Easter 4
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series IX, Cycle B
Object:
Theme of the Day
Jesus is our all-in-all. Historically this Good Shepherd Sunday was celebrated a week earlier under the theme of the goodness of God. This Sunday was historically a day for rejoicing.
Collect of the Day
The Good Shepherd Christ is petitioned that we might be fed, satisfied, healed, and made whole. Justification and Sanctification are emphasized.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 23
* A Psalm expressing confidence in God the Shepherd's protection. Extols the comfort of providence.
* God leads us in right paths (v. 3). Thus we need fear no evil (v. 4). Surrounded by goodness and mercy, the Psalmist pledges regular worship in the temple (v. 6). This is a Psalm about gratitude to God.
Sermon Text and Title
"At the Cornerstone of Your Life"
Acts 4:5-12
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim that Jesus is the cornerstone of faith and of our lives, and how getting our priorities straight about where Jesus ranks in our daily lives makes life more meaningful.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* After their arrest Peter and John appear before the Sanhedrin (Jewish Council) in Jerusalem. Peter responds to questions with a sermon.
* The gathering before the Sanhedrin is reported. The presence of High Priest Annas is noted. Others mentioned include his subsequent high priest successors (vv. 5-6). Actually by the time of the incident (after 33 AD) his son-in-law Caiaphas probably had succeeded him.
* The question posed to the prisoners is by what power or name they undertake their preaching (v. 7).
* Peter is said to be filled with the Holy Spirit in responding. Questions if the arrest was on account of the healing of the lame man before the Temple (vv. 8-9; cf. 3:1-10).
* The apostle proceeds to claim that the healing was done in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom the Jewish powers crucified and who was raised from the dead (v. 10).
* Jesus is identified with the reference in Psalm 118:22 of the stone rejected which has become the head of the corner (v. 11). And the claim is made that there is no salvation save in His name (v. 12).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text pertains to both Christology (insofar it provides insight into how Jesus has fulfilled Old Testament prophecies), the work of the Holy Spirit, and Sanctification (how having Jesus at the cornerstone of one's life makes us more self-sacrificing and brings joy). Justification by Grace is also employed, insofar as it is asserted that salvation is only in Jesus' name (v. 12).
* In the reference to Peter being filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 8), John Wesley notes that "God moves His instruments, not when they please, but just when He sees it is needful" (Commentary on the Bible, p. 475).
* Interpreting verse 12, John Calvin noted that not only has Christ reconciled us to the Father, but that "He is present with us now also, that He may make us partakers of the fruit of eternal redemption…" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVIII/2, pp. 174-175).
* Martin Luther claims that what is at the center of life is his or her god (The Book of Concord, p. 386).
* For more on how the Holy Spirit does the work for us, see Theological Insights for First Lesson, Easter 3.
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Social analyst Alain de Botton observes: "Every adult life could be said to be defined by two great love stories. The first -- the story of our quest for sexual love… The second -- the story of our quest for love from the world…" (Status Anxiety, p. 5).
* Cutting-edge neurobiology indicates that one who is scattered is not happy. The good monoamine that helps create happy feelings, dopamine, is secreted especially when we are engaged in concentration (Stefan Klein, The Science of Happiness, pp. 218, 224).
5. Gimmick
Cornerstones hold the whole building together. What's at the cornerstone of your life? What holds it all together?
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Peter and John were in a lot of trouble. Under arrest, they were appearing before the highest governing authority of the occupied Jewish community, the Sanhedrin. They needed to get centered, to focus on what was important, to say just the right thing. Peter was given the Holy Spirit to say the right thing, and he defended a miracle he had performed by testifying to Jesus Christ. In order to make it clear to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, he testified to His death and resurrection, and then proceeded to Psalm 118:11 (probably to account for Jesus' messiahship despite His disgraceful death on the Cross) (vv. 8-11).
* Then to make it clear that Jesus is truly the Messiah, Peter cited the Hebrew Bible in an effort to demonstrate that Jesus was truly the fulfillment of prophecy. He cites Psalms 118:12. Read passage. Jesus is the rejected stone which is now the cornerstone.
* Cornerstones: The foundation-stone of a structure. Usually you know what a building is by its cornerstone.
* Peter and the Bible say that Jesus is the cornerstone. The cornerstone of what? Of everything. The cornerstone of Israel, of the church, of our lives. In short, Jesus keeps everything together, and like a cornerstone, labels its purpose. Names what they and we are here to do.
* Don't hear this incorrectly. I am not referring to our finding a purpose, to the church discovering a purpose, like Rick Warren and other proponents of "Purpose-Driven Living." This is not our purpose I'm taking about. It is God using Jesus to label what we are created to do. I mean, buildings don't have to agonize over their purpose. They don't need a lot of soul-searching. I never saw a building in agony, have you? They are created for a purpose and do it. That's the way it is with us buildings who have Christ at the cornerstone of our lives.
