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Sermon Illustrations for Epiphany 2 | OT 2 (2022)

Illustration
Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13), Psalm 138
One of the consistent elements in the ancient mythologies is conflict in the heavens. In the Greek pantheon, Gaia and Kronos are supplanted by the Titans, who in turn are overthrown by the Olympian gods that we are familiar with through the Iliad, Odyssey, and other ancient stories. There is conflict between the gods, grudges that are nursed, and revenge that wreaks havoc in the heavens that like ripples from a stone thrown in a pond create upheaval on earth.

Though the Judeans who shared the Hebrew scriptures were monotheistic, they accepted the fact that there are echoes of this ancient conflict to demonstrate that God has no equals, no peers, and no competition. In the first chapter of Genesis, the Spirit of God hovers over the deeps and dispatches the gods of chaos, Tohu and Bohu, translated formless and void. In both Daniel 12 and Revelation 12 it is the archangel Michael who dispatches Lucifer from heaven, not God, not because God is unable, but there the two do not appear in the same picture so that no one can get the false idea that God has a rival.

The ancient gods bred semi-divine heroes with the women of earth, often against their will. In Genesis 6:1-4 the sons of God breed children with the daughters of humanity but shortens human lifespans with a word.

In the passage from Isaiah, the prophet is overwhelmed by the sight of the heavenly court (much like the revelator is when the heavens are peeled back and he, too, looks into the divine throne room). The seraphim are not smooth-faced angels with a gentle visage. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the Egyptians used the term for flying fire-breathing snakes. Something like dragons. But the seraphim are circling God, and their gaze is ever upon the divine. As fearsome as they are, they are totally subservient, their existence given not to plots against God, but in eternal adulation.

In Psalm 138, the psalmist deliberately speaks about “gods,” but they are not the object of praise. They must stand on the sidelines, powerless, while God’s people praise God solely. Later in the psalm, the singer changes the focus from gods to kings to make it clear that these individuals, considered divine or semi-divine by their subjects, are subservient to the one god. Both Isaiah and the psalmist play with the symbols of competing gods to make clear there is no competition, that every being recognizes God’s sovereignty.
Frank R.

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Isaiah 62:1-5
I read an article called “Lessons from Artist Joshua Allen Harris” by Carrie Brummer. In that article, Brummer describes the unique art Harris creates. Harris makes all kinds of works of art out of trash bags and places them all over New York City. He puts them over air vents to give them a sense of life. Harris has made a sea serpent, bears, giraffes, and a host of other things. Christian writer Michael Shannon opined on this artist writing, “Whatever you may think of the value of this kind of art, it can be a kind of parable for those who think they are too bad to be redeemed. We all have met people who thought they were too bad for God to love and use in his work. Maybe you think of yourself as trash, but God sees you as his masterpiece.”

God sees you as his masterpiece. Is there any better way to describe what is going on in this passage from Isaiah regarding Zion? She is no more “forsaken” and “desolate.” She is “delight.” What a wonderful encouragement then and now.
Bill T.

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1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Martin Luther nicely describes the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the pilot of the ship of faith who steers us away from both despair and undue security:

Without the Holy Spirit hearts are either hardened in sins or they despair. But both are contrary to the will of God. By the Holy Spirit the godly navigate between this satanic Scylla and Charybdis and cast themselves upon the superabundant and infinite mercy of God. (What Luther Says, p.662)

Luther’s spiritual mentor Augustine spoke of the Holy Spirit in terms of love itself, always pouring out God’s love on us:

Wherefore, if Holy Scripture proclaims that God is love, and that love is of God, and works this in us that we abide in God and he in us, and that hereby we know this in us that we abide in God and he in us, and that hereby we know this, because he has given us of his Spirit, then the Spirit himself is God, who is love. Next, if there be among the gifts of God none greater than love, and there is no greater gift of God than the Holy Spirit, what follows more naturally than that he himself is of God, who is love. (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.3, p. 219)   

Billy Graham once nicely summarized what the Holy Spirit does to us and for us in our daily lives: “The Holy Spirit illuminates the minds of people, makes us yearn for God, and takes spiritual truth and makes it understandable to us.”
Mark E.

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John 2:1-11
Max Lucado, in his book When God Whispers Your Name writes about this passage. The initial question he addresses is “Why would Jesus and his disciples go to a wedding?” It’s a good question. Weddings in Jesus’ day were parties. Didn’t Jesus and his disciples have more important things to do?

Lucado writes, “Why would Jesus, on his first journey, take his followers to a party? Didn’t they have work to do? Didn’t he have principles to teach? Wasn’t his time limited? How could a wedding fit with his purpose on earth? Why did Jesus go to the wedding?

