Sermon Illustrations for Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 (2017)
Illustration
Joshua 3:7-17
God is truly a God of living water -- of amazingly living water. Here in Joshua we find a repeat of the story of water separating so the people can walk on dry land. This time, rather than for Moses the miracle happens for Joshua. Those men carrying the ark of the covenant across the Jordan River walked through on (sort of) dry land with banks of water on each side. This was God’s proof of God’s promise to protect the people, to assure that the Promised Land would be for God’s people.
I have been to the Jordan River, waded in it, gathered water from it. Where I visited the river it was easy to see across, but I wouldn’t have wanted to attempt to wade across without help. Only a few feet from the banks of the river, priests baptizing people were in waist-deep water. It would have been too deep for me to try wading across. Yet the Hebrew people -- listening to Joshua, who was listening to God -- step out in faith, move toward the banks of the river, and step in.
How often do we step out in faith? How often do we question the ability of God to make a difference in our lives and through our lives to touch the lives of others? Maybe we should use this story as a metaphor for stepping out in faith to do the hard things God may be asking us to do. It worked for Joshua and his contemporaries. It worked for Peter and his. I believe it will work for us as well.
Bonnie B.
Joshua 3:7-17
The Book of Joshua is full of action, but not in this passage. Some will find it less interesting than the walls of Jericho tumbling down. However, it is a crucial passage, because this is the generation born to wandering. They are the descendants of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, but they have known neither Egypt nor slavery. Will they be more than their ancestors? Will they remember they were slaves in Egypt? Will they remember the commands of Passover, getting ready to travel to freedom, or will they be more like the grumblers who complained again and again despite having seen miracles that beggar description? In addition to the consecration of a new generation, there is also the rise of a new leader. Joshua is no Moses. No one will ever be like Moses. But Joshua will do what Moses never did -- cross over the Jordan. What God did for Moses in the parting of the Red Sea is done again for Joshua. The Lord validated the ministry of Joshua. The people discovered they could go on without Moses. And as for us, regardless of how we think we measure up against past generations, God calls us to move forward.
Frank R.
Joshua 3:7-17
Does the pastor have to miraculously separate the waters of a river for you so that you will believe that God is with him? If that were true today, there would be few (if any) churches. Yes, some pastors can do miraculous things, but we should not expect to see a pastor do a miracle before going to his or her church! There might be some churches, but fewer.
When I was a prison chaplain, one of the prisoners asked me to pray that his arms might be healed after he broke them carrying a garbage can to the prison truck. It was a surprise even to me when he came into our prison prayer meeting waving his cast-free arms. After that we needed a bigger room to meet in, and even some guards came. Some people believe the story and come to church to hear more, but most will just smile, say “interesting story,” and then walk away.
Maybe not miracles, but some things that show great wisdom and ability as a leader may bring in crowds. Some people just come to church because the pastor is handsome or has a good speaking voice and preaching ability, or is good at raising money, etc. Some pastors are chosen because they had good grades in seminary and graduated with honors. Some attract folks because the radiance and love of God can be seen in them.
I met a great pastor from Africa who went to Indonesia, and as he walked to the village he was going to there was a river in front of him. He prayed and then walked across it. All those who saw him doing that became converted. He seemed to be a very honest man and seemed to be full of God’s love. “Interesting story”?
Have those in church share how they came to know the Lord (other than just being told to do so in confirmation class). You will learn the difference between “knowing God” and knowing “about” him.
That is one of the main things church is for.
Bob O.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Do whatever it takes to win others to Jesus Christ. That’s good advice. It’s advice that Edward Kimball followed. Never heard of him? Rest assured -- most people haven’t.
Kimball was a Sunday school teacher who not only prayed for the hyper boys in his class but also sought to win each one to the Lord personally. He decided he would be intentional with every single one of them. Surely, he thought about throwing in the towel. If you have ever taught the Bible to young boys, you know that the experience can often be like herding cats. One young man didn’t seem to understand what the gospel was about, so Kimball went to the shoe store where he was stocking shelves and confronted him in the stockroom with the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That young man was Dwight L. Moody. In the stockroom on that Saturday, he believed the gospel and received Jesus Christ as his Savior. In his lifetime, Moody touched two continents for God, with thousands professing Christ through his ministry. Moody, in his preaching, touched a man named Wilbur Chapman. Chapman began preaching and influenced a pro baseball player named Billy Sunday. Sunday began preaching and helped a man named Mordecai Ham know the Lord. Ham also began preaching and influenced a man named Billy -- Billy Graham. Remember, this chain started with a guy named Edward Kimball who would do whatever it took to reach his boys.