* The father of psychology, Sigmund Freud, put it well: "Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness," he said. Love and work are at the cornerstone of your life. So to have Christ at the cornerstone of your life is to say that He orients you in your love and work. Ask the congregation if it is not true that the two things in life that really matter are how it's going with your loved ones, how you love and if you are loved, for one. And the other is if you feel fulfilled in your work. Elaborate on this observation with first bullet point in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
* To have Christ as your cornerstone of life is to be oriented to Him in your loves and in your work. What you do in both those realms is oriented by Him and His unconditional love for all creatures, in about glorifying Him. It is like the beautiful words of the Presbyterian Shorter Catechism:
Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. To have Christ as your cornerstone is to glorify Him in all you do (and enjoy it too).
* To have Christ at the cornerstone of your life is to have Him present in your life. You can't have a building if the cornerstone is not present. What a wonderful image. Christ is not somebody distant in biblical times anymore when He is your cornerstone. Consider the third bullet point in Theological Insights, the quotation by Calvin.
* Alas, too often we don't get it right, don't have Jesus at the cornerstone of our lives. French philosopher Blaise Pascal well describes the human condition, especially when we stray from our cornerstone:
If men were happy, the less he were diverted the happier he would be, like the saints and God. Yes: But is a man not happy who can find delight in diversion? No: Because it comes from somewhere else, from outside; so he is dependent, and always liable to be disturbed by a thousand and one accidents, which inevitably cause distress.
(Pensees, p. 66)
* Martin Luther was right. What is at the cornerstone of your life is your god (see fourth bullet point in Theological Insights). If Christ is not there, not your God, then Pascal's description of our condition comes into play. We start getting easily diverted, unfocused. And since we don't feel the joy and peace that comes from focus on the stable cornerstone, we become unstable buildings seeking stability from outside, from thrills, the latest accomplishments, and more material things. Ask the congregation if they have not themselves gotten caught in those cycles.
* Tell the story of the Smiths. Upper-middle-class family, not quite sure what they want in life but happiness, nice (big) home, the latest gadgets. Recession making it tough. Job's a hassle. Feel burned out. Relations sometimes more tense. Contemporary scientific studies of the human brain have found that such a lifestyle leads to unhappiness, because without a focus you don't get the feel-good natural brain dope that flows when you are focused (see last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights).
7. Wrap-Up
Ask the congregation what or who is at the cornerstone of their lives. Is it something that passes away, that you madly chase and never find? Or are they founded on the solid rock Christ who never changes? If it's Jesus, then the two cornerstones of life that Freud noted (love and work) get built on Him, and they start to look and feel different. The loves in our life become opportunities to serve Christ and our loved ones (Hebrews 13:15-16), not just to get our goodies. The jobs we do are not just for a buck, but joyful opportunities to serve God and our fellow human beings! And that kind of focused service makes for happiness (consider first bullet point in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights for First Lesson, Advent 1). When Christ is at cornerstone of a life it is a lot more meaningful and happy!
Sermon Text and Title
"A Love Greater Than Our Hearts"
1 John 3:16-24
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim the love of God (Justification by Grace through Faith) that we are good and valuable in the eyes of God even if we do not feel that way.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* A discourse on love. Its very definition is said to find that the Son of God laid down His life for us, and so we ought to lay down our lives for each other (v. 16).
* Challenges the possibility that one could claim to have God's love abide if unwilling to share with another in need (v. 17).
* Exhorts such love in action, not just in words (v. 18). By this we can be reassured that we are in the truth (v. 19).
* When we feel condemned, notes the comforting word that God is greater than our hearts, and the word knows everything (v. 20). And if our hearts do not condemn, we may have boldness before God (v. 21).
* Elaborating on such boldness, notes that we receive from God whatever we ask because we obey His Commandments and do what pleases Him (v. 22). The Commandment is that we should believe in the name of God's Son Jesus Christ and love one another as commanded (v. 23).
* The Son is said to abide in all who obey His Commandments and abide in Him. We know that the Son abides in us by the sign of the Spirit that He gave (v. 24).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text focuses on Christology, atonement, Justification (as Intimate Union with Christ), and Sanctification (all testifying to the love of God). Social ethical concern for the poor also receives testimony.
* John Calvin insists that "it cannot be but that the love of God will generate in us the love of the brethren" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXII/2, p. 220).
* Regarding love for the poor advocated in the text, Martin Luther writes:
All the gifts we have should serve those who do not have them… It is easy to love Paul and other Apostles. They serve you even after their death. But to love those who are weak, troublesome, and unlearned -- this indeed is to love truly. Otherwise there is no brotherhood, but there is carnality.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 30, p. 279)
* Commenting on verses 20-21, he writes:
Even if our conscience makes us fainthearted and presents God as angry, still "God is greater than our heart." Conscience is one drop; the reconciled God is a sea of comfort.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 30, p. 280)
Also see references to faith and feeling in tension in the quotation from Luther in Theological Insights for the First Lesson, Epiphany 6.
* Regarding verses 22-24 that seem at first glance to entail that by obeying the Commandments of God we will be blessed, we need to recognize that such obedience seems to presuppose that Christ is living in the faithful, obedient ones. Thus they only do good, it seems, because it is Christ in them doing the work or His goodness overflowing from them. See the last Luther quotation in Theological Insights for the Second Lesson, Epiphany 2, and the Luther quotation in Theological Insights for the Second Lesson, Epiphany 4.
