He continues with various ways that were a trial for him to overcome with Dooley. The boy was more smoke and mirrors, trying to take out his rage and bitterness. Author Karon has Father Tim saying, "I stopped praying for God to change Dooley; I asked God to change me -- to give me his eyes to see into the spirit of this exceptional broken boy."
When God's love abides in us he will help us to love others... even if they are broken and bitter.
Derl K.
Matthew 22:34-46
The Sadducees and Pharisees were trying to justify themselves. The Pharisees and scribes were the Ph.D.s in that day, but Jesus was only a carpenter's son. They wanted to show him up by asking leading questions, but Jesus was always one step ahead of them. He often asked them a question in return but this time he lays it all out just as they should have known it.
The Pharisees had the law divided into the most important and the less important codicils. They argue among themselves which commandments were the most important, and sometimes settle for the type of sacrifice as the most important -- the details were the most important. There are some in our churches who are more concerned about the details, the type of bread and the quality of wine. Some will only allow unleavened bread and some want intinction rather than drinking from a shot glass or from the common cup. To some the details of the service are most important -- like some Pharisees.
We must be careful here because we show our spouse our love by acting on the details of things that we know are important to them -- what kind of flowers they like for Valentine's Day or what kind of clothes we wear for church so we don't embarrass them before the other members. Sometimes we show our love to our parents by making our bed or putting the dishes away correctly for them. We should do these things because of love. This is how we show our love, not just so we can get a reward (now or in their will when they die).
Jesus cut right to the heart of their question. If you have love, you don't need all the other commandments. If you love your neighbor, you would not kill him or rob him or steal his wife. You would not lie to him.
Isn't being jealous that someone else has a sign that our love is more for ourselves than for them?
In the Olympics in Russia, one of the German contenders broke his ski. Immediately another team offered him another ski to finish his run. They were showing love for a neighbor.
Some of our soldiers in Afghanistan showed love to children of the enemy (whoever that might be at the moment) and even to some of the families of those children. Some of our soldiers showed love to the enemy prisoners and won them over. We showed more love to Japan after WWII and they became friends, but our hatred of the Germans after WWI made it possible for Hitler to rise to power and cause another war.
Showing love for our neighbor can often mean more benefits to us in the long run. Let that be a result and not a motive.
Bob O.
It makes me think of my ultimate reward as I look ahead to where future generations will end up, but I will be buried before most of them will arrive. All I can do is to let them know that they will love it -- that I have looked ahead and seen it from my mountaintop. When Jesus returned after the resurrection his first word was "Rejoice!" What else do we need?
Moses died not because he had lost his strength, but because God willed it -- partly because of his sin at the well. Even his death was a reward, as we see he is in heaven in the New Testament story of Jesus on the mount. Death is not the end for him or us.
We must take the word of those who have the vision to look ahead to guide us in our lives. We only have to decide which ones have the right vision! Check with Bill Moyers (sorry!) We should first check with our pastor and our fellow members to determine who has been blessed with God's Spirit to make sure we are not being taken in.
We have to be careful not to revere the burial site rather than the message. That can be true of many great leaders like Martin Luther King and others. I don't even visit my own parents' grave because I know they are no longer there. I do read some of their letters, which I have saved. They were trying to make sure I was heading in the right direction in my life.
I worry about those who say they feel closer to God when they climb a mountain alone and that they don't need a church. If they did get a message from the Lord, then the first thing they should do is come down off the mountain and share it -- if for no other reason than to confirm that it was really from the Lord. Saint Paul warns us not to accept anyone who preaches a message different than the one he is preaching. He said that they will be damned, even if they say it was from a heavenly angel.
The book of Joshua follows with a continuation of what happened after Moses' death when Joshua was appointed Moses' successor to lead the people into the Promised Land. I should mention that the name Joshua in Greek is Jesus. He also led the people into a promised land much grander than Joshua's.
Moses never came down from the mountain, but he passed the word of God on to Joshua, who passed it on to others all the way down to today when he is passing it on to you and through you. God only does that through his people the church, so don't be led astray.
Bob O.
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Reading the scriptures from the beginning of Moses' life, one would think he was going to make a great leader. He was educated by the scholars of Egypt in his developmental years in all the academic disciplines. His first forty years offered such potential. After his fall from grace by the act of killing an Egyptian, he ran for his life into the desert, and those qualities lay latent for another forty years. God calls him back into a life of leadership to lead his fellow Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.
There are numerous secular leadership tips that Christian leaders need and can glean from books, seminars, and mentors, but Christian leadership must have at its core the call of Christ.
