Fourth Sunday In Lent
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle C
Object:
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Joshua 5:9-12 (C, RC); Joshua (4:9-24) 5:9-12 (E)
Frankly, I doubt that any of us will be preaching on this passage. It had me stumped for a sermon theme, so I turned to The Interpreter's Bible. The commentary bypassed these verses so no help there. This section in The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is headed "The New Generation Circumcised." No help there. So I propose to move on to the New Testament, since we have two excellent opportunities for preaching there.
Lesson 2: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (C); 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (RC, E)
This is really a powerful passage with at least two prominent themes. First, Paul affirms that "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new." Paul elaborates that point by assuring us that God accomplished this and set the people free, "not counting their trespasses against them ..." That applies to us as well. From the day each of us made the transition from an intellectual belief in Jesus, to a willingness to commit ourselves to him, we were set free from the consequences of our sins. Of course, that must be qualified, since we are not set free from the consequences of our sins in this life. God may forgive me for hurting my wife, or for depriving my child of needed love, or for stealing something which wasn't mine. But those people are hurt by that and God's forgiveness of me won't save them from their losses. Still, it does thereby encourage me to try not to do those things.
The second emphasis in this passage is on the fact that once I have been brought into this saving relationship with Christ, I am immediately sent off on a mission. I am now an "ambassador for Christ." God is making "his appeal" through me. God has entrusted me with "the message of reconciliation." I am to be an evangelist. Now that also requires some interpretation. As I write this, it's Sunday afternoon, and I just came from watching with fascination, a television preacher. I mean no criticism. There are many ways to preach and to worship, and mine is only one. This man's was another. He finally took off his coat, then his tie, he was jumping and shouting, and perspiration was rolling down his face. The congregation were all on their feet, arms in the air, hands waving frantically, many of them shouting encouragement to the preacher. It was, for a laid-back Methodist preacher, a sight to behold. My point? We must each evangelize according to our individual personalities, our understanding of the faith, and some degree of sensitivity to the style of those we would reach. As preachers, we must know our congregations, know how to persuade them. As individuals, we must win people with loving treatment, with forbearance, not with obnoxious persistence.
A young couple moved into a new neighborhood with their two small children a few years ago. Another young couple of about the same age paid them a visit. They soon became friends. The men played racquetball and the children played together. One night as they were all having a meal together, the visiting couple asked my friends to attend their church. However, my friends explained that they were Methodists and quite happy there. A few days later, the young couple again insisted that they attend their church, which was extremely conservative. Again they refused. The other couple would never thereafter have anything to do with them. No matter how sincere, that's not evangelism. It's spiritual blackmail.
Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 (C); Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 (RC); Luke 15:11-32 (E)
This is my favorite Bible story. We all know it. The Father was God; the boy was me. It's the only place in the Bible where God actually runs to greet the returned sinner. What a powerful figure, that. Here the boy starts in with his rehearsed apology, and his dad brushes it aside, not as unimportant, but as unnecessary. His very return was enough. That dad loved his son so completely that his joy knew no bounds at his return. The boy has done what every red-blooded boy or girl must do -- try his wings; win his spurs; call it what you will. Dad understood. Maybe the Lost Son's dad had sown a few wild oats of his own in his younger years. Maybe not if we wish to be literal here, but he certainly understood his son's need, maybe even admired him a little. The main point is simply that if any of us, knowing ourselves to have drifted away, should wish to return to a warm and loving relationship with God, it's ours. Free. No penalties.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "The Real Thing"
Text: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Theme: Merely calling myself a Christian doesn't mean I am one. There are certain characteristics of a Christian which mark that person as The Real Thing.
1. A Christian is changed. We all have characteristics about ourselves which fall short of the prescription for the Christian life as found in the New Testament. Of course, no amount of effort on Jesus' part will make any of us perfect. He certainly has fallen far short in my case. But what Jesus can do is motivate me to want to be a better person, and to try to be a better person, and he can supply me through the power of prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit with resources which enable this process. True, I still get irritated with certain things, certain human conduct. But I have learned to hold my tongue, to try to make allowances for others. I find myself wanting to do for others what I would wish them to do for me in similar circumstances. Jesus has also sensitized me to some of my faults. One of those is a tendency to correct my wife in public. Not unpleasantly. But no one wants to be corrected, especially around other people.
2. A Christian is a role model for others. We might be surprised at the influence we have on other people -- for good or for bad. I wouldn't be a minister today, might not even be in the church, had it not been for a minister who was so winsome and of such high character that I wanted to be like him. My own daughter is currently a student at a university which she chose because of two people whom she admires. They are devout Christians, and she insisted that since they attended that school, she wanted to go there.