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* For statistics on poverty, Google "the poor in America" for the most recent statistics. Also see this section for the First Lesson, Advent 3.
* For analysis of how we are driven by the concern to gain status in society, see the reference to de Botton in this section for the First Lesson; also see Second Lesson, Epiphany 3.
* We have previously noted that neurobiological data indicates that when we are engaged in an activity that leads us to forget ourselves, the executive part of our brain is immersed in pleasurable neurochemicals. See this section for the Second Lesson, Epiphany 6.
5. Gimmick
Note that pastors and politicians have at least one thing in common -- wanting to know what people think about them. Ask if that is not true of all of us. None of us have completely outgrown teenage insecurity.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Why are we so concerned about what others think of us? Elaborate on the second and third bullet points above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. We want recognition so badly and hunger for the joy that comes from forgetting ourselves in the lives of others.
* We need other people in order to feel good and feel like we matter. Other people help us forget ourselves and that makes us happy. But our preoccupation with what they think of us gets us caught up in ourselves, which in turn leads to insecurity and unhappiness.
* All of us have some things about ourselves that we do not like. Invite the congregation to identify what it is about themselves they do not like. Suggest some possibilities -- weak faith, looks, failures in our jobs, bad parents, just unhappy how we are. Many of us cover it up, but we all experience self-doubts. Since the fall, to be human is to be dissatisfied with ourselves. We are our own worst enemies.
* In our lesson, God has another way for us -- His love, a love greater than our hearts (v. 20).
* The Greek word translated "heart" (kardia) refers to the self that is stirred by feelings. Our lesson then says that even if in the depths of our being we don't like ourselves, even if we condemn ourselves, even then God's love is greater than our feelings!
* Note how our vague feelings of being dissatisfied with ourselves are a symptom of our sin against God, like a high fever is a symptom of the flu. Bad feelings about ourselves are a sickness, not what God wants.
* This is not to say that feelings of insecurity are not real feelings. Some present today may be feeling them so deeply that they actually hate themselves. The rest present who do not go so far are still discontent, would like to be a little different. The good news today is that God is greater than our hearts, even when our hearts condemn us. God loves us!
* Cite the fourth bullet point above in Theological Insights. The feelings of the heart are but a drop in the vast ocean of God's love. The insecurities don't stand a chance! We are good enough for God.
* God thinks we're great just the way we are! Consider references by Martin Luther to the tensions between feeling and faith in Theological Insights for the First Lesson, Epiphany 6. It really is like Martin Luther says: Faith is against feeling, and feeling is against faith! We may feel like we are not good and worthwhile. But faith says do not believe it; there is every reason to like yourself. God loves and affirms us!
* Feelings are fragile and transitory, they come and go. But God and His love are not transitory. He will declare it when our negative feelings are present and when they are not.
7. Wrap-Up
Faith seems difficult sometimes, hard sometimes. It is hard to believe we are any good when we don't feel that way. But God loves us anyway. All the doubts and insecurities begin to fade -- for God's love is greater than our hearts, overcomes our selfishness, drives us back into the world to give away what we have to others (consider the last bullet point in Theological Insights for Second Lesson, Lent 4). Nothing, not even hard hearts, can stop God's love!
Sermon Text and Title
"A Shepherd Who Never Forsakes Us"
John 10:11-18
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To reflect on the unconditional love of God that never forsakes us (Justification by Grace) and how the Good Shepherd leads and creates community (Sanctification and Social Justice).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* The parable of the Good Shepherd, appearing only in John.
* As Good Shepherd, Jesus is not like the hired hand, for He is willing to lay down his life for the sheep (vv. 11-12).
* He knows His own and they know Him, just as the Father knows Him and He the Father. Stresses again how He lays down His life for the sheep (vv. 13-15).
* Notes other sheep not belonging to this fold. Jesus says He must bring them too, so there will be just one flock and one Shepherd (v. 16).
* The Father loves Him, because He lays down His life for the sheep (v. 17).
* No one takes His life from Jesus, for He lays it down of His own power. But He also can take it up again (v. 18).
3. Theological Insights See Charts of the Major Theological Options
* The Good Shepherd focuses our attention on Justification by Grace (God's love for us) and Sanctification (how the Shepherd leads us in living our daily lives and its implications for social justice for the poor).
* John Calvin saw connections between Jesus' role as the Good Shepherd and pastors: "Though Christ claims for Himself alone the name of a Shepherd, yet He indirectly states that, in some respects, He holds it in common with the agents by whom He acts" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/2, p. 403). "Christ intended, first, to demonstrate what a remarkable proof He gave of His love toward us, and, next, to excite all His ministers to imitate His example" (Ibid.).
