Third 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
Jesus is alive and with us still equipping us to be powerful witnesses.
First Lesson
Acts 3:12-19
An Early Sermon
Peter was preaching to the crowd that saw him heal a crippled beggar who was now clinging to him. Here is a sample of Peter's, and no doubt early Christian, preaching. Notice the basic elements:
A. Jesus was out of the great Jewish heritage.
B. They killed Jesus on the cross.
C. The disciples are witnesses to the fact that Jesus came out of the grave.
D. The healing was by Jesus' name.
E. An invitation to repent and turn to God.
The place of this teaching was in the Temple courts as Peter and John were on their way to prayer. Beggars sat in these courts because they knew people were more apt to give after they had been to worship. (They still sit there today.)
Second Lesson
1 John 3:1-7
God's Children
Again the author of 1 John addresses his message to "little children" and makes again the comment we are "children of God" (v. 2). He also assures us that we will become even more than a child. Because we are his children, one day we will be like him and see him as he is (v. 2b). Verse 4 condemns sin. Then a tough verse to interpret and understand. Verse 6 does not mean we who are "in Christ" are sinless! Rather, the person who is God's child is pointed in the right direction. We know and try to do the right thing and love our fellow people.
The Gospel
Luke 24:36b-48
Another Experience Of The Alive Jesus
Again we have the image of Easter people being witnesses. And again we have the witness of the Gospel writers that Jesus not only came out of the tomb but also was very much alive and with them. In this particular passage we learn he had them look at his hands and feet and touch him. Then he ate broiled fish with them. All this to prove he was real and there.
Then he taught them what this meant by quoting the scripture that promised one who would "suffer and rise from the dead on the third day" (v. 46). And "repentance and forgiveness of sins" is to be proclaimed to all the nations (v. 47). Now the strong kicker, verse 48 -- they are to be witnesses to all this. And that they don't witness alone -- they will receive power from God to do it. And so they did! We could be also.
Preaching Possibilities
The theme in these post-Easter passages is often that the disciples (and so us) are witnesses to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus (Luke 36:48; Acts 3:15b). A good approach would be to focus on "Easter witnesses" first looking at the scripture's admonition to witness and then looking at our potential and possibilities together as a congregation and individually in our daily lifestyle. Remember when the disciples had to choose a person to replace Judas, they made the criteria: "a witness to the resurrection."
One could also go with the Acts reading for today, which pleads with the people to "repent and turn to God." In this passage also there is something very lovely in the picture. According to 3:11, the crippled beggar just healed was clinging to Peter and John. Picture it. They are proclaiming the gospel and one healed by it is standing there with them. Who would cling to us because they experienced God's healing power through us?
A textual exegetical sermon could develop from 1 John 3:2. We are God's children, we will one day be like him, we can have hope to become better as we experience him.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Let's use my homiletical formula based on how listeners listen to a sermon.1
A. Build a fire: Describe how it would be having a dead corpse appear alive at a family meeting a couple of days later.
B. Bridge: Tell how we all wonder about the mechanics of Jesus returning in body to be with the disciples after his death. And we wonder how it will be for us, too.
C. Points: These things can be learned from Luke's account of Jesus appearing to the disciples after Easter day.
1. He is recognizable and has real flesh and bones (v. 39).
2. We may still have some okay doubts (v. 41).
3. His death and resurrection was promised by the prophets (v. 44).
4. The disciples' (and our) task is to proclaim the result, which is forgiveness of sins (v. 47).
D. Examples: See below in "Possible Metaphors and Stories."
E. Witness: Now give your own personal witness. You are reminded today that not only do we disciples have a Savior who overcame death and the grave; but we also have an alive Christ with us, who gives us a job to do. We are to be witnesses to the resurrection. Tell what that means in your own life.
F. So what?: We are to be witnesses (v. 48) and that means we must know how and where and with whom to do so. And we have been promised a certain spiritual power to do it.
G. Frame it: Return to your contemporary story of a dead body returning and how frightening that would be. Then read verses 24:36b-49.