Paul and his companions were willing to work and do whatever it took to not be a burden to those in Thessalonica that they might know Jesus. Doing whatever it takes matters. Are we willing to do the same?
Bill T.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
American Christians don’t read the Bible much. A 2012 LifeWay Research poll of churchgoing American Christians found that one in five of them do not ever read the Bible, the same amount who read it regularly. Not surprisingly, religious illiteracy is on the rise. A survey of U.S. religious knowledge conducted by the Pew Foundation revealed that atheists, agnostics, and Jews had higher levels of such knowledge than Christians of various denominations.
The founder of Pietism, Philipp Spener, who tried to bring about a revival more than 350 years ago, offers a wise insight about why we need more Bible study: “We know that by nature we have no good in us. If there is to be any good in us, it must be brought about by God. To this end the Word of God is the powerful means... the more at home the Word of God is among us, the more we shall bring about faith and its fruits” (Pia Desideria, p. 87).
Martin Luther had a sound insight about how exciting such study can be, especially attractive for us living a world in which God seems so distant: “Remember what God has said: when the Word of Christ is preached, I am in your mouth, and I pass with the word through your ears into your heart. So then, we have a sure sign and know that when the gospel is preached God is present and would have himself found there” (What Luther Says, pp. 1460-1461).
In studying God’s Word we actually have conversation with God himself!
Mark E.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
In the Old City of Jerusalem, the tomb where Jesus was buried was restored and reopened to the public in 2017. The tomb, located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, had been worn down by centuries of water damage, fire, candle smoke, humidity, bird droppings, and human visitors. The reason the tomb had not been previously repaired was because of feuding denominations. The Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Roman Catholic denominations all share custody of the church. The last restoration took place in 1810 after a fire. This time the denominations had to agree on a restoration plan because Israeli authorities were going to deem the church unsafe. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was originally constructed by Roman emperor Constantine I in the fourth century.
Application: One of the many lessons contained in our reading is the need to be good stewards of what has been entrusted to us.
Ron L.
Matthew 23:1-12
Humility is tough, especially for us Americans. We think of ourselves as the best, the brightest, the strongest, the most capable -- and in some things, we may be. However, that is no reason not to practice humility. There is a difference between a talent and a skill. A talent is God-given, a gift. One of the talents we have as residents of the United States is a sense of individuality and personal freedom. Even if we do not have great wealth, we have significantly more than the rest of the world -- more jobs, more education, more health care, more opportunity. The location in which we are born is a gift from God. It is something we should be humble about.
On the other hand, a skill is something we can develop and get better at. Jesus speaks of the scribes and Pharisees as those who have information to share and to teach. They have developed knowledge and wisdom. They know how to interpret the Law. Yet they do not know how to live in humility, grateful for the opportunities provided them. They lord their position over others. They command fame and notoriety. They view themselves as special, as above those of ordinary means and education. They do not demonstrate gratitude for the gifts they have received and they show no humility.
Who are we? Are we the arrogant Americans, the arrogant Christians, who believe we have cornered the market on wisdom and insight, on worship and faith practice? Or are we walking humbly with our neighbors, learning as much from them as they learn from us -- as we all share the gifts God has given us with one another?
Bonnie B.
Matthew 23:1-12
All the talk in this passage is about those who want to look important versus those who really are important. At one point Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant” (23:22). Often when you see the term “servant” the word it translates is doulos, or “slave.” But here the term is used to translate diakonos, which is also the office of deacon. “Deacon” sounds like a church word. In the modern church it sometimes refers to a person who is a step below the priesthood, or who holds some sort of important title in less hierarchical churches. The term is literally tied to the root for “table waiters.” It is suspected that deacons in the early church were those who saw to the meal at the common table, or Love Feast. They waited table for other church members, and saw to it, as those appointed in the sixth chapter of Acts, that everyone got fed! The greatest among us, Jesus states, are not those who put on airs, but those who straighten out tablecloths, make sure everyone has a knife, spoon, and fork, and look out that a couple people don’t hog everyone’s favorite casserole or dessert!