* Calvin sees Jesus' role as Good Shepherd as having implications for the source of authority for the church:
These words mean that, when the church submits to Christ alone, and obeys His Commands, and hears His Voice and His doctrine, then only is it in a state of good order.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/2, p. 408)
* Speaking of the Father's love for Jesus (v. 17), Calvin notes:
This is a wonderful commendation of the goodness of God to us, and ought justly to arouse our whole souls into rapturous admiration, that not only does God extend to us the love which is due to the only-begotten Son, but He refers it to us as the final cause.
(Ibid., p. 409)
* In connection with the parable, Martin Luther contended that sheep know their shepherd, for "sheep have the sharpest and most acute hearing of all animals" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 83).
* The first Reformer spoke of the great comfort this parable offers: "It follows from this that we are not now, nor ever will be, forsaken, no matter how many temptations and sorrows we have here on earth" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 74).
* He adds that this knowing is hidden. "But because the word is a living thing, it must be believed, even if not fully experienced…" (Ibid., p. 76).
* For Luther the text reveals "that Christ's kingdom is to be concerned about the weak, the sick, the broken, that He may help them" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 2/1, p. 22).
* Augustine in a sermon on this text envisaged a more intimate relation with the Shepherd. The Christian soul made beautiful through the pardon and grace of the Shepherd's work speaks in love of the Christ and the desire to join Him in the marriage bed (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 6, pp. 524-525). This is justification as Intimate Union with Christ.
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* For statistics regarding the loneliness contemporary Americans experience, see this section for Second Lesson, Lent 1; Easter 2.
* For statistics on poverty, Google the latest data regarding "poverty in America" or "poverty worldwide." Also see this section for First Lesson, Advent 3; Easter 2.
5. Gimmick
Good Shepherd Sunday. It's old hat for most of us. But if we try to hear this famed parable like we've never heard it before, truly acted like sheep, we might just see some things about life, about coping with loneliness and uncertainty, that we have never experienced before.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Become a herd of sheep. What's that like? Martin Luther once told us. Use the fifth bullet point in Theological Insights. The sheep have the sharpest sense of hearing. Listen, sheep, and you won't miss what's new in this parable!
* Jesus says the Good Shepherd would lay His life down for the sheep (vv. 11, 17). Almost a month later, and we're still commemorating Easter here today.
* In dying for the sheep, the Good Shepherd sets them free from sin. The Good Shepherd is a liberator. It is as Abraham Lincoln said: "The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the world denounces him for the same act…."
* The Good Shepherd liberates, finds the wayward sheep not fully integrated into the flock. Keep in mind how the Good Shepherd is an image that reminds us of Christ's care for the poor, that they are our business. (Consider using statistics on poverty in the references give in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.) Note Martin Luther's point in the next-to-last bullet point above in Theological Insights.
* Ask the congregation if they are listening. They may never have thought before of how Jesus as Good Shepherd connotes concern for the poor and marginalized. Tell them to think of that the next time they think or hear of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Remind them of today's Psalm (23) and its reference to the Shepherd getting us all to lie in green pastures, to never want (vv. 1-2). The Good Shepherd cares about the well-being of the sheep's bodies and not just about our souls.
* This Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep is clearly someone who cares. This is no hired hand. We knew that about Jesus, but we've know him so long that sometimes we take Him for granted. Urge the congregation to keep in mind that He is good, the best of the shepherds. Let His care for us His flock, His care for the sheep outside the flock He is trying to add (v. 16), move us. Isn't this love and devotion something?
* The great Reformer John Calvin sang praises about this love. Use the fourth bullet point above in Theological Insights and note how this is a love that we can't help but admire and attend to, can't ever ignore if we really note all the Good Shepherd has done for us. Remember He died for us, and He keeps looking for others like us.
* Martin Luther spoke of the great comfort this insight affords. Use the sixth bullet point in Theological Insights. We will never be forsaken, not by the Good Shepherd. Never forsaken. Not even the poor are forsaken.
* Speaking of forsakenness, sheep are no good alone. They are community-oriented creatures; they cannot thrive apart from a flock. Note how we Americans have been very unhappy sheep of late. Despite the internet, polls show that we feel isolated. Consider references cited above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
* The idea of Jesus as Good Shepherd is good for our loneliness. Fellowship with him unites the sheep. The old Russian proverb makes a profound point: "Without a shepherd, sheep are not a flock."
* We need Jesus to bring us, this community, this nation, the world, together! He makes intimacy possible in Him. No one is ever alone in the presence of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Cite the last bullet point in Theological Insights regarding Augustine's point about the marriage-like intimacy Jesus provides. Better even than in a good marriage, Jesus will never forsake us.
7. Wrap-Up
Ask the congregation if we have broken any stereotypes about the Good Shepherd this morning. To call Jesus the Good Shepherd is to marvel at His awesome, sacrificial love; it is also to be reminded and stimulated to care for weak, sick, and the poor (to do social justice). To call Jesus Good Shepherd is also to revel in a God who keeps us together, who pursues us with an intimacy that says "I'll never forsake you." When you feel alone, don't forget who and what the Good Shepherd is, that He never forsakes you.
Jesus is our all-in-all. Historically this Good Shepherd Sunday was celebrated a week earlier under the theme of the goodness of God. This Sunday was historically a day for rejoicing.
