Sermon Illustrations for Lent 2 (2024)
Illustration
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Abram despairs because God’s promises have been so long delayed, he doubts they will come true. God’s response is not only to repeat the promise, but to give Abram and Sarai very slight name changes, to Abraham and Sarah. This slight alteration changes their perspective. God’s promises do come true.
Unlike the experience of Paul on the road to Damascus, most of us don’t need a huge reorientation to experience renewal and change. Sometimes just a small change, a reminder, a slightly new way to reorient ourselves in our faith journey is enough for us to feel restored in energy, faith, and purpose.
It’s true that sometimes we need to make great changes, but for most of us revival doesn’t have to mean being shaken apart from the crown of our head to the tip of our toes. Something small, but meaningful, can do the trick.
And if you think about it, Abraham and Sarah didn’t even have to change the monograms on their towels.
Frank R.
* * *
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Years ago, Ann Landers shared the story of a man who took twenty dollars from his check every pay day and put it under his mattress. He did this for years. Not long after his retirement he got sick and was dying. He made his wife promise him that when he passed on, she would take all of the money from under the mattress and put it with him in the casket. He wanted to take it with him. He pleaded with her to make a promise. So, she did. When he died, she kept her promise. She got all the money out from under the mattress, deposited it in the bank and wrote out a check and put it with him in the casket.
After all, a promise is a promise. God makes promises, too, but his way of keeping them isn’t quite like the clever wife of Ann Landers story. In Genesis 17, we read about God’s covenant that he made with Abram. Verse 7 indicates the depth of this covenant. “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” God’s covenant with Abram and his descendants was an everlasting covenant. God promised to make Abram a great nation and give his descendants the land of Canaan. We know God kept his word to Abram. He will always do as he promises.
Bill T.
* * *
Romans 4:13-25
It is reported in several studies that 85% of us suffer from low self-esteem. An analysis of the Census Bureau’s 2023 Household Poll Survey revealed that half of adults ages 18-24 reported anxiety and depression symptoms compared to about one-third of adults overall. We should not be surprised that these numbers connect with the declining impact of Christianity on the public and the rising secularism. Martin Luther once explained why this would be the case:
For the law, as long as it is without faith which fulfills it, makes all people sinners and establishes the fact that they are guilty and thus unworthy of the promise, indeed worthy of wrath and desolation and in consequence it turns the promise into a threat. (Luther’s Works, Vol.25, p.281)
Without Christ, life under the law leads to a sense of unworthiness. In another context, though, the reformer explains how confident one who is in Christ can be, for God has snatched us away from ourselves and given us the confidence and certainty of one bathed in the righteousness of God. He wrote:
This is the reason why our theology is certain: It snatches us away from ourselves and places us away from ourselves, so that we do not depend on our strength, conscience... but... on the promise and truth of God, which cannot deceive. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 26, p.387)
Mark E.
* * *
Mark 8:31-38
Peter’s always the villain when this story is told and retold, but I’m not so sure about that.
When Peter rebukes Jesus for talking about his impending death at the hands of the political and religious authorities, Jesus calls him Satan, Satana in Greek, but it’s really a loanword from Hebrew and Aramaic. The ha-Satan refers to someone who acts like a heavenly prosecuting attorney or pardon the expression, a devil’s advocate. It is this person’s job to contradict the leader and raise objections. The leader may still hold their position, but the ha-Satan slows things down a bit and makes everyone dot their I’s and cross their t’s. It’s crucial.
I don’t know about you, but when we’re in a church council going over next year’s budget or in a board meeting dealing with a question everyone wants to get through as quickly as possible, I do not appreciate the ha-Satan who points out uncomfortable truths, numbers that don’t add up, and issues that need to be addressed, or which we’ve already addressed and just want to push out of the way. But there is value in someone asking these questions.
Of course, Jesus gives back with as much force as he gets. That’s okay, too. When we are talking serious stuff, we need to take each other seriously. What’s important is that this doesn’t result in Peter’s expulsion from the band of the apostles. And if you think about it, Job, Jonah, Moses, Martha, her sister Mary, and in the case of this week’s reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, Abraham, along with others who talk back to the divine, don’t get zapped by lighting. They get heard.
Frank R.