Prayer For The Day
Give us the power to witness, too, O God, as you promised you would give all disciples after Easter. Calm our fear and administer to us a big dose of your holy peace. Show us again today your alive after Easter presence that we, like those early disciples, would be "in-joy" as they were. In the Easter Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
William Barclay tells how W. H. Davis, the tramp poet, relates how one of his vagrant friends told him that, whenever he came into a new town, he looked for a church spire with a cross on the top, and began to beg in that area because there, from experience, he found people most generous.
In a 60 Minutes television segment, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa was being interviewed. They asked Tutu about how the Council of Reconciliation was being run by him. He explained that if those who committed atrocities during the time of apartheid would confess their sins, they would be granted amnesty from the council and the present government. The reporter asked, "Archbishop, isn't this carrying your Christianity too far?" That is Christianity -- we carry radical forgiveness way too far. It's what Jesus taught us from the cross and after the resurrection. Carrying it that far makes us unique in our discipleship.
There was an ad on television for Monday Night Football. An old man is near death and in a coma in the hospital. The doctor puts earphones on the patient and plays the theme song for Monday Night Football. The man revives. There is power there. And God gives us power to witness also.
Sam Donaldson on the ABC news told of Yellowstone Park, which burned in the summer. It is now covered with a foot of snow. Underneath grass is starting to take root and seventy percent of the trees will survive. The heat of fire provides a gum which protects the pinecones. Two weeks later there is a shower of seeds that will start new pine trees. This is called "nature's fire insurance." It's new life out of destruction. A lived-out resurrection!
In the Batak language of Sumatra there is no word for "surrender." It is also very difficult to say, "I'm sorry" in Batak. But in the language of the cross we can surrender to the one who sacrificed his son in order that we might use the words often: "I'm sorry."
____________
1. For further explanation of this style of homiletic, see the author's book, The Preacher's Edge, CSS Publishing Company, Lima, Ohio, 1996.
Alive and out of the grave, the risen Christ is witnessed in the real world.
Theme For The Day
Jesus is alive and with us still equipping us to be powerful witnesses.
First Lesson
Acts 3:12-19
An Early Sermon
Peter was preaching to the crowd that saw him heal a crippled beggar who was now clinging to him. Here is a sample of Peter's, and no doubt early Christian, preaching. Notice the basic elements:
A. Jesus was out of the great Jewish heritage.
B. They killed Jesus on the cross.
C. The disciples are witnesses to the fact that Jesus came out of the grave.
D. The healing was by Jesus' name.
E. An invitation to repent and turn to God.
The place of this teaching was in the Temple courts as Peter and John were on their way to prayer. Beggars sat in these courts because they knew people were more apt to give after they had been to worship. (They still sit there today.)
Second Lesson
1 John 3:1-7
God's Children
Again the author of 1 John addresses his message to "little children" and makes again the comment we are "children of God" (v. 2). He also assures us that we will become even more than a child. Because we are his children, one day we will be like him and see him as he is (v. 2b). Verse 4 condemns sin. Then a tough verse to interpret and understand. Verse 6 does not mean we who are "in Christ" are sinless! Rather, the person who is God's child is pointed in the right direction. We know and try to do the right thing and love our fellow people.
The Gospel
Luke 24:36b-48
Another Experience Of The Alive Jesus
Again we have the image of Easter people being witnesses. And again we have the witness of the Gospel writers that Jesus not only came out of the tomb but also was very much alive and with them. In this particular passage we learn he had them look at his hands and feet and touch him. Then he ate broiled fish with them. All this to prove he was real and there.
Then he taught them what this meant by quoting the scripture that promised one who would "suffer and rise from the dead on the third day" (v. 46). And "repentance and forgiveness of sins" is to be proclaimed to all the nations (v. 47). Now the strong kicker, verse 48 -- they are to be witnesses to all this. And that they don't witness alone -- they will receive power from God to do it. And so they did! We could be also.
