Sixth Sunday Of Easter
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle B
Seasonal Theme
Alive and out of the grave, the risen Christ is witnessed in the real world.
Theme For The Day
We are chosen to be God's friends and intimate companions, which gives us a mission to carry out.
First Lesson
Acts 10:44-48
Gentiles Receive The Holy Spirit
The story continues from last week and the announcement made by Peter at the home of Cornelius, a Gentile, that "... God shows no partiality" (v. 24). Peter has preached another powerful sermon and included the Gentiles in God's plan of salvation for all the people. A marvelous thing happened there in Caesarea, the Holy Spirit came upon all who heard Peter, including the uncircumcised Gentiles being baptized in the spirit before baptism: this is a sign that God accepts the Gentiles, also. In verse 46 we have the proof that the Holy Spirit had come upon them: they spoke in tongues. The formula does not seem to be as commanded in Matthew 28:19 and as Trinitarian; but, rather, it is just in Jesus' name.
Second Lesson
1 John 5:1-6
Faith Conquers The World
An interesting analogy John uses: "... everyone who loves the parent loves the child" (v. 1b). Verse 3 claims that to love God is to obey God's commands. And these commands are not burdensome (even though they are often presented that way by us preachers!). The word "faith" is used in verse 4 but is rarely used in John's writing. Here it is presented as a victory that conquers the world. That is unusual to me to think of victory and faith together.
The Gospel
John 15:9-17
Abiding In The Love Of Christ
There are a number of strong theological teachings here:
1. We are to abide in the love of Christ.
2. To abide in God's love is to fulfill our joy and bring joy to the Christ.
3. We are to love each other as Jesus loved us.
4. We are friends of God and not just servants.
5. God chose us; we did not choose God.
6. God sends us out to do good things on God's behalf.
"Friends of God" is a very meaningful phrase that John uses to describe us and our relationship to God. The Eastern kings had a small intimate group called "Friends of the King" who could enter at any time without a security check. They had immediate and complete access to the king. So Jesus says we are "friends of God" who have immediate access to God through him, anytime, anywhere! It's so much more than just a constituent or servant or even neighbor. It's as much as, or even more than, a daughter or son.
Preaching Possibilities
The reading from Acts is an opportunity to preach about inclusiveness. The 1 John reading gives us opportunity to address the concept of faith in our lives and the Gospel can be the basis for what it means for Easter people to be "chosen by God" and to be "friends of God." All this can come under the theme of "abiding in Christ." If we preached last week on the Cornelius story, we can make this week part 2 and do a "The rest of the story" sermon. If we continue on the idea of "Easter discipleship" we can add that using all three readings for today we discover:
A. Easter disciples are inclusive and spirit filled (Acts 10:47).
B. Easter people love God's family and have deep victorious faith (1 John 5:4).
C. Easter people are no longer servants but friends of God (John 15:15).
D. God has chosen us to be Easter disciples (John 15:16).
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
This is an excellent Sunday to try an extended metaphor sermon. The metaphor comes from what we know about the Eastern kings in the days prior to Jesus and how they had a close circle of "Friends of the King." This can be used throughout the sermon to illustrate our relationship between us and God.
A. Begin by telling about a time when you wanted to see an important celebrity and how difficult it was (is) to see him and communicate with him.
B. Move to telling about the friends of the King in the time of Jesus.
C. Read the text in John 15:15 calling attention to the word "friends."
D. Relate what this means to us as "Easter people" today which we learn from the 3 readings:
1. Our fellowship is inclusive and spirit-filled (Acts 10:47).
2. Being friends of the King we love each other and have a deep victorious faith (1 John 5:4).
3. We have direct and continuous access to God.
4. We are treated like family and not like servants (John 15:15).
5. We are appointed to go and do (John 15:17).
E. Now give your own witness what this all means to you referring again to the "Friends of the King" idea.
F. Then tell your listeners what you believe this "Friends of God" means for your congregation like: we work for an inclusive fellowship; we ought see the spirit in our worship; we ought work at our love for each other being obvious; our prayer life is done in direct connection with God; we develop what our mission is outside our church walls.
G. Return to the metaphor of "Friends of the King" and explain that if the King came to our town we would have direct access to him like a very big contributor has to a dignitary who comes to town. It would be like our standing on tip-toe to see the President in his motorcade and he would pick us up off the curb and place us in his limousine.
H. Frame your sermon by reading the text again (John 15:15) and returning to your story about seeing an important celebrity.
Prayer For The Day
We rejoice today that we are your friends, dear God, and not just your servants. We rejoice that you have chosen us for this special, intimate relationship with you (and with each other). Teach us to love each other and to have victorious faith, which propels us out into the world to be inclusive and an effective witness to the Easter resurrection. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
Race is skin deep. A New York Times article by Natalie Angier (August 26, 2000) was headlined "Race Is Only Skin Deep." She wrote that scientists say it may be easy to tell at a glance whether a person is African or Caucasian or Asian but the differences dissolve at the DNA level. (May they dissolve at our church's level, as well!)