* * *
Mark 8:31-38
Peter, once again, demonstrates his humanity. Peter believes that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore should be powerful, strong, and unable to be defeated. To hear that the Son of God will undergo suffering is almost more than Peter can bear. So, Peter takes it upon himself to try to rebuke and instruct Jesus. Not a wise choice to be sure. I wonder how many times we come to God telling God what should do. How many times have we said God do this or change that? It’s easy to want our own way – to want God to comply with our wishes. Jesus’ response is a response for us as well. “For you are setting your mind not on divine things, but on human things." Remembering the divine in the face of human challenges isn’t easy and yet, Jesus loves us, pulls us to him and reminds us we are loved – in spite of our human failings.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Mark 8:31-38
John Wesley nicely described the meaning of this lesson and what is entailed in taking up the cross. He wrote:
And every one that would follow Christ, that would be his real disciple, must not only deny himself, but take up his cross also. A cross is anything contrary to our will, anything displeasing to our nature. (Works, Vol.6, p.108)
Commenting on Peter’s rash rebuke of Jesus and his prophesy about his need to carry the cross, John Calvin noted the human propensity always to have things our way:
So deeply is pride rooted in the hearts of men, that they think wrong is done them and complain, if God does not comply with everything that they consider to be right. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVI/2, p.301)
Augustine reminds us that Jesus’ directive to take up the cross and follow him is not hard or grievous, because he aids us (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.6, p.408). Further elaborating on the meaning of this directive, the famed African Father adds, “The world is loved; but let him be preferred by whom the world was made. Great is the world, but sweeter is he by whom the world was made.” (Ibid., p.410)
Mark E.
* * *
Mark 8:31-38
On February 1, 2020, the body of 18-year-old Michael Nnadi was discovered. Nnadi was the youngest of four seminary students at the Major Seminary of the Good Shepherd in Kaduna, Nigeria who were kidnapped on January 8 by armed men. After a few days, the other three seminary students were released, but Nnadi was held by his captors. Nnadi was held and ultimately killed by his captors because, as one of them reported it to the authorities, “he kept insisting they repent and abandon their way of life.”
This story details the clash going on in Nigeria between Christians, in this case, the Catholic church, and Muslims. As I read this account, I was drawn to the words of Jesus as Mark’s gospel records them. “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (vs. 34-35). Following Jesus means being willing to give our all for him. Dr. Billy Graham once said, “To take up your cross means to associate yourself with Christ and to share his rejection. It means you take a stand for Christ even though people make fun of you, persecute you — or even kill you!” Are we willing to go the distance in our walk with Jesus?
Bill T.
Abram despairs because God’s promises have been so long delayed, he doubts they will come true. God’s response is not only to repeat the promise, but to give Abram and Sarai very slight name changes, to Abraham and Sarah. This slight alteration changes their perspective. God’s promises do come true.
Unlike the experience of Paul on the road to Damascus, most of us don’t need a huge reorientation to experience renewal and change. Sometimes just a small change, a reminder, a slightly new way to reorient ourselves in our faith journey is enough for us to feel restored in energy, faith, and purpose.
It’s true that sometimes we need to make great changes, but for most of us revival doesn’t have to mean being shaken apart from the crown of our head to the tip of our toes. Something small, but meaningful, can do the trick.
And if you think about it, Abraham and Sarah didn’t even have to change the monograms on their towels.
Frank R.
* * *
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Years ago, Ann Landers shared the story of a man who took twenty dollars from his check every pay day and put it under his mattress. He did this for years. Not long after his retirement he got sick and was dying. He made his wife promise him that when he passed on, she would take all of the money from under the mattress and put it with him in the casket. He wanted to take it with him. He pleaded with her to make a promise. So, she did. When he died, she kept her promise. She got all the money out from under the mattress, deposited it in the bank and wrote out a check and put it with him in the casket.
After all, a promise is a promise. God makes promises, too, but his way of keeping them isn’t quite like the clever wife of Ann Landers story. In Genesis 17, we read about God’s covenant that he made with Abram. Verse 7 indicates the depth of this covenant. “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” God’s covenant with Abram and his descendants was an everlasting covenant. God promised to make Abram a great nation and give his descendants the land of Canaan. We know God kept his word to Abram. He will always do as he promises.
Bill T.