The answer? It’s found in the second verse of John 2 (John 2:2) “Jesus and his followers were also invited to the wedding.” Jesus wasn’t invited because he was a celebrity. He wasn’t one yet. The invitation wasn’t motivated by his miracles. He’d yet to perform any. Why did they invite him? I suppose they liked him. Big deal? I think so. I think it’s significant that common folk in a little town enjoyed being with Jesus.”

I think Lucado is right. This passage reveals to us something important about Jesus. He was a real person the people liked and enjoyed being around. We often and rightfully are awed by the glory and splendor of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, though, I think it’s good to remember that he was human like us. His first miracle, in a subtle way, gives us a glimpse of the kind of guy he was. Jesus was a person who people liked and wanted to be with. May we be like him in that way, too.
Bill T.
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John Jamison
Object: This is a role play activity.

Note: You will need to select six children to play roles in this activity. If you have a smaller group, you might ask some older youth or even adults to play the parts of the two attackers and the man being attacked. I will give suggestions for how they can play their roles, but feel free to help your children make the story as fun and memorable as you can. I have used boys and girls in the various roles, but you can change those however you want to change them.

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The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
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Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Mary Austin
Nazish Naseem
For July 13, 2025:
  • Samaritans Among Us by Dean Feldmeyer based on Acts 2:1-21. Samaritans were despised and dismissed by the original audience who first heard Jesus tell this parable. Who are the Samaritans in our lives and how does this parable apply today?
  • Second Thoughts: The Helpers by Katy Stenta based on Amos 7:7-17.

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Frank Ramirez
I say, “You are gods,
    children of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals
    and fall like any prince….”
(vv. 6-7)

There have been any number of brother-sister acts that achieved a measure of fame. Take the Carpenters, famed for their singing, musicianship, and songwriting skills. Also worthy of mention are John and Joan Cusack who have acted together in over sixteen films.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Wayne Brouwer
An ancient legend tells of a remote mountain village where people used to send their senior citizens out into the woods to die. The villagers had an eye to the future; they felt that those beyond a certain age would only slow down progress or use up valuable resources to no economically profitable end. Those who reached a certain age weren’t “put out to pasture” or “put out of their misery”; they were simply put out of other people’s way.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82
The tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It is more than 2,700 feet high—over half a mile tall. It has 160 floors and is twice as tall as the Empire State Building in New York City. It is home to the world’s fastest elevator which reaches speeds of forty miles an hour. The Burj Khalifa also hosts the world’s highest outdoor observation deck (on the 124th floor) and the world’s highest swimming pool (on the 76th floor).

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Mabel hummed a familiar hymn tune as she made her way to church. She always enjoyed her Sunday morning walk. It was one of the few times she felt safe to walk alone through the inner city, for she knew nobody would be up at 7.45 in the morning. Today was a particularly beautiful morning, with blue sky, warm sunshine, and the song of a few intrepid blackbirds who still inhabited the city.

SermonStudio

James Evans
Often, a distinction is made between the pastoral or priestly work of the church and the prophetic work. Pastoral care has to do with the care of souls, the offering of comfort in times of loss. The priestly character of pastoral work seeks to mediate the presence of God to those who are hurting.

Schuyler Rhodes
Trusting is never easy. Even in the best of relationships, people step into trust slowly. There is wariness -- questioning -- worry. What happens if trust is betrayed? What if this doesn't work? Sometimes it's like a dance. We step in and out of trust, moving to the rhythms of fear. For many, the routine is achingly familiar. Indeed, it's not easy to trust.
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It was back in the days when the railroad was the most common mode of transportation. There were automobiles, and some airplanes, but the steam locomotive was the way most folks traveled and the way that most of the goods were distributed around the country. After dinner, people sat in the drawing room and listened to the radio programs, fading in and out from some faraway location, over the magical broadcasting signal.
Robert Leslie Holmes
Not many tourists to Washington, D.C., look for the Federal Bureau of Standards offices. It's the Capitol and the White House, the Supreme Court Building or the Smithsonian most of us want to see when we go there. Yet, at the Bureau of Standards offices something very important is stored, something that impacts your life and mine every single day. Have you ever bought the materials for a new project? When you did, most likely you purchased so many inches or feet or yards. Or, you stopped to buy gasoline for your car and purchased it at a certain price per gallon.
David O. Bales
I have the two best jobs in the world. I teach social studies at Leon Griffith Junior High School (a fairly small junior high) and I am Sunday School Superintendent at Calvary Presbyterian Church (an enormous church school). Each job is my vocation. I tell people that at school they'll find my room where the halls cross. At church they can look but probably won't find me. I'll be in someone's classroom. At each job I practice what I most deeply believe: it's how you see the world that determines how you respond to it. I'll give you an example, actually, two examples.
Erskine White
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed,
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
(Stuart K. Hine)

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