Sermon Illustrations for Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 (2014)
Illustration
Object:
Joshua 24:1-3a
Shechem was appropriate for this meeting since it was the place where they had the first covenant after they entered the Promised Land. Now they were receiving a new covenant there where they were leaving the old idol worship behind them. They were leaving the old family traditions, which had been followed for generations. When this was done in Nepal, it often separated the people from their families as well as the idols they worshiped. Traditions are hard to break. It seems to hint in this scripture that some kept a few gods in their back pocket just in case. Rebecca brought a few family gods with her when she went to be Isaac's wife. It almost seemed to be expected.
We bought a hanging with a picture of an elephant on it, but when our seminary boys saw it they were horrified. They said it was a Hindu god. We bought it only as a decoration. They had read Joshua's warning and didn't want God's wrath on us.
There are often "hangovers" from the past and we see these in recent times where churches were built on the site of pagan worship centers. Even the day of Christ's birth and the new year were set partly because it was an old pagan traditional date. The whole history of the church is full of such compromises. Our Christmas tree is an old pagan symbol.
Abraham was called away from his native land because of the persecution he felt when he changed allegiances. Some are forced to do that in many mission fields today -- especially Muslims who convert to Christ who could face death for converting if they stay where they are.
Joshua is saying "Hey, make up your minds now!" Don't try to make compromises to your faith! Choose now! Don't wait around and risk falling back into your old paganism! He was ratifying the covenant that Moses brought down from the mountain.
If democracy had prevailed from that day, we would be worshiping a golden calf. Well, at least they called it Jehovah. Democracy was a disaster in almost the entire Bible. Remember when the "majority" voted to crucify our Lord?
In this case, Joshua wanted to bring them back to the original covenant that was made on that spot. Doesn't God lead us back almost every week? Maybe every day? We can find ourselves drifting away with every temptation. That's why we come before the Lord's altar every Sunday to ask forgiveness.
Bob O.
Joshua 24:1-3, 14-25
Over the years many people impacted my life for the good. Pastors, whose names you would not recognize, influenced a young child, then a teenager, and later an adult. Sunday school teachers taught me the lessons of God and how to live life to the fullest. Also there were the professors who challenged my thinking and spirit as I wrestled with the complexities of where I was going in the future. Family members prayed for me and encouraged me to reach for the best in life and supported me along the way -- even when I failed.
The Israelites had all of those characteristics in Joshua. We are at the end of his life in this text... an era has concluded... but the positive influences of his life and leadership continued.
John Huffman Jr. observed that the Jews in future generations would have a roller coaster ride spiritually, just like all the following generations. "But the decisions made that day at Shechem were not flippant, casual, emotionally induced decisions. The bottom-line choice had a staying power" (Communicator's Commentary-Joshua, p. 279).
The book of Joshua ends with this positive reminder that we should never forget: "Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel" (Joshua 24:31 NIV).
Derl K.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Statistics from the Center for Disease Control indicate that 1 in 20 Americans are depressed. According to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, nearly half of us (43%) do not think America is a country in which everyone can move up the social ladder. And a Washington Post/Miller Center Poll reveals that nearly the same percent (48%) find themselves less secure financially than a few years ago. Many of us are in despair. This is a lesson for those in despair.
Hope is a wonderful thing. Emily Dickinson wrote about it:
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without words
And never stops at all.
Christians have special hope about the future -- Christ's coming and the resurrection. The late Pope (now saint) John Paul II wrote: "Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are Easter people..." In the same spirit author Robert Flatt wrote: "The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances."
The hope of resurrection, of fresh starts, interpenetrates everyday life. You just need faith to see it. Famed modern theologian Karl Barth makes that clear, as he writes: "And so the time in which we live conceals and yet preserves eternity with it, speaks not of eternity yet proclaims it in silence" (The Epistle to the Romans, p. 304).
The hope of resurrection is plain for all to see, even if in a hidden way. We can then spit at despair and say along with Martin Luther: "Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf of springtime."
Mark E.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Dressed in rags, the South Carolina delegate who signed the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Heyward, was imprisoned by the British. On July 4, 1781, confessing the common core of our nation, he took the British hymn "God Save the King" and wrote a new hymn for a new nation: "God Save The Thirteen States!" As the hymn was completed, all the prisoners stood on their cell bunks and sang the hymn in unison.
Application: With our words we are to encourage one another.
Ron L.