Dr. Craig Venters is quoted as saying, "We all evolved in the last 100,000 years from the same small number of tribes that migrated out of Africa and colonized the world." Venter and scientists at the National Institutes of Health have unanimously declared there is only one race.
So equatorial populations evolved dark skin, presumably to protect against ultraviolet radiation, while people in Northern latitudes evolved pale skin, the better to produce vitamin D from pale sunlight.
"All the races of men have sprung from the same blood and thus have the same bloodline ... as I in my age am a drop of the great river, a member of the church, so am I a brother of the fathers who came before me and the children who came after me" (Wilhelm Loehe).
For the lonely man, all the treasures of the world are no substitute for companionship. Narrower than a prison is the wide earth to an abandoned and lonely man ...
"Behold the Church! It is the very opposite of loneliness -- blessed fellowship! There are millions of saints and believers who are blessed in it. No longer lonely, but filled, satisfied, yes blessed ..." (Wilhelm Loehe, Three Books about the Church, translated by James L. Schlaf).
Most of us have learned to live with "voice mail" as a now-necessary part of our daily lives. But have you ever wondered what it would be like if God decided to install voice mail?
Imagine praying and hearing this:
Thank you for calling Heaven. Please select one of the following options: Press 1 for Requests; Press 2 for Thanksgiving; Press 3 for Complaints; Press 4 for All Other Inquiries.
I am sorry, all of our angels are busy helping others right now.
However, your prayer is important to us and will be answered in the order in which it was received, so please stay on the line.
If you would like to speak to God -- press 1, to Jesus -- press 2, to The Holy Spirit -- press 3.
If you would like to hear King David sing a Psalm while you are holding, please press 4.
To find out if a loved one has been assigned to Heaven: press 5. Enter his or her Social Security number, then press the pound key. If you get a negative response, try area code 666.
For nagging questions about dinosaurs, the age of the earth, and where Noah's Ark is, please wait until you arrive here.
For reservations in Heaven, please enter J-O-H-N, followed by the numbers 3-1-6.
Our computers show that you have already prayed once today. Please hang up and try again tomorrow.
This office is closed for the weekend to observe a religious holiday. Please pray again Monday after 9:30 a.m.
If you are calling after hours and need emergency assistance, please contact your local pastor or rabbi.
Alive and out of the grave, the risen Christ is witnessed in the real world.
Theme For The Day
We are chosen to be God's friends and intimate companions, which gives us a mission to carry out.
First Lesson
Acts 10:44-48
Gentiles Receive The Holy Spirit
The story continues from last week and the announcement made by Peter at the home of Cornelius, a Gentile, that "... God shows no partiality" (v. 24). Peter has preached another powerful sermon and included the Gentiles in God's plan of salvation for all the people. A marvelous thing happened there in Caesarea, the Holy Spirit came upon all who heard Peter, including the uncircumcised Gentiles being baptized in the spirit before baptism: this is a sign that God accepts the Gentiles, also. In verse 46 we have the proof that the Holy Spirit had come upon them: they spoke in tongues. The formula does not seem to be as commanded in Matthew 28:19 and as Trinitarian; but, rather, it is just in Jesus' name.
Second Lesson
1 John 5:1-6
Faith Conquers The World
An interesting analogy John uses: "... everyone who loves the parent loves the child" (v. 1b). Verse 3 claims that to love God is to obey God's commands. And these commands are not burdensome (even though they are often presented that way by us preachers!). The word "faith" is used in verse 4 but is rarely used in John's writing. Here it is presented as a victory that conquers the world. That is unusual to me to think of victory and faith together.
The Gospel
John 15:9-17
Abiding In The Love Of Christ
There are a number of strong theological teachings here:
1. We are to abide in the love of Christ.
2. To abide in God's love is to fulfill our joy and bring joy to the Christ.
3. We are to love each other as Jesus loved us.
4. We are friends of God and not just servants.
5. God chose us; we did not choose God.
6. God sends us out to do good things on God's behalf.
"Friends of God" is a very meaningful phrase that John uses to describe us and our relationship to God. The Eastern kings had a small intimate group called "Friends of the King" who could enter at any time without a security check. They had immediate and complete access to the king. So Jesus says we are "friends of God" who have immediate access to God through him, anytime, anywhere! It's so much more than just a constituent or servant or even neighbor. It's as much as, or even more than, a daughter or son.