Frank R.
Matthew 23:1-12
Jesus lived and died for people and not principles. The Pharisees were the most principled people in Jesus’ day, and yet he had little good to say about them.
We expect that the ones seated as political leaders demand that every word of the constitution must be obeyed. Our leaders are so proud of their principles! They brag about them, and support the tea party or some other group of extreme politicians. They may feel they have the right and even the duty to demand that the people do every single thing they order them to do, whether it’s taxes or mowing your lawn. Sometimes the load is too great for them so they pass it on to others. They want to be called senator or congressman or president. They must be sitting in the seat of Moses!
Do we have only one father? I guess we could call our earthly father “Dad” or “Pop.” We may love them, but God should get top honor.
This lesson is surely a lesson in humility. So don’t inflate your own ego. Some seminary profs were very humble, but others flaunted their degrees.
The duty of our church is to introduce us to our “Father” or “Teacher” and learn from him. We meet him in our Bibles and a pastor will help us find them.
I had not been going to church for quite a while when I had a temptation to make a lot of money from a questionable source. I had to decide, so when I saw the plaque on my dresser that my parents had given me with the verse “Ask and ye shall find, knock and it will be opened to you; seek and ye shall find,” I decided to knock and see if he was there. When I didn’t seem to be getting an answer, I spotted a new RSV Bible my folks had given me, which I left on the table for their benefit -- just flipping the pages so it looked like I was reading it. I wondered if that was where God was answering my knock. I picked it up and started in the New Testament. I was so shocked that every day the next verse was an answer to the next question I asked. I felt the Lord speaking to my heart. It was so impressive that it led me to enter the ministry.
Be sure and have a Bible at home and read it every day so you can find out if God is speaking to you, then double-check with your church for confirmation.
Bob O.
God is truly a God of living water -- of amazingly living water. Here in Joshua we find a repeat of the story of water separating so the people can walk on dry land. This time, rather than for Moses the miracle happens for Joshua. Those men carrying the ark of the covenant across the Jordan River walked through on (sort of) dry land with banks of water on each side. This was God’s proof of God’s promise to protect the people, to assure that the Promised Land would be for God’s people.
I have been to the Jordan River, waded in it, gathered water from it. Where I visited the river it was easy to see across, but I wouldn’t have wanted to attempt to wade across without help. Only a few feet from the banks of the river, priests baptizing people were in waist-deep water. It would have been too deep for me to try wading across. Yet the Hebrew people -- listening to Joshua, who was listening to God -- step out in faith, move toward the banks of the river, and step in.
How often do we step out in faith? How often do we question the ability of God to make a difference in our lives and through our lives to touch the lives of others? Maybe we should use this story as a metaphor for stepping out in faith to do the hard things God may be asking us to do. It worked for Joshua and his contemporaries. It worked for Peter and his. I believe it will work for us as well.
Bonnie B.
Joshua 3:7-17
The Book of Joshua is full of action, but not in this passage. Some will find it less interesting than the walls of Jericho tumbling down. However, it is a crucial passage, because this is the generation born to wandering. They are the descendants of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, but they have known neither Egypt nor slavery. Will they be more than their ancestors? Will they remember they were slaves in Egypt? Will they remember the commands of Passover, getting ready to travel to freedom, or will they be more like the grumblers who complained again and again despite having seen miracles that beggar description? In addition to the consecration of a new generation, there is also the rise of a new leader. Joshua is no Moses. No one will ever be like Moses. But Joshua will do what Moses never did -- cross over the Jordan. What God did for Moses in the parting of the Red Sea is done again for Joshua. The Lord validated the ministry of Joshua. The people discovered they could go on without Moses. And as for us, regardless of how we think we measure up against past generations, God calls us to move forward.
Frank R.