3. A Christian is forgiving. In the passage, Paul observed that God does not hold a Christian's trespasses against him or her. But Jesus clarified that by teaching us that we are to expect forgiveness in accord with our willingness to forgive (The Lord's Prayer). We all suffer slights and hurts of one kind or another from time to time. That's the real world. Some people hang onto these things, some even obsess over them. But a Christian prays through that, forgiving others who offend us. It's doubtful that the individual who holds a grudge is The Real Thing.
Title: "Going Home"
Text: Luke 15:11-32
Theme: We're all sinners. Paul left us with no doubt about that. Even Jesus was quoted with a very sweeping statement: "No one is good, not one." To use the figure of speech which Jesus employed here, we're all away from home at some point in our life. But because of God's unfailing love, we are all welcome back.
1. God understands our need for freedom. God arranged things so we would have to experiment, launch out into the deep waters of life, perhaps do what that young boy did. True, he made a mess of things. Haven't we all, or at least most of us at one time or another. Maybe even some of those good people who stayed home were like the elder brother who was good, sure enough, but obnoxious too. That boy learned how difficult it is always to be good, yet refrain from making harsh judgments of those who are not so good. God was wise enough to allow us to go out, experience, make our mistakes, learn our lessons, and learn and grow from the experience. No, God is not unhappy if we leave home. God is unhappy if we don't come back. I would add one comment: I do not mean that God voluntarily permits crime or hateful actions. I'm talking here about the mistakes we make while trying to fulfill our dreams.
2. There are consequences of our actions. These are of at least two kinds. One array of consequences is the harm we do to ourselves. The boy in the story spent many a lonely night out there in the dark, watching over those pigs. He was hungry, and he was sad, and he was embarrassed. When we make our mistakes, we are required to suffer consequences. They can sometimes be severe. The other kind of consequences are those which hurt others. The young boy whom I used to know who, one evening while home from college, broke into a filling station and stole some money -- more as a lark than because of any need -- not only hurt himself by hanging a felony conviction on his record while not yet twenty, he also drove a knife to the heart of his mother and father, two very fine and flabbergasted people.
3. God does, finally, welcome us back. There are times when we wonder if we even have a right to pray after we've done something we know we shouldn't have. One man wanted to pray to God for forgiveness, and for help, after he had done something to hurt his wife. He was deeply remorseful, but said he couldn't pray because he was sure God would no longer listen to him. Wrong. That's the whole point. Once a person is sorry for his wrongs, genuinely, God is ready to forgive and to help. This man finally accepted that, prayed, and his marriage is fine today.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Glenn McDonald used this poem which he attributed to a spiritually-seeking teenager named Maggie. He said it was addressed to her pastor.
"Do you know
Do you understand
That you represent Jesus to me?
Do you know
Do you understand
That when you treat me with gentleness
It raises the question in my mind
That maybe he is gentle too.
Maybe he isn't someone who laughs
When I am hurt.
Do you know
Do you understand
That when you listen to my questions
And you don't laugh
I think, 'What if Jesus is interested in me too?'
Do you know
Do you understand
That when I hear you talk about arguments
And conflict and scars from your past
That I think, 'Maybe I am just a regular person
Instead of a bad, no good little girl who deserves abuse.'
If you care, I think maybe he cares --
And then there's this flame of hope
That burns inside of me
And for awhile I am afraid to breathe
Because it might go out.
Do you know
Do you understand
That your words are his words?
Your face his face
To someone like me?
Please be who you say you are
Please, God, don't let this be another trick
Please let this be real.
Please.
Do you know
Do you understand
That you represent
Jesus to me?"
____________
Archibald Rutledge told of the time he had captured a baby hummingbird and put it in a cage. That afternoon, the mother hummingbird came with berries in her beak and fed the baby. Rutledge was charmed to realize that apparently mother would see to the feeding of her offspring. However, the next morning he found the imprisoned bird dead in the bottom of its cage. Some time later, he told Arthur Wayne, a well-known ornithologist, about this and Wayne explained that when a mother hummingbird would see her baby in captivity, she would bring it poison berries, deeming it better for the bird to die than to live as a captive.
____________
C. S. Lewis has suggested that everyone is on the way to becoming either a creature so loathsome that we meet them now only in nightmares, or a creature so glorious that we would strongly be inclined to worship them if we could see them as they will be. Repentance is a matter of changing directions.