Collect of the Day
The Good Shepherd Christ is petitioned that we might be fed, satisfied, healed, and made whole. Justification and Sanctification are emphasized.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 23
* A Psalm expressing confidence in God the Shepherd's protection. Extols the comfort of providence.
* God leads us in right paths (v. 3). Thus we need fear no evil (v. 4). Surrounded by goodness and mercy, the Psalmist pledges regular worship in the temple (v. 6). This is a Psalm about gratitude to God.
Sermon Text and Title
"At the Cornerstone of Your Life"
Acts 4:5-12
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim that Jesus is the cornerstone of faith and of our lives, and how getting our priorities straight about where Jesus ranks in our daily lives makes life more meaningful.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* After their arrest Peter and John appear before the Sanhedrin (Jewish Council) in Jerusalem. Peter responds to questions with a sermon.
* The gathering before the Sanhedrin is reported. The presence of High Priest Annas is noted. Others mentioned include his subsequent high priest successors (vv. 5-6). Actually by the time of the incident (after 33 AD) his son-in-law Caiaphas probably had succeeded him.
* The question posed to the prisoners is by what power or name they undertake their preaching (v. 7).
* Peter is said to be filled with the Holy Spirit in responding. Questions if the arrest was on account of the healing of the lame man before the Temple (vv. 8-9; cf. 3:1-10).
* The apostle proceeds to claim that the healing was done in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom the Jewish powers crucified and who was raised from the dead (v. 10).
* Jesus is identified with the reference in Psalm 118:22 of the stone rejected which has become the head of the corner (v. 11). And the claim is made that there is no salvation save in His name (v. 12).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text pertains to both Christology (insofar it provides insight into how Jesus has fulfilled Old Testament prophecies), the work of the Holy Spirit, and Sanctification (how having Jesus at the cornerstone of one's life makes us more self-sacrificing and brings joy). Justification by Grace is also employed, insofar as it is asserted that salvation is only in Jesus' name (v. 12).
* In the reference to Peter being filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 8), John Wesley notes that "God moves His instruments, not when they please, but just when He sees it is needful" (Commentary on the Bible, p. 475).
* Interpreting verse 12, John Calvin noted that not only has Christ reconciled us to the Father, but that "He is present with us now also, that He may make us partakers of the fruit of eternal redemption…" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVIII/2, pp. 174-175).
* Martin Luther claims that what is at the center of life is his or her god (The Book of Concord, p. 386).
* For more on how the Holy Spirit does the work for us, see Theological Insights for First Lesson, Easter 3.
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* Social analyst Alain de Botton observes: "Every adult life could be said to be defined by two great love stories. The first -- the story of our quest for sexual love… The second -- the story of our quest for love from the world…" (Status Anxiety, p. 5).
* Cutting-edge neurobiology indicates that one who is scattered is not happy. The good monoamine that helps create happy feelings, dopamine, is secreted especially when we are engaged in concentration (Stefan Klein, The Science of Happiness, pp. 218, 224).
5. Gimmick
Cornerstones hold the whole building together. What's at the cornerstone of your life? What holds it all together?
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Peter and John were in a lot of trouble. Under arrest, they were appearing before the highest governing authority of the occupied Jewish community, the Sanhedrin. They needed to get centered, to focus on what was important, to say just the right thing. Peter was given the Holy Spirit to say the right thing, and he defended a miracle he had performed by testifying to Jesus Christ. In order to make it clear to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, he testified to His death and resurrection, and then proceeded to Psalm 118:11 (probably to account for Jesus' messiahship despite His disgraceful death on the Cross) (vv. 8-11).
* Then to make it clear that Jesus is truly the Messiah, Peter cited the Hebrew Bible in an effort to demonstrate that Jesus was truly the fulfillment of prophecy. He cites Psalms 118:12. Read passage. Jesus is the rejected stone which is now the cornerstone.
* Cornerstones: The foundation-stone of a structure. Usually you know what a building is by its cornerstone.
* Peter and the Bible say that Jesus is the cornerstone. The cornerstone of what? Of everything. The cornerstone of Israel, of the church, of our lives. In short, Jesus keeps everything together, and like a cornerstone, labels its purpose. Names what they and we are here to do.
* Don't hear this incorrectly. I am not referring to our finding a purpose, to the church discovering a purpose, like Rick Warren and other proponents of "Purpose-Driven Living." This is not our purpose I'm taking about. It is God using Jesus to label what we are created to do. I mean, buildings don't have to agonize over their purpose. They don't need a lot of soul-searching. I never saw a building in agony, have you? They are created for a purpose and do it. That's the way it is with us buildings who have Christ at the cornerstone of our lives.
* The father of psychology, Sigmund Freud, put it well: "Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness," he said. Love and work are at the cornerstone of your life. So to have Christ at the cornerstone of your life is to say that He orients you in your love and work. Ask the congregation if it is not true that the two things in life that really matter are how it's going with your loved ones, how you love and if you are loved, for one. And the other is if you feel fulfilled in your work. Elaborate on this observation with first bullet point in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
* To have Christ as your cornerstone of life is to be oriented to Him in your loves and in your work. What you do in both those realms is oriented by Him and His unconditional love for all creatures, in about glorifying Him. It is like the beautiful words of the Presbyterian Shorter Catechism:
Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. To have Christ as your cornerstone is to glorify Him in all you do (and enjoy it too).