Joshua 3:7-17
Does the pastor have to miraculously separate the waters of a river for you so that you will believe that God is with him? If that were true today, there would be few (if any) churches. Yes, some pastors can do miraculous things, but we should not expect to see a pastor do a miracle before going to his or her church! There might be some churches, but fewer.
When I was a prison chaplain, one of the prisoners asked me to pray that his arms might be healed after he broke them carrying a garbage can to the prison truck. It was a surprise even to me when he came into our prison prayer meeting waving his cast-free arms. After that we needed a bigger room to meet in, and even some guards came. Some people believe the story and come to church to hear more, but most will just smile, say “interesting story,” and then walk away.
Maybe not miracles, but some things that show great wisdom and ability as a leader may bring in crowds. Some people just come to church because the pastor is handsome or has a good speaking voice and preaching ability, or is good at raising money, etc. Some pastors are chosen because they had good grades in seminary and graduated with honors. Some attract folks because the radiance and love of God can be seen in them.
I met a great pastor from Africa who went to Indonesia, and as he walked to the village he was going to there was a river in front of him. He prayed and then walked across it. All those who saw him doing that became converted. He seemed to be a very honest man and seemed to be full of God’s love. “Interesting story”?
Have those in church share how they came to know the Lord (other than just being told to do so in confirmation class). You will learn the difference between “knowing God” and knowing “about” him.
That is one of the main things church is for.
Bob O.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Do whatever it takes to win others to Jesus Christ. That’s good advice. It’s advice that Edward Kimball followed. Never heard of him? Rest assured -- most people haven’t.
Kimball was a Sunday school teacher who not only prayed for the hyper boys in his class but also sought to win each one to the Lord personally. He decided he would be intentional with every single one of them. Surely, he thought about throwing in the towel. If you have ever taught the Bible to young boys, you know that the experience can often be like herding cats. One young man didn’t seem to understand what the gospel was about, so Kimball went to the shoe store where he was stocking shelves and confronted him in the stockroom with the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That young man was Dwight L. Moody. In the stockroom on that Saturday, he believed the gospel and received Jesus Christ as his Savior. In his lifetime, Moody touched two continents for God, with thousands professing Christ through his ministry. Moody, in his preaching, touched a man named Wilbur Chapman. Chapman began preaching and influenced a pro baseball player named Billy Sunday. Sunday began preaching and helped a man named Mordecai Ham know the Lord. Ham also began preaching and influenced a man named Billy -- Billy Graham. Remember, this chain started with a guy named Edward Kimball who would do whatever it took to reach his boys.
Paul and his companions were willing to work and do whatever it took to not be a burden to those in Thessalonica that they might know Jesus. Doing whatever it takes matters. Are we willing to do the same?
Bill T.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
American Christians don’t read the Bible much. A 2012 LifeWay Research poll of churchgoing American Christians found that one in five of them do not ever read the Bible, the same amount who read it regularly. Not surprisingly, religious illiteracy is on the rise. A survey of U.S. religious knowledge conducted by the Pew Foundation revealed that atheists, agnostics, and Jews had higher levels of such knowledge than Christians of various denominations.
The founder of Pietism, Philipp Spener, who tried to bring about a revival more than 350 years ago, offers a wise insight about why we need more Bible study: “We know that by nature we have no good in us. If there is to be any good in us, it must be brought about by God. To this end the Word of God is the powerful means... the more at home the Word of God is among us, the more we shall bring about faith and its fruits” (Pia Desideria, p. 87).
Martin Luther had a sound insight about how exciting such study can be, especially attractive for us living a world in which God seems so distant: “Remember what God has said: when the Word of Christ is preached, I am in your mouth, and I pass with the word through your ears into your heart. So then, we have a sure sign and know that when the gospel is preached God is present and would have himself found there” (What Luther Says, pp. 1460-1461).
In studying God’s Word we actually have conversation with God himself!
Mark E.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
In the Old City of Jerusalem, the tomb where Jesus was buried was restored and reopened to the public in 2017. The tomb, located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, had been worn down by centuries of water damage, fire, candle smoke, humidity, bird droppings, and human visitors. The reason the tomb had not been previously repaired was because of feuding denominations. The Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Roman Catholic denominations all share custody of the church. The last restoration took place in 1810 after a fire. This time the denominations had to agree on a restoration plan because Israeli authorities were going to deem the church unsafe. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was originally constructed by Roman emperor Constantine I in the fourth century.
