Show And Tell
Sermon
From Dusk To Dawn
Sermons For Lent And Easter
Show and tell. A commercial opens in a classroom. The teacher
has told the class to bring something in the next day for show
and tell time. One boy brings his father. He says, "This is my
dad. He's my best friend. I asked him to come to school today for
show and tell time. I love my father."
How many wives can be heard complaining, "I know my husband
loves me, but he has trouble telling me." The best way we have of
expressing our love for someone is showing them we care and
telling them how much they mean to us.
The disciples loved Jesus. Following his crucifixion they were
crushed as if their hearts had been placed in a millstone.
Gloomily they gathered in the upper room to mourn their loss. Any
room is a funeral home when broken-hearted people gather. No sky
is lit with the fiery brilliance of a noon day sun when someone
we love has traveled into the black land of death. Such was the
somber scene at sundown of the first Easter day.
Luke tells us in his gospel that there was suddenly stirred up
in the hearts of the disciples the gleam of hope. Two of the
Lord's followers had met him on their way home to Emmaus. Jesus
had appeared to them, revealed himself and broken bread with
them. These two unnamed disciples knew beyond doubt that Jesus
was alive. While they were sharing the good
news of Christ's resurrection the Savior appeared in their midst.
He who is the open door came through the door and greeted the
astonished disciples. The funeral had been transformed into a
feast. Despair had been conquered by hope. Sadness was
overwhelmed by joy.
Jesus bid them to touch the nail-spiked hands and feet of his
body crucified for each of his disciples. He ate a bit of broiled
fish to prove he was no ghost or figment of their imaginations.
Jesus is no spook, but the Son of God, who is alive today.
One of the most popular movies of recent years is Ghost.
Patrick Swayze plays a man who is killed by a mugger while his
girlfriend, played by Demi Moore, survives the vicious attack.
The man died defending the woman he loved. Later in the film
fantasy he returns in spirit to protect her. One reason for the
movie's box office success is the hope we all have that our loved
ones are alive beyond the grave. Love transcends death. Death is
but a bridge we travel as we cross the shore of life into the
kingdom beyond.
Earlier this year the American government threw out the red
carpet to greet Russian President Boris Yeltsen. There was no red
carpet for Jesus in the upper room, only the joy he saw in the
faces of the men he loved, only the joy beyond words that reigned
in the disciples' hearts when they beheld and worshiped the Word
of God in their presence.
A motto once hung in many homes which read, "Christ is the
head of this house, the Unseen guest at every meal, the Silent
Listener to every conversation." Christ is the living head of the
living body of believers which we call the church.
Muslims honor the burial site of Mohammed in Mecca. Buddhists
revere the temple where the dead Buddha lies. We Christians have
no shrine for the dead Jesus. Our Lord is alive. He is alive as
is the morning sun in the eastern sky, the touch of a mother as
she nestles a babe to her breast, the sound of laughter as old
friends gather once more.
An elderly woman made her living selling artificial fruit. One
day a customer complained the fruit she sold was not
realistic enough. She pointed to an apple, saying it was too red,
too round and too big to be a real apple. At that point the
artificial fruit lady picked up the apple and proceeded to eat
it.
Jesus is the real McCoy. He really did rise from the grave. He
is alive. He is listening to our prayers. He is always open for
business when that business deals with the human heart in need of
a shepherd's guidance and love.
George Bernard Shaw, the famous playwright, was handed a
newly-written play by a fledgling playwright. Shaw was asked to
give the young man a criticism of the work a few days later. "How
did you like it?" asked the author. "I fell asleep reading it,"
said Shaw. "Sleep is my comment on your work."
No one fell asleep or yawned that Easter night when the
preacher of peace, the Prince of Power and the Lord of Love
appeared in their midst. Christianity is real. Christianity is
alive. Christianity is anything but boring. Let us all wake up
and smell the roses. Let us resolve to live our lives as if Jesus
were a guest in our homes, workplaces and businesses. The truth
is that the Lord is here, there and everywhere. He is alive. He
is our Risen Lord to whom we offer our discipleship with love.
The song goes, "They'll know we are Christians by our love."