* To have Christ at the cornerstone of your life is to have Him present in your life. You can't have a building if the cornerstone is not present. What a wonderful image. Christ is not somebody distant in biblical times anymore when He is your cornerstone. Consider the third bullet point in Theological Insights, the quotation by Calvin.
* Alas, too often we don't get it right, don't have Jesus at the cornerstone of our lives. French philosopher Blaise Pascal well describes the human condition, especially when we stray from our cornerstone:
If men were happy, the less he were diverted the happier he would be, like the saints and God. Yes: But is a man not happy who can find delight in diversion? No: Because it comes from somewhere else, from outside; so he is dependent, and always liable to be disturbed by a thousand and one accidents, which inevitably cause distress.
(Pensees, p. 66)
* Martin Luther was right. What is at the cornerstone of your life is your god (see fourth bullet point in Theological Insights). If Christ is not there, not your God, then Pascal's description of our condition comes into play. We start getting easily diverted, unfocused. And since we don't feel the joy and peace that comes from focus on the stable cornerstone, we become unstable buildings seeking stability from outside, from thrills, the latest accomplishments, and more material things. Ask the congregation if they have not themselves gotten caught in those cycles.
* Tell the story of the Smiths. Upper-middle-class family, not quite sure what they want in life but happiness, nice (big) home, the latest gadgets. Recession making it tough. Job's a hassle. Feel burned out. Relations sometimes more tense. Contemporary scientific studies of the human brain have found that such a lifestyle leads to unhappiness, because without a focus you don't get the feel-good natural brain dope that flows when you are focused (see last bullet point of Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights).
7. Wrap-Up
Ask the congregation what or who is at the cornerstone of their lives. Is it something that passes away, that you madly chase and never find? Or are they founded on the solid rock Christ who never changes? If it's Jesus, then the two cornerstones of life that Freud noted (love and work) get built on Him, and they start to look and feel different. The loves in our life become opportunities to serve Christ and our loved ones (Hebrews 13:15-16), not just to get our goodies. The jobs we do are not just for a buck, but joyful opportunities to serve God and our fellow human beings! And that kind of focused service makes for happiness (consider first bullet point in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights for First Lesson, Advent 1). When Christ is at cornerstone of a life it is a lot more meaningful and happy!
Sermon Text and Title
"A Love Greater Than Our Hearts"
1 John 3:16-24
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To proclaim the love of God (Justification by Grace through Faith) that we are good and valuable in the eyes of God even if we do not feel that way.
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* A discourse on love. Its very definition is said to find that the Son of God laid down His life for us, and so we ought to lay down our lives for each other (v. 16).
* Challenges the possibility that one could claim to have God's love abide if unwilling to share with another in need (v. 17).
* Exhorts such love in action, not just in words (v. 18). By this we can be reassured that we are in the truth (v. 19).
* When we feel condemned, notes the comforting word that God is greater than our hearts, and the word knows everything (v. 20). And if our hearts do not condemn, we may have boldness before God (v. 21).
* Elaborating on such boldness, notes that we receive from God whatever we ask because we obey His Commandments and do what pleases Him (v. 22). The Commandment is that we should believe in the name of God's Son Jesus Christ and love one another as commanded (v. 23).
* The Son is said to abide in all who obey His Commandments and abide in Him. We know that the Son abides in us by the sign of the Spirit that He gave (v. 24).
3. Theological Insights (see Charts of the Major Theological Options)
* The text focuses on Christology, atonement, Justification (as Intimate Union with Christ), and Sanctification (all testifying to the love of God). Social ethical concern for the poor also receives testimony.
* John Calvin insists that "it cannot be but that the love of God will generate in us the love of the brethren" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XXII/2, p. 220).
* Regarding love for the poor advocated in the text, Martin Luther writes:
All the gifts we have should serve those who do not have them… It is easy to love Paul and other Apostles. They serve you even after their death. But to love those who are weak, troublesome, and unlearned -- this indeed is to love truly. Otherwise there is no brotherhood, but there is carnality.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 30, p. 279)
* Commenting on verses 20-21, he writes:
Even if our conscience makes us fainthearted and presents God as angry, still "God is greater than our heart." Conscience is one drop; the reconciled God is a sea of comfort.
(Luther's Works, Vol. 30, p. 280)
Also see references to faith and feeling in tension in the quotation from Luther in Theological Insights for the First Lesson, Epiphany 6.
* Regarding verses 22-24 that seem at first glance to entail that by obeying the Commandments of God we will be blessed, we need to recognize that such obedience seems to presuppose that Christ is living in the faithful, obedient ones. Thus they only do good, it seems, because it is Christ in them doing the work or His goodness overflowing from them. See the last Luther quotation in Theological Insights for the Second Lesson, Epiphany 2, and the Luther quotation in Theological Insights for the Second Lesson, Epiphany 4.