Application: One of the many lessons contained in our reading is the need to be good stewards of what has been entrusted to us.
Ron L.
Matthew 23:1-12
Humility is tough, especially for us Americans. We think of ourselves as the best, the brightest, the strongest, the most capable -- and in some things, we may be. However, that is no reason not to practice humility. There is a difference between a talent and a skill. A talent is God-given, a gift. One of the talents we have as residents of the United States is a sense of individuality and personal freedom. Even if we do not have great wealth, we have significantly more than the rest of the world -- more jobs, more education, more health care, more opportunity. The location in which we are born is a gift from God. It is something we should be humble about.
On the other hand, a skill is something we can develop and get better at. Jesus speaks of the scribes and Pharisees as those who have information to share and to teach. They have developed knowledge and wisdom. They know how to interpret the Law. Yet they do not know how to live in humility, grateful for the opportunities provided them. They lord their position over others. They command fame and notoriety. They view themselves as special, as above those of ordinary means and education. They do not demonstrate gratitude for the gifts they have received and they show no humility.
Who are we? Are we the arrogant Americans, the arrogant Christians, who believe we have cornered the market on wisdom and insight, on worship and faith practice? Or are we walking humbly with our neighbors, learning as much from them as they learn from us -- as we all share the gifts God has given us with one another?
Bonnie B.
Matthew 23:1-12
All the talk in this passage is about those who want to look important versus those who really are important. At one point Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant” (23:22). Often when you see the term “servant” the word it translates is doulos, or “slave.” But here the term is used to translate diakonos, which is also the office of deacon. “Deacon” sounds like a church word. In the modern church it sometimes refers to a person who is a step below the priesthood, or who holds some sort of important title in less hierarchical churches. The term is literally tied to the root for “table waiters.” It is suspected that deacons in the early church were those who saw to the meal at the common table, or Love Feast. They waited table for other church members, and saw to it, as those appointed in the sixth chapter of Acts, that everyone got fed! The greatest among us, Jesus states, are not those who put on airs, but those who straighten out tablecloths, make sure everyone has a knife, spoon, and fork, and look out that a couple people don’t hog everyone’s favorite casserole or dessert!
Frank R.
Matthew 23:1-12
Jesus lived and died for people and not principles. The Pharisees were the most principled people in Jesus’ day, and yet he had little good to say about them.
We expect that the ones seated as political leaders demand that every word of the constitution must be obeyed. Our leaders are so proud of their principles! They brag about them, and support the tea party or some other group of extreme politicians. They may feel they have the right and even the duty to demand that the people do every single thing they order them to do, whether it’s taxes or mowing your lawn. Sometimes the load is too great for them so they pass it on to others. They want to be called senator or congressman or president. They must be sitting in the seat of Moses!
Do we have only one father? I guess we could call our earthly father “Dad” or “Pop.” We may love them, but God should get top honor.
This lesson is surely a lesson in humility. So don’t inflate your own ego. Some seminary profs were very humble, but others flaunted their degrees.
The duty of our church is to introduce us to our “Father” or “Teacher” and learn from him. We meet him in our Bibles and a pastor will help us find them.
I had not been going to church for quite a while when I had a temptation to make a lot of money from a questionable source. I had to decide, so when I saw the plaque on my dresser that my parents had given me with the verse “Ask and ye shall find, knock and it will be opened to you; seek and ye shall find,” I decided to knock and see if he was there. When I didn’t seem to be getting an answer, I spotted a new RSV Bible my folks had given me, which I left on the table for their benefit -- just flipping the pages so it looked like I was reading it. I wondered if that was where God was answering my knock. I picked it up and started in the New Testament. I was so shocked that every day the next verse was an answer to the next question I asked. I felt the Lord speaking to my heart. It was so impressive that it led me to enter the ministry.
Be sure and have a Bible at home and read it every day so you can find out if God is speaking to you, then double-check with your church for confirmation.
Bob O.
