Sermon Illustrations for Christmas Day (2014)
Illustration
Object:
Isaiah 9:2-7
Richard Flanagan wrote a book titled The Narrow Road to the Deep North. It is a novel, based on real events, that describes the building of a Japanese railroad by prisoners-of-war through the jungles between Thailand and Burma. It became known as the "death railway" because 100,000 slave laborers died during its construction. The main character in the book is an Australian medical doctor named Dorrigo Evans who says that it's impossible to convey "the suffering, the sorrow, the abject pathetic pointlessness of such immense suffering by so many."
Application: It is because there is so much suffering in the world that we all need the wonderful counselor.
Ron L.
Isaiah 9:2-7
There is a lot of imbalance of power in American society. An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute reveals that the average CEO of a major corporation earns 273 times more than the average worker. And while the average white American family had amassed just over $600,000 in wealth in 2010, the figure was under $200,000 for black families. Martin Luther's observations about this text and its relevance for our context are penetrating, as he claimed "God as a God of none but the lowly, the oppressed..." (Luther's Works, Vol. 16, p. 102). Martin Luther King Jr. had it right in describing the Jesus whose birth we celebrate:
A voice out of Bethlehem two thousand years ago said that all men are equal. It said right would triumph. Jesus of Nazareth wrote no book; he owned no property to endow him with influence. He had no friends in the courts of the powerful. But he changed the course of mankind with only the poor and the despised.
(A Testament of Hope, p. 328)
Mark E.
Titus 2:11-14
The grace of God has appeared to all men but not all men (people) can see him. In some cases it is because they don't want to see him. One reason is they don't want to say no to all ungodliness. They enjoy it too much. It could be pornography or making money as the top reason for their life or gaining power over everyone and everything.
There are some leaders in the world who refuse to let go of power, even if it is destroying their nation as is the case in Syria and Iraq and Russia. Yes there are even some legislators in this country who would do anything for more power. With some, the only way they can feel more powerful is by trying to destroy someone else who may stand in their way.
We feel that the text wouldn't happen to us, but every human has a breaking point. What would you do to save your job, your home, your family?
Notice that it says "teaches" and doesn't imply forcing us in any way. We can learn what God wants us to do in Sunday school and in the pastor's sermons, but do we want to do it? What do we do when we walk out the door of church? What do we do the rest of the week?
I hear some in grade school and high school who learn things they don't like and try to erase that knowledge so they can do what they would rather do and believe.
We all want to lead godly lives and that's why we come to church -- if it is not too much of a sacrifice. We live in an age of temptation. It is all around us.
I tried to live a godly life in the days before I entered seminary. I had a motion picture business in Sacramento. It had its ups and downs, but it was satisfying work. The income was not dependable, but the work was exciting and rewarding. But one day a fellow came to my studio from the San Francisco Bay area. He had an offer of $800 for one day a week (and that was back in the early 1950s when it was a lot more than it is today -- this present age). The only problem was that his offer was to make pornographic films that were disgusting -- not even clever or artistic or humorous. It was that temptation that made me reexamine my life to see how much my hope was in seeing Christ coming to me. Did I want to give myself to him completely? It took about a year before I finally gave all to my Lord.
Do friends and family see us leading godly lives? It can only happen when we realize what our Lord has done for us. If they see us turn down great opportunities to make us money and give us power, they will be more interested in learning about our faith. When we see people make great sacrifices, we always wonder what motivates them.
Are we motivated by the packages we see under the tree? Are we as excited by watching others open the gifts we gave them as we are about the gifts we received?
Our Lord gave up everything for us. Our tree couldn't hold all the gifts that God gave to us and will always be giving us. What are we willing to sacrifice for him? Are we as excited about seeing God receive what we want to give him? It is more blessed to give than to receive. Let that be our Christmas motivation.
Bob O.
Titus 2:11-14
Abraham Lincoln was in his darkest hours prior to the 1864 election. He wrote in a memorandum that in view of the national situation, he totally expected to lose the election. And he might have lost, had it not been for a sudden military victory that helped assure his victory instead. Of the 4 million who voted, Lincoln received 2.2 million votes -- but 1.8 million opposed him including men of high esteem like F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, and Cyrus H. McCormick, inventor of the farm reaper.
