Eighth Sunday After The Epiphany
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII Cycle C
Seasonal Theme
Jesus calling his disciples and it dawning on them who this person is they are following. Light in a dark world.
Theme For The Day
Building our lives on Jesus' teachings and keeping our heart pure so as to produce good words and deeds.
Old Testament Lesson
Isaiah 55:10-13
Glad Times Are Coming
A beautiful bit of poetry, metaphor, and personifications! Isaiah claims that God's word is like the rain and snow which comes down from heaven and waters the earth. This brings forth vegetation which blesses the people with food. So God's word will not be fruitless. It will produce the spiritual life accomplishing God's purpose.
Then in verses 12 and 13 we are promised God's joy and peace because the effects of sin have been reversed. What a nice piece of personification: the mountains will sing and the trees applaud. And thorns representing the effects of evil will be replaced with cypress and the brier with myrtle.
And all this will be our sign. The fertility of the earth will remind us again God is in control. Some would claim 13a symbolizes what God can do in our hearts in salvation. I'll not go there.
New Testament Lesson
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
Life After Death Continued
Verse 56 is the focus of this reading which is a continuation of the last two week's readings from Paul's letter to the Corinthian congregation, teaching them about resurrection and life beyond the grave. Today's portion is a summary of what Paul has been telling them about the coming day!
Both the dead and living will be changed (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Concerning the secondary trumpet, see Isaiah 27:13. Let's not confuse the translation "immortality" in verse 53 with the Greek idea of the immortality of the soul. Paul's teaching opposed this idea and championed instead the concept of resurrection of the body.
Paul sees Christ's victory is over sin which seeks to destroy humans -- the law increases its power rather than correcting it. See Romans 7:7-25.
Notice in verse 58 Paul does not subscribe to a quietist monastic lifestyle because we have the promise of life beyond the grave; but, rather a lifestyle excelling in the work of the Lord.
The Gospel
Luke 6:39-49
The Blind Leading The Blind And A Tree And Its Fruit
We have in this reading a collection of wise sayings Luke put together for the disciple's instruction. Let's look at them separately.
Verses 39-40. It's claimed that we cannot teach what we do not know. A teacher can rarely take his students beyond what he/she knows. This is probably true, but I will challenge this one day when I see Jesus face to face. I have often had students who soon knew more than I did about a topic in which I was leading them. Never mind! The truth is, the best teachers try to equip their students the best they can in their subject.
Verses 41, 42. Some humor by Jesus here. The truth is we ought not to be critical of others unless we are absent of these faults. This means we really ought not to be judgmental of others because we are very imperfect.
Verses 43, 44. The only way we can be judged is by our own deeds. Preaching, after all, is the Gospel through our personality. The best witness for our faith is the way we live it out.
Verse 45 reminds us that what we say is influenced most by our heart. Our speech often reveals our heart.
Verses 47-49. This is another metaphor and parable by Jesus. It is in Matthew 7:24-27. It really tells me that often the easy way is not the best in the long run. But his parable basically is about constructing the best foundation for our lives. It would make much sense in Palestine where rivers dry up in the summer; but, in winter after the September rains come, what had looked like a dry place is now a torrent of rushing water.
Barclay in writing about this parable says: "Happy is the person who sees things, not in the light of the moment, but in the light of eternity." If we base our lives on the foundation of Jesus' teaching, we will make it through the most severe storms.
In my book on The Parables Of Jesus And Their Flip Side (CSS Publishing Company, 2001) I say that the flip side here is that we must teach (and learn) how to rebuild after the certain floods do come.
Preaching Possibilities
A. The Old Testament Reading will stand alone and begs for interpretation and preaching. There is an opportunity to address:
1. Peace and joy as promised by Isaiah.
2. Nature's witness to God's faithfulness.
3. God's word is like the blessings of rain.
4. The fertile earth is a sign of God's presence.
5. A world where sin is defeated.
Of course, the idea here of God's word producing fruit like the rain will connect with the Gospel parable of building a life on Jesus' teachings as the foundation.
B. The New Testament Reading from 1 Corinthians is a good summary of Paul's theology about life beyond the grave. If we have not yet addressed that subject, I'm sure Paul would want us to do so today. This is a summary of the last two Sundays' teachings and will be of great interest to our listeners. At best we must present these teachings as human's best guess and what we really don't know for certain.