____________
The Rev. Glenn McDonald of Zionsville Presbyterian Church tells of a recent stop he made at a filling station-convenience store, while on a driving trip. While standing in the rear of the store for a soft drink, he heard a loud argument in the front of the store. Two gentlemen had put gas in their car, and said they thought they stopped when it read eight dollars. However, the actual amount on the pump was thirteen dollars. Two men who worked in the store were insisting that the customers must pay that amount, and the two customers insisted it was the store's mistake and they refused to pay. The words were getting louder, more threatening, and violence seemed a strong possibility. Just then, Glenn walked to the cash register, laid a five dollar bill on the counter, smiled at the various participants and announced that it would be his pleasure to pay the five dollars. Immediately, the atmosphere changed. The customers thanked him (they may not have had the other five dollars themselves), and the store employees told Glenn it wasn't really necessary that the money be paid. Finally, they accepted his money and everyone left in good humor. Glenn said it was worth five dollars to feel as he did when he left.
____________
Prior to the 1999 Super Bowl, Cris Collinsworth, now a sports commentator but at one time a pass receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, interviewed a former player on Fox network, a man whose name I will omit here. That man had been a star with the Bengals when that team went to the Super Bowl a few years ago. The night before the game, the man had taken an overdose of heroin and was found unconscious in his room the day of the game. The effect was that the man was forever banned from football. He then turned to crime, now having been convicted several times of burglary. Collinsworth asked him why he did it. The man said it was necessary to feed his drug habit. He now faces trial for another burglary and, if convicted, can be sent to prison for life. There was a man who had it all: an outstanding career in sports, a multi-million dollar income, a chance to win the Super Bowl, a future as a celebrated athlete. He threw it all away for a drug fix. The harm he admitted he had done to his family and his friends was incalculable. Collinsworth said the other players had no sympathy for the man at the time. Losing him from the team may well have cost those players a Super Bowl victory. Now, Collinsworth said he has let that go, but feels only pity for a man who could so ruin his own life.
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 32 -- "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven."
Prayer Of The Day
For those who weep, O Lord, we pray. For those who are lonely, those who are cold and lacking adequate shelter we pray. For those who are stung by prejudice, those who suffer the plague of demons of the mind, for those who wrestle with addictions we pray. In the name of the one who loves those people, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Joshua 5:9-12 (C, RC); Joshua (4:9-24) 5:9-12 (E)
Frankly, I doubt that any of us will be preaching on this passage. It had me stumped for a sermon theme, so I turned to The Interpreter's Bible. The commentary bypassed these verses so no help there. This section in The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is headed "The New Generation Circumcised." No help there. So I propose to move on to the New Testament, since we have two excellent opportunities for preaching there.
Lesson 2: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (C); 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (RC, E)
This is really a powerful passage with at least two prominent themes. First, Paul affirms that "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new." Paul elaborates that point by assuring us that God accomplished this and set the people free, "not counting their trespasses against them ..." That applies to us as well. From the day each of us made the transition from an intellectual belief in Jesus, to a willingness to commit ourselves to him, we were set free from the consequences of our sins. Of course, that must be qualified, since we are not set free from the consequences of our sins in this life. God may forgive me for hurting my wife, or for depriving my child of needed love, or for stealing something which wasn't mine. But those people are hurt by that and God's forgiveness of me won't save them from their losses. Still, it does thereby encourage me to try not to do those things.
The second emphasis in this passage is on the fact that once I have been brought into this saving relationship with Christ, I am immediately sent off on a mission. I am now an "ambassador for Christ." God is making "his appeal" through me. God has entrusted me with "the message of reconciliation." I am to be an evangelist. Now that also requires some interpretation. As I write this, it's Sunday afternoon, and I just came from watching with fascination, a television preacher. I mean no criticism. There are many ways to preach and to worship, and mine is only one. This man's was another. He finally took off his coat, then his tie, he was jumping and shouting, and perspiration was rolling down his face. The congregation were all on their feet, arms in the air, hands waving frantically, many of them shouting encouragement to the preacher. It was, for a laid-back Methodist preacher, a sight to behold. My point? We must each evangelize according to our individual personalities, our understanding of the faith, and some degree of sensitivity to the style of those we would reach. As preachers, we must know our congregations, know how to persuade them. As individuals, we must win people with loving treatment, with forbearance, not with obnoxious persistence.