Matthew 25:1-13
Missionary Jerry Porter wrote in a sermon titled "From Generation to Generation" that Dr. L. Guy Nees visited him in Costa Rica when he was the rector of the Nazarene Seminary of the Americas. Nees granted him permission to implement some changes in the life of the institution, and in so doing taught Rev. Porter some valuable lessons that stuck over the years. Porter writes, "The Church of the Nazarene (any denomination or independent congregation), in her greatest hour has been liberal (through giving out the) message and conservative in method. The danger of passing the torch is that those who follow will change the message and stray from the God-path." He continues, "Some things are negotiable. Others are not. If the next generation clearly embraces the non-negotiable essentials, then the transaction is not extremely dangerous. We need innovative new leaders, who, as they reach their generation for Christ, will introduce creative changes to the life of the church. This is good and necessary. What we dread is a generation that tampers with the essential non-negotiable message. God's living water poured into any shaped container still retains its attributes. Just don't alter the chemistry of the water."
(Keefer/Strait, eds., The Wesleyan Preaching Annual [CSS Publishing], p. 225)
Derl K.
Matthew 25:1-13
This passage seems to say that there is a time value in our faith. In other words, we must always be prepared. We never know when our time is coming. We read that in many scriptures throughout the year. That should get through to us.
Do we count on God to forgive us even if we are not prepared? What if we put off everything we want to do for the Lord for a more convenient time, and then we have a fatal auto accident or are diagnosed with cancer? Then we don't have any time. It tells God that he is not important enough for us to make him a priority. We don't like to hear that. We count on God to help us quickly when we need him, but we want him to understand and forgive even if we have not put him first. Don't count on it. No! We are not saved by good works, and there is nothing we can do to make up for our sins.
The price is very high, but Jesus has paid it. All he expects from us is to be ready by putting him first on our priority list. After that we can take a nap (like the good virgins) or do what we want to do to fill the rest of our time. All we have to do then is keep our ears pealed for the sound of his coming.
Even though the foolish ones came out early, expecting the groom's arrival, they were not prepared. God does not give timetables. The only thing that can give us peace is to be prepared with all that the Lord asks us to have. We might all be expecting his coming, but are we ready? Read your Bibles and listen to the sermons and lectures in your church and talk about them when you go home with your family to make sure that you are all ready for him.
Bob O.
Shechem was appropriate for this meeting since it was the place where they had the first covenant after they entered the Promised Land. Now they were receiving a new covenant there where they were leaving the old idol worship behind them. They were leaving the old family traditions, which had been followed for generations. When this was done in Nepal, it often separated the people from their families as well as the idols they worshiped. Traditions are hard to break. It seems to hint in this scripture that some kept a few gods in their back pocket just in case. Rebecca brought a few family gods with her when she went to be Isaac's wife. It almost seemed to be expected.
We bought a hanging with a picture of an elephant on it, but when our seminary boys saw it they were horrified. They said it was a Hindu god. We bought it only as a decoration. They had read Joshua's warning and didn't want God's wrath on us.
There are often "hangovers" from the past and we see these in recent times where churches were built on the site of pagan worship centers. Even the day of Christ's birth and the new year were set partly because it was an old pagan traditional date. The whole history of the church is full of such compromises. Our Christmas tree is an old pagan symbol.
Abraham was called away from his native land because of the persecution he felt when he changed allegiances. Some are forced to do that in many mission fields today -- especially Muslims who convert to Christ who could face death for converting if they stay where they are.
Joshua is saying "Hey, make up your minds now!" Don't try to make compromises to your faith! Choose now! Don't wait around and risk falling back into your old paganism! He was ratifying the covenant that Moses brought down from the mountain.
If democracy had prevailed from that day, we would be worshiping a golden calf. Well, at least they called it Jehovah. Democracy was a disaster in almost the entire Bible. Remember when the "majority" voted to crucify our Lord?
In this case, Joshua wanted to bring them back to the original covenant that was made on that spot. Doesn't God lead us back almost every week? Maybe every day? We can find ourselves drifting away with every temptation. That's why we come before the Lord's altar every Sunday to ask forgiveness.
Bob O.
Joshua 24:1-3, 14-25
Over the years many people impacted my life for the good. Pastors, whose names you would not recognize, influenced a young child, then a teenager, and later an adult. Sunday school teachers taught me the lessons of God and how to live life to the fullest. Also there were the professors who challenged my thinking and spirit as I wrestled with the complexities of where I was going in the future. Family members prayed for me and encouraged me to reach for the best in life and supported me along the way -- even when I failed.