These things Paul says today. At our deaths we:
1. Have the resurrection of our changed body.
2. Have the defeat of sin and the victory of Jesus.
3. So we ought to live differently here in the meantime busy in the Lord's work.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Title: These Things Jesus Teaches Us About Living Life
A. Begin by telling of someone in your life who gave you so much good advice for your life.
B. Move to Jesus teaching the disciples on the plain about the life of disciples. These things he said:
1. We rarely can teach what we don't know (see illustration 1 below in Possible Metaphors And Stories).
2. We really ought not to be critical of others.
3. Our deeds are that on which we are judged.
4. Our relaxed speech often reveals our heart.
5. We should build our lives on the strong foundation of Jesus' teachings.
Notice that these above moves correspond to the comments on the Gospel passage above.
C. Move to our responsibility to minister to each other when:
1. We have built our lives on the "world's wisdom" and it brought disaster to us. How do we start over and rebuild?
2. Our hearts have produced words which reveal evil in our hearts, like envy, revenge, greed, and racial hatred.
3. Our deeds are not what they should have been and now we are reaping that harvest.
4. We are critical of everyone else but not seeing our own faults and thus friendless.
5. We have remained "spiritual runts" refusing to grow in grace and God's presence in our lives.
D. Close with an illustration from below.
Prayer For The Day
Teach us how to rebuild after the floods in our lives, O God, and to make it on more sound foundations. Help us to have cleaner hearts which will produce better speech and deeds in our discipleship. And we pray for the motivation to match our beliefs with our actions, especially all week outside this church building. We pray in Jesus' name, who is the solid dependable foundation. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
On all airlines instructions at the beginning of a flight, the attendant says, "In case of a loss of oxygen in the cabin, masks will drop down in front of you. Put your mask on first before helping an infant who needs help next to you." So with our spiritual lives, we must get ours in shape first, then we can help others with theirs.
I saw a very heavy trailer of a tractor-trailer combination, without the tractor, parked on an asphalt parking lot. The front support wheels were sinking deeper and deeper into the asphalt and may have already gone all the way through. The driver of the trailer probably thought it a solid foundation on which to park the trailer -- but not so. Check your foundation. "On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand."
While in Amsterdam, I noticed how crooked many of the houses (especially around canals) are. They are braced with large logs up the front of the building. God's presence can support us and we ought to support each other.
On a US Air flight from Johnstown to Pittsburgh on a small commuter plane, I noticed through the open door to the cockpit that both pilot and copilot put their hands on the throttle as they took off. God would put a hand on ours as we fly together through dangers and easy times.
In Shakespeare's Measure for Measure we read the words, "Ask your heart what it doth know." And in Hamlet, "Are you like the painting of a sorrow, a face without a heart?"
Jesus calling his disciples and it dawning on them who this person is they are following. Light in a dark world.
Theme For The Day
Building our lives on Jesus' teachings and keeping our heart pure so as to produce good words and deeds.
Old Testament Lesson
Isaiah 55:10-13
Glad Times Are Coming
A beautiful bit of poetry, metaphor, and personifications! Isaiah claims that God's word is like the rain and snow which comes down from heaven and waters the earth. This brings forth vegetation which blesses the people with food. So God's word will not be fruitless. It will produce the spiritual life accomplishing God's purpose.
Then in verses 12 and 13 we are promised God's joy and peace because the effects of sin have been reversed. What a nice piece of personification: the mountains will sing and the trees applaud. And thorns representing the effects of evil will be replaced with cypress and the brier with myrtle.
And all this will be our sign. The fertility of the earth will remind us again God is in control. Some would claim 13a symbolizes what God can do in our hearts in salvation. I'll not go there.
New Testament Lesson
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
Life After Death Continued
Verse 56 is the focus of this reading which is a continuation of the last two week's readings from Paul's letter to the Corinthian congregation, teaching them about resurrection and life beyond the grave. Today's portion is a summary of what Paul has been telling them about the coming day!
Both the dead and living will be changed (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Concerning the secondary trumpet, see Isaiah 27:13. Let's not confuse the translation "immortality" in verse 53 with the Greek idea of the immortality of the soul. Paul's teaching opposed this idea and championed instead the concept of resurrection of the body.
Paul sees Christ's victory is over sin which seeks to destroy humans -- the law increases its power rather than correcting it. See Romans 7:7-25.
Notice in verse 58 Paul does not subscribe to a quietist monastic lifestyle because we have the promise of life beyond the grave; but, rather a lifestyle excelling in the work of the Lord.
The Gospel
Luke 6:39-49
The Blind Leading The Blind And A Tree And Its Fruit
We have in this reading a collection of wise sayings Luke put together for the disciple's instruction. Let's look at them separately.
Verses 39-40. It's claimed that we cannot teach what we do not know. A teacher can rarely take his students beyond what he/she knows. This is probably true, but I will challenge this one day when I see Jesus face to face. I have often had students who soon knew more than I did about a topic in which I was leading them. Never mind! The truth is, the best teachers try to equip their students the best they can in their subject.