Dr. Jesse Middendorf, director for the center for pastoral leadership at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, wrote: "... there comes a place at which the church is altogether distinct and other. In a post-Christian era, the nature of Christian leadership has to be redefined, rearticulated, and engaged within the understanding of the incarnation."
(Quoted from NCN News http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?id=10013455)
Derl K.
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Paul speaks of his gentleness with the Thessalonians. Chinese author Elizabeth Comber has commented on the power of this trait: "There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness." Such sentiments were expressed early in the seventeenth century by the French Catholic saint Francis de Sales: "Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength." The Bible makes clear that God operates with this gentleness (Psalm 18:35). Of course we are not inclined to think of God this way. But the great nineteenth-century American congregational preacher Horace Bushnell praises this virtue in God so well:
... the great God and Creator of the world, the God of revelation, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, contrives to be a gentle being; even hiding his power, and withholding the stress of his will, that he may put confidence and courage in the feeling of his children.
Bushnell goes on to say that this sort of gentleness is of great spiritual beauty. After years of contemplating the gentleness of our all-powerful Lord we are likely to agree with Bushnell.
Mark E.
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Aldhelm was a gifted musician. He would appear in public places, markets, at the foot of bridges, and begin to play and sing. When a crowd would gather he would introduce religious themes into his songs. It was his desire for those gathered to awaken their interest in the gospel. At the age of 65, against his vehement protest, the king made Aldhelm the first bishop of Shelbourne. For the next four years he would walk from one end of his parish to the other, preaching in every village and town until his death on May 25, 709, at the age of 69. Aldhelm died on his preaching tour of 709.
Application: We have been entrusted with the gospel, and with that trust we must awaken individuals' interest in its teachings.
Ron L.
Matthew 22:34-36
One of my favorite novelists is Jan Karon, author of the Mitford series featuring Father Tim Kavanagh, an Episcopal priest. In her novel In the Company of Others, Father Tim and his wife visit Ireland staying at a bed and breakfast. Bella, the owners' daughter, is filled with bitterness and brokenness in her life. Innkeeper Anna knows that Father Tim's adopted son, Dooley, also came to him with brokenness in his life. Anna questions the priest on how he dealt with the anger that Dooley brought when he first moved in with him. Father Tim said, "It's not the sort of thing romantics wish to hear, but I found that in the end, love must be a kind of discipline. If we love only with our feelings, we're sunk -- we may feel love one day and something quite other the next." He continues with various ways that were a trial for him to overcome with Dooley. The boy was more smoke and mirrors, trying to take out his rage and bitterness. Author Karon has Father Tim saying, "I stopped praying for God to change Dooley; I asked God to change me -- to give me his eyes to see into the spirit of this exceptional broken boy."
When God's love abides in us he will help us to love others... even if they are broken and bitter.
Derl K.
Matthew 22:34-46
The Sadducees and Pharisees were trying to justify themselves. The Pharisees and scribes were the Ph.D.s in that day, but Jesus was only a carpenter's son. They wanted to show him up by asking leading questions, but Jesus was always one step ahead of them. He often asked them a question in return but this time he lays it all out just as they should have known it.
The Pharisees had the law divided into the most important and the less important codicils. They argue among themselves which commandments were the most important, and sometimes settle for the type of sacrifice as the most important -- the details were the most important. There are some in our churches who are more concerned about the details, the type of bread and the quality of wine. Some will only allow unleavened bread and some want intinction rather than drinking from a shot glass or from the common cup. To some the details of the service are most important -- like some Pharisees.
We must be careful here because we show our spouse our love by acting on the details of things that we know are important to them -- what kind of flowers they like for Valentine's Day or what kind of clothes we wear for church so we don't embarrass them before the other members. Sometimes we show our love to our parents by making our bed or putting the dishes away correctly for them. We should do these things because of love. This is how we show our love, not just so we can get a reward (now or in their will when they die).
Jesus cut right to the heart of their question. If you have love, you don't need all the other commandments. If you love your neighbor, you would not kill him or rob him or steal his wife. You would not lie to him.
Isn't being jealous that someone else has a sign that our love is more for ourselves than for them?
In the Olympics in Russia, one of the German contenders broke his ski. Immediately another team offered him another ski to finish his run. They were showing love for a neighbor.
Some of our soldiers in Afghanistan showed love to children of the enemy (whoever that might be at the moment) and even to some of the families of those children. Some of our soldiers showed love to the enemy prisoners and won them over. We showed more love to Japan after WWII and they became friends, but our hatred of the Germans after WWI made it possible for Hitler to rise to power and cause another war.
Showing love for our neighbor can often mean more benefits to us in the long run. Let that be a result and not a motive.
Bob O.