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* For statistics on poverty, Google "the poor in America" for the most recent statistics. Also see this section for the First Lesson, Advent 3.
* For analysis of how we are driven by the concern to gain status in society, see the reference to de Botton in this section for the First Lesson; also see Second Lesson, Epiphany 3.
* We have previously noted that neurobiological data indicates that when we are engaged in an activity that leads us to forget ourselves, the executive part of our brain is immersed in pleasurable neurochemicals. See this section for the Second Lesson, Epiphany 6.
5. Gimmick
Note that pastors and politicians have at least one thing in common -- wanting to know what people think about them. Ask if that is not true of all of us. None of us have completely outgrown teenage insecurity.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Why are we so concerned about what others think of us? Elaborate on the second and third bullet points above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights. We want recognition so badly and hunger for the joy that comes from forgetting ourselves in the lives of others.
* We need other people in order to feel good and feel like we matter. Other people help us forget ourselves and that makes us happy. But our preoccupation with what they think of us gets us caught up in ourselves, which in turn leads to insecurity and unhappiness.
* All of us have some things about ourselves that we do not like. Invite the congregation to identify what it is about themselves they do not like. Suggest some possibilities -- weak faith, looks, failures in our jobs, bad parents, just unhappy how we are. Many of us cover it up, but we all experience self-doubts. Since the fall, to be human is to be dissatisfied with ourselves. We are our own worst enemies.
* In our lesson, God has another way for us -- His love, a love greater than our hearts (v. 20).
* The Greek word translated "heart" (kardia) refers to the self that is stirred by feelings. Our lesson then says that even if in the depths of our being we don't like ourselves, even if we condemn ourselves, even then God's love is greater than our feelings!
* Note how our vague feelings of being dissatisfied with ourselves are a symptom of our sin against God, like a high fever is a symptom of the flu. Bad feelings about ourselves are a sickness, not what God wants.
* This is not to say that feelings of insecurity are not real feelings. Some present today may be feeling them so deeply that they actually hate themselves. The rest present who do not go so far are still discontent, would like to be a little different. The good news today is that God is greater than our hearts, even when our hearts condemn us. God loves us!
* Cite the fourth bullet point above in Theological Insights. The feelings of the heart are but a drop in the vast ocean of God's love. The insecurities don't stand a chance! We are good enough for God.
* God thinks we're great just the way we are! Consider references by Martin Luther to the tensions between feeling and faith in Theological Insights for the First Lesson, Epiphany 6. It really is like Martin Luther says: Faith is against feeling, and feeling is against faith! We may feel like we are not good and worthwhile. But faith says do not believe it; there is every reason to like yourself. God loves and affirms us!
* Feelings are fragile and transitory, they come and go. But God and His love are not transitory. He will declare it when our negative feelings are present and when they are not.
7. Wrap-Up
Faith seems difficult sometimes, hard sometimes. It is hard to believe we are any good when we don't feel that way. But God loves us anyway. All the doubts and insecurities begin to fade -- for God's love is greater than our hearts, overcomes our selfishness, drives us back into the world to give away what we have to others (consider the last bullet point in Theological Insights for Second Lesson, Lent 4). Nothing, not even hard hearts, can stop God's love!
Sermon Text and Title
"A Shepherd Who Never Forsakes Us"
John 10:11-18
1. Theological Aim of the Sermon and Strategy
To reflect on the unconditional love of God that never forsakes us (Justification by Grace) and how the Good Shepherd leads and creates community (Sanctification and Social Justice).
2. Exegesis (see Introduction to Selected Books of the Bible)
* The parable of the Good Shepherd, appearing only in John.
* As Good Shepherd, Jesus is not like the hired hand, for He is willing to lay down his life for the sheep (vv. 11-12).
* He knows His own and they know Him, just as the Father knows Him and He the Father. Stresses again how He lays down His life for the sheep (vv. 13-15).
* Notes other sheep not belonging to this fold. Jesus says He must bring them too, so there will be just one flock and one Shepherd (v. 16).
* The Father loves Him, because He lays down His life for the sheep (v. 17).
* No one takes His life from Jesus, for He lays it down of His own power. But He also can take it up again (v. 18).
3. Theological Insights See Charts of the Major Theological Options
* The Good Shepherd focuses our attention on Justification by Grace (God's love for us) and Sanctification (how the Shepherd leads us in living our daily lives and its implications for social justice for the poor).
* John Calvin saw connections between Jesus' role as the Good Shepherd and pastors: "Though Christ claims for Himself alone the name of a Shepherd, yet He indirectly states that, in some respects, He holds it in common with the agents by whom He acts" (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/2, p. 403). "Christ intended, first, to demonstrate what a remarkable proof He gave of His love toward us, and, next, to excite all His ministers to imitate His example" (Ibid.).
* Calvin sees Jesus' role as Good Shepherd as having implications for the source of authority for the church:
These words mean that, when the church submits to Christ alone, and obeys His Commands, and hears His Voice and His doctrine, then only is it in a state of good order.
(Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XVII/2, p. 408)
* Speaking of the Father's love for Jesus (v. 17), Calvin notes:
This is a wonderful commendation of the goodness of God to us, and ought justly to arouse our whole souls into rapturous admiration, that not only does God extend to us the love which is due to the only-begotten Son, but He refers it to us as the final cause.
(Ibid., p. 409)
* In connection with the parable, Martin Luther contended that sheep know their shepherd, for "sheep have the sharpest and most acute hearing of all animals" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 83).
* The first Reformer spoke of the great comfort this parable offers: "It follows from this that we are not now, nor ever will be, forsaken, no matter how many temptations and sorrows we have here on earth" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 74).
* He adds that this knowing is hidden. "But because the word is a living thing, it must be believed, even if not fully experienced…" (Ibid., p. 76).
* For Luther the text reveals "that Christ's kingdom is to be concerned about the weak, the sick, the broken, that He may help them" (Complete Sermons, Vol. 2/1, p. 22).
* Augustine in a sermon on this text envisaged a more intimate relation with the Shepherd. The Christian soul made beautiful through the pardon and grace of the Shepherd's work speaks in love of the Christ and the desire to join Him in the marriage bed (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 6, pp. 524-525). This is justification as Intimate Union with Christ.
4. Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights
* For statistics regarding the loneliness contemporary Americans experience, see this section for Second Lesson, Lent 1; Easter 2.
* For statistics on poverty, Google the latest data regarding "poverty in America" or "poverty worldwide." Also see this section for First Lesson, Advent 3; Easter 2.
5. Gimmick
Good Shepherd Sunday. It's old hat for most of us. But if we try to hear this famed parable like we've never heard it before, truly acted like sheep, we might just see some things about life, about coping with loneliness and uncertainty, that we have never experienced before.
6. Possible Sermon Moves and/or Stories/Examples
* Become a herd of sheep. What's that like? Martin Luther once told us. Use the fifth bullet point in Theological Insights. The sheep have the sharpest sense of hearing. Listen, sheep, and you won't miss what's new in this parable!
* Jesus says the Good Shepherd would lay His life down for the sheep (vv. 11, 17). Almost a month later, and we're still commemorating Easter here today.
* In dying for the sheep, the Good Shepherd sets them free from sin. The Good Shepherd is a liberator. It is as Abraham Lincoln said: "The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the world denounces him for the same act…."
* The Good Shepherd liberates, finds the wayward sheep not fully integrated into the flock. Keep in mind how the Good Shepherd is an image that reminds us of Christ's care for the poor, that they are our business. (Consider using statistics on poverty in the references give in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.) Note Martin Luther's point in the next-to-last bullet point above in Theological Insights.
* Ask the congregation if they are listening. They may never have thought before of how Jesus as Good Shepherd connotes concern for the poor and marginalized. Tell them to think of that the next time they think or hear of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Remind them of today's Psalm (23) and its reference to the Shepherd getting us all to lie in green pastures, to never want (vv. 1-2). The Good Shepherd cares about the well-being of the sheep's bodies and not just about our souls.
* This Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep is clearly someone who cares. This is no hired hand. We knew that about Jesus, but we've know him so long that sometimes we take Him for granted. Urge the congregation to keep in mind that He is good, the best of the shepherds. Let His care for us His flock, His care for the sheep outside the flock He is trying to add (v. 16), move us. Isn't this love and devotion something?
* The great Reformer John Calvin sang praises about this love. Use the fourth bullet point above in Theological Insights and note how this is a love that we can't help but admire and attend to, can't ever ignore if we really note all the Good Shepherd has done for us. Remember He died for us, and He keeps looking for others like us.
* Martin Luther spoke of the great comfort this insight affords. Use the sixth bullet point in Theological Insights. We will never be forsaken, not by the Good Shepherd. Never forsaken. Not even the poor are forsaken.
* Speaking of forsakenness, sheep are no good alone. They are community-oriented creatures; they cannot thrive apart from a flock. Note how we Americans have been very unhappy sheep of late. Despite the internet, polls show that we feel isolated. Consider references cited above in Socio-Economic, Political, Psychological, and Scientific Insights.
* The idea of Jesus as Good Shepherd is good for our loneliness. Fellowship with him unites the sheep. The old Russian proverb makes a profound point: "Without a shepherd, sheep are not a flock."
* We need Jesus to bring us, this community, this nation, the world, together! He makes intimacy possible in Him. No one is ever alone in the presence of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Cite the last bullet point in Theological Insights regarding Augustine's point about the marriage-like intimacy Jesus provides. Better even than in a good marriage, Jesus will never forsake us.
7. Wrap-Up
Ask the congregation if we have broken any stereotypes about the Good Shepherd this morning. To call Jesus the Good Shepherd is to marvel at His awesome, sacrificial love; it is also to be reminded and stimulated to care for weak, sick, and the poor (to do social justice). To call Jesus Good Shepherd is also to revel in a God who keeps us together, who pursues us with an intimacy that says "I'll never forsake you." When you feel alone, don't forget who and what the Good Shepherd is, that He never forsakes you.