A young couple moved into a new neighborhood with their two small children a few years ago. Another young couple of about the same age paid them a visit. They soon became friends. The men played racquetball and the children played together. One night as they were all having a meal together, the visiting couple asked my friends to attend their church. However, my friends explained that they were Methodists and quite happy there. A few days later, the young couple again insisted that they attend their church, which was extremely conservative. Again they refused. The other couple would never thereafter have anything to do with them. No matter how sincere, that's not evangelism. It's spiritual blackmail.
Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 (C); Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 (RC); Luke 15:11-32 (E)
This is my favorite Bible story. We all know it. The Father was God; the boy was me. It's the only place in the Bible where God actually runs to greet the returned sinner. What a powerful figure, that. Here the boy starts in with his rehearsed apology, and his dad brushes it aside, not as unimportant, but as unnecessary. His very return was enough. That dad loved his son so completely that his joy knew no bounds at his return. The boy has done what every red-blooded boy or girl must do -- try his wings; win his spurs; call it what you will. Dad understood. Maybe the Lost Son's dad had sown a few wild oats of his own in his younger years. Maybe not if we wish to be literal here, but he certainly understood his son's need, maybe even admired him a little. The main point is simply that if any of us, knowing ourselves to have drifted away, should wish to return to a warm and loving relationship with God, it's ours. Free. No penalties.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "The Real Thing"
Text: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Theme: Merely calling myself a Christian doesn't mean I am one. There are certain characteristics of a Christian which mark that person as The Real Thing.
1. A Christian is changed. We all have characteristics about ourselves which fall short of the prescription for the Christian life as found in the New Testament. Of course, no amount of effort on Jesus' part will make any of us perfect. He certainly has fallen far short in my case. But what Jesus can do is motivate me to want to be a better person, and to try to be a better person, and he can supply me through the power of prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit with resources which enable this process. True, I still get irritated with certain things, certain human conduct. But I have learned to hold my tongue, to try to make allowances for others. I find myself wanting to do for others what I would wish them to do for me in similar circumstances. Jesus has also sensitized me to some of my faults. One of those is a tendency to correct my wife in public. Not unpleasantly. But no one wants to be corrected, especially around other people.
2. A Christian is a role model for others. We might be surprised at the influence we have on other people -- for good or for bad. I wouldn't be a minister today, might not even be in the church, had it not been for a minister who was so winsome and of such high character that I wanted to be like him. My own daughter is currently a student at a university which she chose because of two people whom she admires. They are devout Christians, and she insisted that since they attended that school, she wanted to go there.
3. A Christian is forgiving. In the passage, Paul observed that God does not hold a Christian's trespasses against him or her. But Jesus clarified that by teaching us that we are to expect forgiveness in accord with our willingness to forgive (The Lord's Prayer). We all suffer slights and hurts of one kind or another from time to time. That's the real world. Some people hang onto these things, some even obsess over them. But a Christian prays through that, forgiving others who offend us. It's doubtful that the individual who holds a grudge is The Real Thing.
Title: "Going Home"
Text: Luke 15:11-32
Theme: We're all sinners. Paul left us with no doubt about that. Even Jesus was quoted with a very sweeping statement: "No one is good, not one." To use the figure of speech which Jesus employed here, we're all away from home at some point in our life. But because of God's unfailing love, we are all welcome back.
1. God understands our need for freedom. God arranged things so we would have to experiment, launch out into the deep waters of life, perhaps do what that young boy did. True, he made a mess of things. Haven't we all, or at least most of us at one time or another. Maybe even some of those good people who stayed home were like the elder brother who was good, sure enough, but obnoxious too. That boy learned how difficult it is always to be good, yet refrain from making harsh judgments of those who are not so good. God was wise enough to allow us to go out, experience, make our mistakes, learn our lessons, and learn and grow from the experience. No, God is not unhappy if we leave home. God is unhappy if we don't come back. I would add one comment: I do not mean that God voluntarily permits crime or hateful actions. I'm talking here about the mistakes we make while trying to fulfill our dreams.
2. There are consequences of our actions. These are of at least two kinds. One array of consequences is the harm we do to ourselves. The boy in the story spent many a lonely night out there in the dark, watching over those pigs. He was hungry, and he was sad, and he was embarrassed. When we make our mistakes, we are required to suffer consequences. They can sometimes be severe. The other kind of consequences are those which hurt others. The young boy whom I used to know who, one evening while home from college, broke into a filling station and stole some money -- more as a lark than because of any need -- not only hurt himself by hanging a felony conviction on his record while not yet twenty, he also drove a knife to the heart of his mother and father, two very fine and flabbergasted people.