Let us be about our Father's business as we serve him with joy.
Let us show and tell others the good news of the gospel.
has told the class to bring something in the next day for show
and tell time. One boy brings his father. He says, "This is my
dad. He's my best friend. I asked him to come to school today for
show and tell time. I love my father."
How many wives can be heard complaining, "I know my husband
loves me, but he has trouble telling me." The best way we have of
expressing our love for someone is showing them we care and
telling them how much they mean to us.
The disciples loved Jesus. Following his crucifixion they were
crushed as if their hearts had been placed in a millstone.
Gloomily they gathered in the upper room to mourn their loss. Any
room is a funeral home when broken-hearted people gather. No sky
is lit with the fiery brilliance of a noon day sun when someone
we love has traveled into the black land of death. Such was the
somber scene at sundown of the first Easter day.
Luke tells us in his gospel that there was suddenly stirred up
in the hearts of the disciples the gleam of hope. Two of the
Lord's followers had met him on their way home to Emmaus. Jesus
had appeared to them, revealed himself and broken bread with
them. These two unnamed disciples knew beyond doubt that Jesus
was alive. While they were sharing the good
news of Christ's resurrection the Savior appeared in their midst.
He who is the open door came through the door and greeted the
astonished disciples. The funeral had been transformed into a
feast. Despair had been conquered by hope. Sadness was
overwhelmed by joy.
Jesus bid them to touch the nail-spiked hands and feet of his
body crucified for each of his disciples. He ate a bit of broiled
fish to prove he was no ghost or figment of their imaginations.
Jesus is no spook, but the Son of God, who is alive today.
One of the most popular movies of recent years is Ghost.
Patrick Swayze plays a man who is killed by a mugger while his
girlfriend, played by Demi Moore, survives the vicious attack.
The man died defending the woman he loved. Later in the film
fantasy he returns in spirit to protect her. One reason for the
movie's box office success is the hope we all have that our loved
ones are alive beyond the grave. Love transcends death. Death is
but a bridge we travel as we cross the shore of life into the
kingdom beyond.
Earlier this year the American government threw out the red
carpet to greet Russian President Boris Yeltsen. There was no red
carpet for Jesus in the upper room, only the joy he saw in the
faces of the men he loved, only the joy beyond words that reigned
in the disciples' hearts when they beheld and worshiped the Word
of God in their presence.
A motto once hung in many homes which read, "Christ is the
head of this house, the Unseen guest at every meal, the Silent
Listener to every conversation." Christ is the living head of the
living body of believers which we call the church.
Muslims honor the burial site of Mohammed in Mecca. Buddhists
revere the temple where the dead Buddha lies. We Christians have
no shrine for the dead Jesus. Our Lord is alive. He is alive as
is the morning sun in the eastern sky, the touch of a mother as
she nestles a babe to her breast, the sound of laughter as old
friends gather once more.
An elderly woman made her living selling artificial fruit. One
day a customer complained the fruit she sold was not
realistic enough. She pointed to an apple, saying it was too red,
too round and too big to be a real apple. At that point the
artificial fruit lady picked up the apple and proceeded to eat
it.
Jesus is the real McCoy. He really did rise from the grave. He
is alive. He is listening to our prayers. He is always open for
business when that business deals with the human heart in need of
a shepherd's guidance and love.
George Bernard Shaw, the famous playwright, was handed a
newly-written play by a fledgling playwright. Shaw was asked to
give the young man a criticism of the work a few days later. "How
did you like it?" asked the author. "I fell asleep reading it,"
said Shaw. "Sleep is my comment on your work."
No one fell asleep or yawned that Easter night when the
preacher of peace, the Prince of Power and the Lord of Love
appeared in their midst. Christianity is real. Christianity is
alive. Christianity is anything but boring. Let us all wake up
and smell the roses. Let us resolve to live our lives as if Jesus
were a guest in our homes, workplaces and businesses. The truth
is that the Lord is here, there and everywhere. He is alive. He
is our Risen Lord to whom we offer our discipleship with love.
The song goes, "They'll know we are Christians by our love."
Let us be about our Father's business as we serve him with joy.
Let us show and tell others the good news of the gospel.