The Israelites had all of those characteristics in Joshua. We are at the end of his life in this text... an era has concluded... but the positive influences of his life and leadership continued.
John Huffman Jr. observed that the Jews in future generations would have a roller coaster ride spiritually, just like all the following generations. "But the decisions made that day at Shechem were not flippant, casual, emotionally induced decisions. The bottom-line choice had a staying power" (Communicator's Commentary-Joshua, p. 279).
The book of Joshua ends with this positive reminder that we should never forget: "Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel" (Joshua 24:31 NIV).
Derl K.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Statistics from the Center for Disease Control indicate that 1 in 20 Americans are depressed. According to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, nearly half of us (43%) do not think America is a country in which everyone can move up the social ladder. And a Washington Post/Miller Center Poll reveals that nearly the same percent (48%) find themselves less secure financially than a few years ago. Many of us are in despair. This is a lesson for those in despair.
Hope is a wonderful thing. Emily Dickinson wrote about it:
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without words
And never stops at all.
Christians have special hope about the future -- Christ's coming and the resurrection. The late Pope (now saint) John Paul II wrote: "Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are Easter people..." In the same spirit author Robert Flatt wrote: "The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances."
The hope of resurrection, of fresh starts, interpenetrates everyday life. You just need faith to see it. Famed modern theologian Karl Barth makes that clear, as he writes: "And so the time in which we live conceals and yet preserves eternity with it, speaks not of eternity yet proclaims it in silence" (The Epistle to the Romans, p. 304).
The hope of resurrection is plain for all to see, even if in a hidden way. We can then spit at despair and say along with Martin Luther: "Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf of springtime."
Mark E.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Dressed in rags, the South Carolina delegate who signed the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Heyward, was imprisoned by the British. On July 4, 1781, confessing the common core of our nation, he took the British hymn "God Save the King" and wrote a new hymn for a new nation: "God Save The Thirteen States!" As the hymn was completed, all the prisoners stood on their cell bunks and sang the hymn in unison.
Application: With our words we are to encourage one another.
Ron L.
Matthew 25:1-13
Missionary Jerry Porter wrote in a sermon titled "From Generation to Generation" that Dr. L. Guy Nees visited him in Costa Rica when he was the rector of the Nazarene Seminary of the Americas. Nees granted him permission to implement some changes in the life of the institution, and in so doing taught Rev. Porter some valuable lessons that stuck over the years. Porter writes, "The Church of the Nazarene (any denomination or independent congregation), in her greatest hour has been liberal (through giving out the) message and conservative in method. The danger of passing the torch is that those who follow will change the message and stray from the God-path." He continues, "Some things are negotiable. Others are not. If the next generation clearly embraces the non-negotiable essentials, then the transaction is not extremely dangerous. We need innovative new leaders, who, as they reach their generation for Christ, will introduce creative changes to the life of the church. This is good and necessary. What we dread is a generation that tampers with the essential non-negotiable message. God's living water poured into any shaped container still retains its attributes. Just don't alter the chemistry of the water."
(Keefer/Strait, eds., The Wesleyan Preaching Annual [CSS Publishing], p. 225)
Derl K.
Matthew 25:1-13
This passage seems to say that there is a time value in our faith. In other words, we must always be prepared. We never know when our time is coming. We read that in many scriptures throughout the year. That should get through to us.
Do we count on God to forgive us even if we are not prepared? What if we put off everything we want to do for the Lord for a more convenient time, and then we have a fatal auto accident or are diagnosed with cancer? Then we don't have any time. It tells God that he is not important enough for us to make him a priority. We don't like to hear that. We count on God to help us quickly when we need him, but we want him to understand and forgive even if we have not put him first. Don't count on it. No! We are not saved by good works, and there is nothing we can do to make up for our sins.
The price is very high, but Jesus has paid it. All he expects from us is to be ready by putting him first on our priority list. After that we can take a nap (like the good virgins) or do what we want to do to fill the rest of our time. All we have to do then is keep our ears pealed for the sound of his coming.
Even though the foolish ones came out early, expecting the groom's arrival, they were not prepared. God does not give timetables. The only thing that can give us peace is to be prepared with all that the Lord asks us to have. We might all be expecting his coming, but are we ready? Read your Bibles and listen to the sermons and lectures in your church and talk about them when you go home with your family to make sure that you are all ready for him.
Bob O.