Verses 41, 42. Some humor by Jesus here. The truth is we ought not to be critical of others unless we are absent of these faults. This means we really ought not to be judgmental of others because we are very imperfect.
Verses 43, 44. The only way we can be judged is by our own deeds. Preaching, after all, is the Gospel through our personality. The best witness for our faith is the way we live it out.
Verse 45 reminds us that what we say is influenced most by our heart. Our speech often reveals our heart.
Verses 47-49. This is another metaphor and parable by Jesus. It is in Matthew 7:24-27. It really tells me that often the easy way is not the best in the long run. But his parable basically is about constructing the best foundation for our lives. It would make much sense in Palestine where rivers dry up in the summer; but, in winter after the September rains come, what had looked like a dry place is now a torrent of rushing water.
Barclay in writing about this parable says: "Happy is the person who sees things, not in the light of the moment, but in the light of eternity." If we base our lives on the foundation of Jesus' teaching, we will make it through the most severe storms.
In my book on The Parables Of Jesus And Their Flip Side (CSS Publishing Company, 2001) I say that the flip side here is that we must teach (and learn) how to rebuild after the certain floods do come.
Preaching Possibilities
A. The Old Testament Reading will stand alone and begs for interpretation and preaching. There is an opportunity to address:
1. Peace and joy as promised by Isaiah.
2. Nature's witness to God's faithfulness.
3. God's word is like the blessings of rain.
4. The fertile earth is a sign of God's presence.
5. A world where sin is defeated.
Of course, the idea here of God's word producing fruit like the rain will connect with the Gospel parable of building a life on Jesus' teachings as the foundation.
B. The New Testament Reading from 1 Corinthians is a good summary of Paul's theology about life beyond the grave. If we have not yet addressed that subject, I'm sure Paul would want us to do so today. This is a summary of the last two Sundays' teachings and will be of great interest to our listeners. At best we must present these teachings as human's best guess and what we really don't know for certain.
These things Paul says today. At our deaths we:
1. Have the resurrection of our changed body.
2. Have the defeat of sin and the victory of Jesus.
3. So we ought to live differently here in the meantime busy in the Lord's work.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Title: These Things Jesus Teaches Us About Living Life
A. Begin by telling of someone in your life who gave you so much good advice for your life.
B. Move to Jesus teaching the disciples on the plain about the life of disciples. These things he said:
1. We rarely can teach what we don't know (see illustration 1 below in Possible Metaphors And Stories).
2. We really ought not to be critical of others.
3. Our deeds are that on which we are judged.
4. Our relaxed speech often reveals our heart.
5. We should build our lives on the strong foundation of Jesus' teachings.
Notice that these above moves correspond to the comments on the Gospel passage above.
C. Move to our responsibility to minister to each other when:
1. We have built our lives on the "world's wisdom" and it brought disaster to us. How do we start over and rebuild?
2. Our hearts have produced words which reveal evil in our hearts, like envy, revenge, greed, and racial hatred.
3. Our deeds are not what they should have been and now we are reaping that harvest.
4. We are critical of everyone else but not seeing our own faults and thus friendless.
5. We have remained "spiritual runts" refusing to grow in grace and God's presence in our lives.
D. Close with an illustration from below.
Prayer For The Day
Teach us how to rebuild after the floods in our lives, O God, and to make it on more sound foundations. Help us to have cleaner hearts which will produce better speech and deeds in our discipleship. And we pray for the motivation to match our beliefs with our actions, especially all week outside this church building. We pray in Jesus' name, who is the solid dependable foundation. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
On all airlines instructions at the beginning of a flight, the attendant says, "In case of a loss of oxygen in the cabin, masks will drop down in front of you. Put your mask on first before helping an infant who needs help next to you." So with our spiritual lives, we must get ours in shape first, then we can help others with theirs.
I saw a very heavy trailer of a tractor-trailer combination, without the tractor, parked on an asphalt parking lot. The front support wheels were sinking deeper and deeper into the asphalt and may have already gone all the way through. The driver of the trailer probably thought it a solid foundation on which to park the trailer -- but not so. Check your foundation. "On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand."
While in Amsterdam, I noticed how crooked many of the houses (especially around canals) are. They are braced with large logs up the front of the building. God's presence can support us and we ought to support each other.
On a US Air flight from Johnstown to Pittsburgh on a small commuter plane, I noticed through the open door to the cockpit that both pilot and copilot put their hands on the throttle as they took off. God would put a hand on ours as we fly together through dangers and easy times.
In Shakespeare's Measure for Measure we read the words, "Ask your heart what it doth know." And in Hamlet, "Are you like the painting of a sorrow, a face without a heart?"