3. God does, finally, welcome us back. There are times when we wonder if we even have a right to pray after we've done something we know we shouldn't have. One man wanted to pray to God for forgiveness, and for help, after he had done something to hurt his wife. He was deeply remorseful, but said he couldn't pray because he was sure God would no longer listen to him. Wrong. That's the whole point. Once a person is sorry for his wrongs, genuinely, God is ready to forgive and to help. This man finally accepted that, prayed, and his marriage is fine today.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Glenn McDonald used this poem which he attributed to a spiritually-seeking teenager named Maggie. He said it was addressed to her pastor.
"Do you know
Do you understand
That you represent Jesus to me?
Do you know
Do you understand
That when you treat me with gentleness
It raises the question in my mind
That maybe he is gentle too.
Maybe he isn't someone who laughs
When I am hurt.
Do you know
Do you understand
That when you listen to my questions
And you don't laugh
I think, 'What if Jesus is interested in me too?'
Do you know
Do you understand
That when I hear you talk about arguments
And conflict and scars from your past
That I think, 'Maybe I am just a regular person
Instead of a bad, no good little girl who deserves abuse.'
If you care, I think maybe he cares --
And then there's this flame of hope
That burns inside of me
And for awhile I am afraid to breathe
Because it might go out.
Do you know
Do you understand
That your words are his words?
Your face his face
To someone like me?
Please be who you say you are
Please, God, don't let this be another trick
Please let this be real.
Please.
Do you know
Do you understand
That you represent
Jesus to me?"
____________
Archibald Rutledge told of the time he had captured a baby hummingbird and put it in a cage. That afternoon, the mother hummingbird came with berries in her beak and fed the baby. Rutledge was charmed to realize that apparently mother would see to the feeding of her offspring. However, the next morning he found the imprisoned bird dead in the bottom of its cage. Some time later, he told Arthur Wayne, a well-known ornithologist, about this and Wayne explained that when a mother hummingbird would see her baby in captivity, she would bring it poison berries, deeming it better for the bird to die than to live as a captive.
____________
C. S. Lewis has suggested that everyone is on the way to becoming either a creature so loathsome that we meet them now only in nightmares, or a creature so glorious that we would strongly be inclined to worship them if we could see them as they will be. Repentance is a matter of changing directions.
____________
The Rev. Glenn McDonald of Zionsville Presbyterian Church tells of a recent stop he made at a filling station-convenience store, while on a driving trip. While standing in the rear of the store for a soft drink, he heard a loud argument in the front of the store. Two gentlemen had put gas in their car, and said they thought they stopped when it read eight dollars. However, the actual amount on the pump was thirteen dollars. Two men who worked in the store were insisting that the customers must pay that amount, and the two customers insisted it was the store's mistake and they refused to pay. The words were getting louder, more threatening, and violence seemed a strong possibility. Just then, Glenn walked to the cash register, laid a five dollar bill on the counter, smiled at the various participants and announced that it would be his pleasure to pay the five dollars. Immediately, the atmosphere changed. The customers thanked him (they may not have had the other five dollars themselves), and the store employees told Glenn it wasn't really necessary that the money be paid. Finally, they accepted his money and everyone left in good humor. Glenn said it was worth five dollars to feel as he did when he left.
____________
Prior to the 1999 Super Bowl, Cris Collinsworth, now a sports commentator but at one time a pass receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, interviewed a former player on Fox network, a man whose name I will omit here. That man had been a star with the Bengals when that team went to the Super Bowl a few years ago. The night before the game, the man had taken an overdose of heroin and was found unconscious in his room the day of the game. The effect was that the man was forever banned from football. He then turned to crime, now having been convicted several times of burglary. Collinsworth asked him why he did it. The man said it was necessary to feed his drug habit. He now faces trial for another burglary and, if convicted, can be sent to prison for life. There was a man who had it all: an outstanding career in sports, a multi-million dollar income, a chance to win the Super Bowl, a future as a celebrated athlete. He threw it all away for a drug fix. The harm he admitted he had done to his family and his friends was incalculable. Collinsworth said the other players had no sympathy for the man at the time. Losing him from the team may well have cost those players a Super Bowl victory. Now, Collinsworth said he has let that go, but feels only pity for a man who could so ruin his own life.
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 32 -- "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven."
Prayer Of The Day
For those who weep, O Lord, we pray. For those who are lonely, those who are cold and lacking adequate shelter we pray. For those who are stung by prejudice, those who suffer the plague of demons of the mind, for those who wrestle with addictions we pray. In the name of the one who loves those people, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