Preaching Possibilities
The reading from Acts is an opportunity to preach about inclusiveness. The 1 John reading gives us opportunity to address the concept of faith in our lives and the Gospel can be the basis for what it means for Easter people to be "chosen by God" and to be "friends of God." All this can come under the theme of "abiding in Christ." If we preached last week on the Cornelius story, we can make this week part 2 and do a "The rest of the story" sermon. If we continue on the idea of "Easter discipleship" we can add that using all three readings for today we discover:
A. Easter disciples are inclusive and spirit filled (Acts 10:47).
B. Easter people love God's family and have deep victorious faith (1 John 5:4).
C. Easter people are no longer servants but friends of God (John 15:15).
D. God has chosen us to be Easter disciples (John 15:16).
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
This is an excellent Sunday to try an extended metaphor sermon. The metaphor comes from what we know about the Eastern kings in the days prior to Jesus and how they had a close circle of "Friends of the King." This can be used throughout the sermon to illustrate our relationship between us and God.
A. Begin by telling about a time when you wanted to see an important celebrity and how difficult it was (is) to see him and communicate with him.
B. Move to telling about the friends of the King in the time of Jesus.
C. Read the text in John 15:15 calling attention to the word "friends."
D. Relate what this means to us as "Easter people" today which we learn from the 3 readings:
1. Our fellowship is inclusive and spirit-filled (Acts 10:47).
2. Being friends of the King we love each other and have a deep victorious faith (1 John 5:4).
3. We have direct and continuous access to God.
4. We are treated like family and not like servants (John 15:15).
5. We are appointed to go and do (John 15:17).
E. Now give your own witness what this all means to you referring again to the "Friends of the King" idea.
F. Then tell your listeners what you believe this "Friends of God" means for your congregation like: we work for an inclusive fellowship; we ought see the spirit in our worship; we ought work at our love for each other being obvious; our prayer life is done in direct connection with God; we develop what our mission is outside our church walls.
G. Return to the metaphor of "Friends of the King" and explain that if the King came to our town we would have direct access to him like a very big contributor has to a dignitary who comes to town. It would be like our standing on tip-toe to see the President in his motorcade and he would pick us up off the curb and place us in his limousine.
H. Frame your sermon by reading the text again (John 15:15) and returning to your story about seeing an important celebrity.
Prayer For The Day
We rejoice today that we are your friends, dear God, and not just your servants. We rejoice that you have chosen us for this special, intimate relationship with you (and with each other). Teach us to love each other and to have victorious faith, which propels us out into the world to be inclusive and an effective witness to the Easter resurrection. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
Race is skin deep. A New York Times article by Natalie Angier (August 26, 2000) was headlined "Race Is Only Skin Deep." She wrote that scientists say it may be easy to tell at a glance whether a person is African or Caucasian or Asian but the differences dissolve at the DNA level. (May they dissolve at our church's level, as well!)
Dr. Craig Venters is quoted as saying, "We all evolved in the last 100,000 years from the same small number of tribes that migrated out of Africa and colonized the world." Venter and scientists at the National Institutes of Health have unanimously declared there is only one race.
So equatorial populations evolved dark skin, presumably to protect against ultraviolet radiation, while people in Northern latitudes evolved pale skin, the better to produce vitamin D from pale sunlight.
"All the races of men have sprung from the same blood and thus have the same bloodline ... as I in my age am a drop of the great river, a member of the church, so am I a brother of the fathers who came before me and the children who came after me" (Wilhelm Loehe).
For the lonely man, all the treasures of the world are no substitute for companionship. Narrower than a prison is the wide earth to an abandoned and lonely man ...
"Behold the Church! It is the very opposite of loneliness -- blessed fellowship! There are millions of saints and believers who are blessed in it. No longer lonely, but filled, satisfied, yes blessed ..." (Wilhelm Loehe, Three Books about the Church, translated by James L. Schlaf).
Most of us have learned to live with "voice mail" as a now-necessary part of our daily lives. But have you ever wondered what it would be like if God decided to install voice mail?
Imagine praying and hearing this:
Thank you for calling Heaven. Please select one of the following options: Press 1 for Requests; Press 2 for Thanksgiving; Press 3 for Complaints; Press 4 for All Other Inquiries.
I am sorry, all of our angels are busy helping others right now.
However, your prayer is important to us and will be answered in the order in which it was received, so please stay on the line.
If you would like to speak to God -- press 1, to Jesus -- press 2, to The Holy Spirit -- press 3.
If you would like to hear King David sing a Psalm while you are holding, please press 4.
To find out if a loved one has been assigned to Heaven: press 5. Enter his or her Social Security number, then press the pound key. If you get a negative response, try area code 666.
For nagging questions about dinosaurs, the age of the earth, and where Noah's Ark is, please wait until you arrive here.
For reservations in Heaven, please enter J-O-H-N, followed by the numbers 3-1-6.
Our computers show that you have already prayed once today. Please hang up and try again tomorrow.
This office is closed for the weekend to observe a religious holiday. Please pray again Monday after 9:30 a.m.
If you are calling after hours and need emergency assistance, please contact your local pastor or rabbi.