Lincoln was a man who sacrificed so much and yet was despised by so many. A friend visited him in the White House and during their conversation Lincoln said, "Voorhees, don't it seem strange to you that I, who could never so much as cut off the head of a chicken, should be elected, or selected, into the midst of all this blood?" (quoted in The Joy of Words [Ferguson Publishing Company, 1960], p. 127).
Jesus, who existed in heaven where love reigns supreme, came to earth in the form of a baby to live in the midst of sin and debauchery. He who knew only how to love would be selected to enter the world, so that in the midst of sin God's justice would be satisfied only through the blood of the cross. Oh how strange it seems, but oh how merciful for us who are sinners condemned unclean. God saves us by his mercy.
Derl K.
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
In a Christmas sermon Martin Luther nicely explained the implications of Christ's nativity for the way we live: "If Christ has now thus become your own, and you have by such faith been cleansed through him... it follows that you will do good works by doing to your neighbor as Christ has done to you" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 1/1, p. 145).
Luther also claimed that if could believe the Christmas story we could never harm another human being. For how could we harm or hate someone with a body like God (who took on flesh) (Ibid., Vol. 5, p. 113)? This appreciation of what we share in common in the message of Christmas was noted by the famous American novelist Taylor Caldwell (also known by many as Max Reiner). He claimed that the festival's message is: "I am not alone at all... I was never alone at all...."
Calvin Coolidge had it right: "Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."
Mark E.
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
When the University Medical Center of Princeton was ready to construct a new building in 2014, the medical personnel in charge of the program felt the design of the facility ought to be studied. They made a model room, then let physicians, nurses, patients, and family members leave Post-it notes on how the room could be better configured. Several hundred notes were written, most of them common sense suggestions such as including a couch that can become a bed, large windows for light, and a visible sink so attending personnel would always remember to wash their hands. When the room was tested it found that the patients staying there requested 30% less pain medication. All of the rooms in the new $523 million, 636,000 square-foot hospital have the new room design.
Application: As we always discuss Jesus being born in a manger we know that the description of a place is important to the unfolding of our lives.
Ron L.
Richard Flanagan wrote a book titled The Narrow Road to the Deep North. It is a novel, based on real events, that describes the building of a Japanese railroad by prisoners-of-war through the jungles between Thailand and Burma. It became known as the "death railway" because 100,000 slave laborers died during its construction. The main character in the book is an Australian medical doctor named Dorrigo Evans who says that it's impossible to convey "the suffering, the sorrow, the abject pathetic pointlessness of such immense suffering by so many."
Application: It is because there is so much suffering in the world that we all need the wonderful counselor.
Ron L.
Isaiah 9:2-7
There is a lot of imbalance of power in American society. An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute reveals that the average CEO of a major corporation earns 273 times more than the average worker. And while the average white American family had amassed just over $600,000 in wealth in 2010, the figure was under $200,000 for black families. Martin Luther's observations about this text and its relevance for our context are penetrating, as he claimed "God as a God of none but the lowly, the oppressed..." (Luther's Works, Vol. 16, p. 102). Martin Luther King Jr. had it right in describing the Jesus whose birth we celebrate:
A voice out of Bethlehem two thousand years ago said that all men are equal. It said right would triumph. Jesus of Nazareth wrote no book; he owned no property to endow him with influence. He had no friends in the courts of the powerful. But he changed the course of mankind with only the poor and the despised.
(A Testament of Hope, p. 328)
Mark E.
Titus 2:11-14
The grace of God has appeared to all men but not all men (people) can see him. In some cases it is because they don't want to see him. One reason is they don't want to say no to all ungodliness. They enjoy it too much. It could be pornography or making money as the top reason for their life or gaining power over everyone and everything.
There are some leaders in the world who refuse to let go of power, even if it is destroying their nation as is the case in Syria and Iraq and Russia. Yes there are even some legislators in this country who would do anything for more power. With some, the only way they can feel more powerful is by trying to destroy someone else who may stand in their way.
We feel that the text wouldn't happen to us, but every human has a breaking point. What would you do to save your job, your home, your family?