* * *
Romans 4:13-25
It is reported in several studies that 85% of us suffer from low self-esteem. An analysis of the Census Bureau’s 2023 Household Poll Survey revealed that half of adults ages 18-24 reported anxiety and depression symptoms compared to about one-third of adults overall. We should not be surprised that these numbers connect with the declining impact of Christianity on the public and the rising secularism. Martin Luther once explained why this would be the case:
For the law, as long as it is without faith which fulfills it, makes all people sinners and establishes the fact that they are guilty and thus unworthy of the promise, indeed worthy of wrath and desolation and in consequence it turns the promise into a threat. (Luther’s Works, Vol.25, p.281)
Without Christ, life under the law leads to a sense of unworthiness. In another context, though, the reformer explains how confident one who is in Christ can be, for God has snatched us away from ourselves and given us the confidence and certainty of one bathed in the righteousness of God. He wrote:
This is the reason why our theology is certain: It snatches us away from ourselves and places us away from ourselves, so that we do not depend on our strength, conscience... but... on the promise and truth of God, which cannot deceive. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 26, p.387)
Mark E.
* * *
Mark 8:31-38
Peter’s always the villain when this story is told and retold, but I’m not so sure about that.
When Peter rebukes Jesus for talking about his impending death at the hands of the political and religious authorities, Jesus calls him Satan, Satana in Greek, but it’s really a loanword from Hebrew and Aramaic. The ha-Satan refers to someone who acts like a heavenly prosecuting attorney or pardon the expression, a devil’s advocate. It is this person’s job to contradict the leader and raise objections. The leader may still hold their position, but the ha-Satan slows things down a bit and makes everyone dot their I’s and cross their t’s. It’s crucial.
I don’t know about you, but when we’re in a church council going over next year’s budget or in a board meeting dealing with a question everyone wants to get through as quickly as possible, I do not appreciate the ha-Satan who points out uncomfortable truths, numbers that don’t add up, and issues that need to be addressed, or which we’ve already addressed and just want to push out of the way. But there is value in someone asking these questions.
Of course, Jesus gives back with as much force as he gets. That’s okay, too. When we are talking serious stuff, we need to take each other seriously. What’s important is that this doesn’t result in Peter’s expulsion from the band of the apostles. And if you think about it, Job, Jonah, Moses, Martha, her sister Mary, and in the case of this week’s reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, Abraham, along with others who talk back to the divine, don’t get zapped by lighting. They get heard.
Frank R.
* * *
Mark 8:31-38
Peter, once again, demonstrates his humanity. Peter believes that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore should be powerful, strong, and unable to be defeated. To hear that the Son of God will undergo suffering is almost more than Peter can bear. So, Peter takes it upon himself to try to rebuke and instruct Jesus. Not a wise choice to be sure. I wonder how many times we come to God telling God what should do. How many times have we said God do this or change that? It’s easy to want our own way – to want God to comply with our wishes. Jesus’ response is a response for us as well. “For you are setting your mind not on divine things, but on human things." Remembering the divine in the face of human challenges isn’t easy and yet, Jesus loves us, pulls us to him and reminds us we are loved – in spite of our human failings.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Mark 8:31-38
John Wesley nicely described the meaning of this lesson and what is entailed in taking up the cross. He wrote:
And every one that would follow Christ, that would be his real disciple, must not only deny himself, but take up his cross also. A cross is anything contrary to our will, anything displeasing to our nature. (Works, Vol.6, p.108)
Commenting on Peter’s rash rebuke of Jesus and his prophesy about his need to carry the cross, John Calvin noted the human propensity always to have things our way:
So deeply is pride rooted in the hearts of men, that they think wrong is done them and complain, if God does not comply with everything that they consider to be right. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVI/2, p.301)
Augustine reminds us that Jesus’ directive to take up the cross and follow him is not hard or grievous, because he aids us (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.6, p.408). Further elaborating on the meaning of this directive, the famed African Father adds, “The world is loved; but let him be preferred by whom the world was made. Great is the world, but sweeter is he by whom the world was made.” (Ibid., p.410)
Mark E.
* * *
Mark 8:31-38
On February 1, 2020, the body of 18-year-old Michael Nnadi was discovered. Nnadi was the youngest of four seminary students at the Major Seminary of the Good Shepherd in Kaduna, Nigeria who were kidnapped on January 8 by armed men. After a few days, the other three seminary students were released, but Nnadi was held by his captors. Nnadi was held and ultimately killed by his captors because, as one of them reported it to the authorities, “he kept insisting they repent and abandon their way of life.”
This story details the clash going on in Nigeria between Christians, in this case, the Catholic church, and Muslims. As I read this account, I was drawn to the words of Jesus as Mark’s gospel records them. “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (vs. 34-35). Following Jesus means being willing to give our all for him. Dr. Billy Graham once said, “To take up your cross means to associate yourself with Christ and to share his rejection. It means you take a stand for Christ even though people make fun of you, persecute you — or even kill you!” Are we willing to go the distance in our walk with Jesus?
Bill T.