Preaching Possibilities
The theme in these post-Easter passages is often that the disciples (and so us) are witnesses to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus (Luke 36:48; Acts 3:15b). A good approach would be to focus on "Easter witnesses" first looking at the scripture's admonition to witness and then looking at our potential and possibilities together as a congregation and individually in our daily lifestyle. Remember when the disciples had to choose a person to replace Judas, they made the criteria: "a witness to the resurrection."
One could also go with the Acts reading for today, which pleads with the people to "repent and turn to God." In this passage also there is something very lovely in the picture. According to 3:11, the crippled beggar just healed was clinging to Peter and John. Picture it. They are proclaiming the gospel and one healed by it is standing there with them. Who would cling to us because they experienced God's healing power through us?
A textual exegetical sermon could develop from 1 John 3:2. We are God's children, we will one day be like him, we can have hope to become better as we experience him.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Let's use my homiletical formula based on how listeners listen to a sermon.1
A. Build a fire: Describe how it would be having a dead corpse appear alive at a family meeting a couple of days later.
B. Bridge: Tell how we all wonder about the mechanics of Jesus returning in body to be with the disciples after his death. And we wonder how it will be for us, too.
C. Points: These things can be learned from Luke's account of Jesus appearing to the disciples after Easter day.
1. He is recognizable and has real flesh and bones (v. 39).
2. We may still have some okay doubts (v. 41).
3. His death and resurrection was promised by the prophets (v. 44).
4. The disciples' (and our) task is to proclaim the result, which is forgiveness of sins (v. 47).
D. Examples: See below in "Possible Metaphors and Stories."
E. Witness: Now give your own personal witness. You are reminded today that not only do we disciples have a Savior who overcame death and the grave; but we also have an alive Christ with us, who gives us a job to do. We are to be witnesses to the resurrection. Tell what that means in your own life.
F. So what?: We are to be witnesses (v. 48) and that means we must know how and where and with whom to do so. And we have been promised a certain spiritual power to do it.
G. Frame it: Return to your contemporary story of a dead body returning and how frightening that would be. Then read verses 24:36b-49.
Prayer For The Day
Give us the power to witness, too, O God, as you promised you would give all disciples after Easter. Calm our fear and administer to us a big dose of your holy peace. Show us again today your alive after Easter presence that we, like those early disciples, would be "in-joy" as they were. In the Easter Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
William Barclay tells how W. H. Davis, the tramp poet, relates how one of his vagrant friends told him that, whenever he came into a new town, he looked for a church spire with a cross on the top, and began to beg in that area because there, from experience, he found people most generous.
In a 60 Minutes television segment, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa was being interviewed. They asked Tutu about how the Council of Reconciliation was being run by him. He explained that if those who committed atrocities during the time of apartheid would confess their sins, they would be granted amnesty from the council and the present government. The reporter asked, "Archbishop, isn't this carrying your Christianity too far?" That is Christianity -- we carry radical forgiveness way too far. It's what Jesus taught us from the cross and after the resurrection. Carrying it that far makes us unique in our discipleship.
There was an ad on television for Monday Night Football. An old man is near death and in a coma in the hospital. The doctor puts earphones on the patient and plays the theme song for Monday Night Football. The man revives. There is power there. And God gives us power to witness also.
Sam Donaldson on the ABC news told of Yellowstone Park, which burned in the summer. It is now covered with a foot of snow. Underneath grass is starting to take root and seventy percent of the trees will survive. The heat of fire provides a gum which protects the pinecones. Two weeks later there is a shower of seeds that will start new pine trees. This is called "nature's fire insurance." It's new life out of destruction. A lived-out resurrection!
In the Batak language of Sumatra there is no word for "surrender." It is also very difficult to say, "I'm sorry" in Batak. But in the language of the cross we can surrender to the one who sacrificed his son in order that we might use the words often: "I'm sorry."
____________
1. For further explanation of this style of homiletic, see the author's book, The Preacher's Edge, CSS Publishing Company, Lima, Ohio, 1996.