Notice that it says "teaches" and doesn't imply forcing us in any way. We can learn what God wants us to do in Sunday school and in the pastor's sermons, but do we want to do it? What do we do when we walk out the door of church? What do we do the rest of the week?
I hear some in grade school and high school who learn things they don't like and try to erase that knowledge so they can do what they would rather do and believe.
We all want to lead godly lives and that's why we come to church -- if it is not too much of a sacrifice. We live in an age of temptation. It is all around us.
I tried to live a godly life in the days before I entered seminary. I had a motion picture business in Sacramento. It had its ups and downs, but it was satisfying work. The income was not dependable, but the work was exciting and rewarding. But one day a fellow came to my studio from the San Francisco Bay area. He had an offer of $800 for one day a week (and that was back in the early 1950s when it was a lot more than it is today -- this present age). The only problem was that his offer was to make pornographic films that were disgusting -- not even clever or artistic or humorous. It was that temptation that made me reexamine my life to see how much my hope was in seeing Christ coming to me. Did I want to give myself to him completely? It took about a year before I finally gave all to my Lord.
Do friends and family see us leading godly lives? It can only happen when we realize what our Lord has done for us. If they see us turn down great opportunities to make us money and give us power, they will be more interested in learning about our faith. When we see people make great sacrifices, we always wonder what motivates them.
Are we motivated by the packages we see under the tree? Are we as excited by watching others open the gifts we gave them as we are about the gifts we received?
Our Lord gave up everything for us. Our tree couldn't hold all the gifts that God gave to us and will always be giving us. What are we willing to sacrifice for him? Are we as excited about seeing God receive what we want to give him? It is more blessed to give than to receive. Let that be our Christmas motivation.
Bob O.
Titus 2:11-14
Abraham Lincoln was in his darkest hours prior to the 1864 election. He wrote in a memorandum that in view of the national situation, he totally expected to lose the election. And he might have lost, had it not been for a sudden military victory that helped assure his victory instead. Of the 4 million who voted, Lincoln received 2.2 million votes -- but 1.8 million opposed him including men of high esteem like F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, and Cyrus H. McCormick, inventor of the farm reaper.
Lincoln was a man who sacrificed so much and yet was despised by so many. A friend visited him in the White House and during their conversation Lincoln said, "Voorhees, don't it seem strange to you that I, who could never so much as cut off the head of a chicken, should be elected, or selected, into the midst of all this blood?" (quoted in The Joy of Words [Ferguson Publishing Company, 1960], p. 127).
Jesus, who existed in heaven where love reigns supreme, came to earth in the form of a baby to live in the midst of sin and debauchery. He who knew only how to love would be selected to enter the world, so that in the midst of sin God's justice would be satisfied only through the blood of the cross. Oh how strange it seems, but oh how merciful for us who are sinners condemned unclean. God saves us by his mercy.
Derl K.
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
In a Christmas sermon Martin Luther nicely explained the implications of Christ's nativity for the way we live: "If Christ has now thus become your own, and you have by such faith been cleansed through him... it follows that you will do good works by doing to your neighbor as Christ has done to you" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 1/1, p. 145).
Luther also claimed that if could believe the Christmas story we could never harm another human being. For how could we harm or hate someone with a body like God (who took on flesh) (Ibid., Vol. 5, p. 113)? This appreciation of what we share in common in the message of Christmas was noted by the famous American novelist Taylor Caldwell (also known by many as Max Reiner). He claimed that the festival's message is: "I am not alone at all... I was never alone at all...."
Calvin Coolidge had it right: "Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."
Mark E.
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
When the University Medical Center of Princeton was ready to construct a new building in 2014, the medical personnel in charge of the program felt the design of the facility ought to be studied. They made a model room, then let physicians, nurses, patients, and family members leave Post-it notes on how the room could be better configured. Several hundred notes were written, most of them common sense suggestions such as including a couch that can become a bed, large windows for light, and a visible sink so attending personnel would always remember to wash their hands. When the room was tested it found that the patients staying there requested 30% less pain medication. All of the rooms in the new $523 million, 636,000 square-foot hospital have the new room design.
Application: As we always discuss Jesus being born in a manger we know that the description of a place is important to the unfolding of our lives.
Ron L.
