Sermons for Proper 7
A new beginning, a new start, a new birth.
Sermon Opener #1 - It Doesn't Have to Be This Way
The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com.
Sign up today HERE. Or call: 1-813-808-1681.
Members: Please see Luke 8 or Proper 7 for the sermon titled "It Doesn't Have to Be This Way"
The noted author, John Killinger, tells a powerful story about a man who is all-alone in a hotel room in Canada. The man is in a state of deep depression. He is so depressed that he can't even bring himself to go downstairs to the restaurant to eat.
He is a powerful man usually the chairman of a large shipping company but at this moment, he is absolutely overwhelmed by the pressures and demands of life... and he lies there on a lonely hotel bed far from home wallowing in self-pity.
All of his life, he has been fastidious, worrying about everything, anxious and fretful, always fussing and stewing over every detail. And now, at mid-life, his anxiety has gotten the best of him, even to the extent that it is difficult for him to sleep and to eat.
He worries and broods and agonizes about everything, his business, his investments, his decisions, his family, his health, even, his dogs. Then, on this day in this Canadian hotel, he craters. He hits bottom. Filled with anxiety, completely immobilized, paralyzed by his emotional despair, unable to leave his room, lying on his bed, he moans out loud: "Life isn't worth living this way, I wish I were dead!"
And then, he wonders, what God would think if he heard him talking this way. Speaking aloud again he says, "God, it's a joke, isn't it? Life is nothing but a joke." Suddenly, it occurs to the man that this is the first time he's talked to God since he was a little boy. He is silent for a moment and then he begins to pray. He describes it like this: "I just talked out loud about what a mess my life was in and how tired I was and how much I wanted things to be different in my life. And you know what happened next? A voice!! I heard a voice say, 'It doesn't have to be that way!' That's all."
He went home and talked to his wife about what happened. He talked to his brother who is a minister and asked him: "Do you think it was God speaking to me?" The brother said: "Of course, because that is the message of God to you and everyone of us. That's the message of the Bible. That's why Jesus Christ came into the world to save us, to deliver us, to free us, to change us and to show us that 'It doesn't have to be that way.' A few days later, the man called his brother and said, "You were right. It has really happened. I've done it. I've had a rebirth. I'm a new man. Christ has turned it around for me."
Well, the man is still prone to anxiety. He still has to work hard. But, now he has a source of strength. During the week, he often leaves his work-desk and goes to the church near his office. He sits there and prays. He says: "It clears my head. It reminds me of who I am and whose I am. Each time as I sit there in the Sanctuary, I think back to that day in that hotel room in Canada and how depressed and lonely and lost I felt and I hear that voice saying: It doesn't have to be that way.'"
That is precisely what this story is all about. Christ walks into the tormented life of the Gerasene demoniac, this madman, whose life is coming apart at the seams and He turns it around for him.
Now, let me underscore this and spell it out a bit more by lifting three ideas out of this great story...
1. You Don't Have to Be at War with Yourself.
2. You Don't Have to Be at War with Other People.
3. You Don't Have to Be at War with God.
Sermon Opener #2 - From Haunted to Healed
The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com.
Sign up today HERE. Or call: 1-813-808-1681.
Members: Please see Luke 8 for the sermon titled "From Haunted to Healed"
Wild or domesticated? Barbaric or civilized?
Let’s face it, in the face of extreme trauma, stress, or mental illness, even the most civilized person may appear utterly disheveled –physically, mentally, and spiritually.
I’ve seen people suffering from a deep sense of grief avoid washing their hair, avoid their friends, or even lash out in anger at those who try to comfort them.
I’ve seen people suffering from illnesses of the brain act in strange and unusual ways. During my time as a hospice chaplain, I entered the room of one particular older woman, who suffered from dementia. The moment I started to speak with her, she picked up a large cup of water from her tray and threw it at me with all of her might, dousing me with water and missing my head by an inch with the cup. I later learned that because she had a penchant for throwing water on anyone who dared enter her room, the staff would only allow her plasticware.
I’ve heard from many caregivers the lament that their formerly docile and sweet partners had turned angry and aloof after their Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Other kinds of mental illnesses can render people hostile, confused, or self-injurious when left untreated. Paranoia can cause people to self-isolate or become accusatory. Many of those with schizophrenia end up homeless on the streets due to their penchant for running from family and friends.
On top of all that, we really have no idea often where the lines of mental anguish end and acts of evil begin in those diagnosed with sociopathic and narcissistic disorders.
After years of research, we still no very little about the workings of the human brain.
What we do know for sure though is that we human beings are complex individuals –part “wild” and part “civilized.” We can act instinctively and impulsively at times …and we can act with reason and intention in others. Our nature relies on an intricate balance of our emotions and our reason.
Even the most happy individual however....
Illustrations for Luke 8:26-39
Regardless of the Cost?
There's a vast difference between intellectual faith and genuine faith. In the late 1890's, a famous tightrope walker strung a wire across Niagara Falls. As 10,000 people watched, he inched his way along the wire from one side of the falls to the other.
When he got to the other side, the crowd cheered wildly. Finally, the tightrope walker was able to quiet the crowd and shouted to them, 'Do you believe in me?'. The crowd shouted back, 'We believe! We believe!'.
Again he quieted the crowd and shouted to them, 'I'm going back across the tightrope but this time I'm going to carry someone on my back. Do you believe I can do that?'. The crowd yelled back, 'We believe! We believe!'. He quieted the crowd one more time and then asked them, 'Who will be that person?'.
The crowd suddenly became silent. Not a single person was willing to apply the very truth that they professed to believe in that the tightrope walker could cross the falls with a person on his back.
We may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but does our faith surpass the faith of demons? Are we willing trust our lives with Jesus? Are we willing to follow Him regardless of the cost?
Bryn MacPhail, Surpassing the Faith of Demons
My Real Problem Is That I Don't Like Myself
Some time ago, a young lawyer came to see his pastor. He was down in the dumps, at his wit’s end. He said: “Everything’s gone wrong. I have lost confidence in my professional ability... my wife has left me. I can’t get along with my children. I’m cut off from my parents and my in-laws. I’m having conflicts with my co-workers. I’ve been drinking heavily. Everybody has left me... and I don’t blame them. I’ve been bitter and hostile. I’ve done so many mean and cruel things... and now I have so many problems (and then he literally said this).... “My troubles are Legion!”
He paused and took a deep breath. Then, he leaned forward and said: “To tell you the truth, I think all those problems and troubles are symptoms. My real problem is that I don’t like myself… and that taints everything I touch and do.”
Well, he was probably right. When you are at war with yourself, it smudges and distorts every relationship. On the other hand, when we feel good about ourselves, we are more loving, more patient, more thoughtful, more gracious... toward everyone we see.
James W. Moore, Collected Sermons, www.eSermons.com
Speaking to Our Day
Does the story of the Gerasene demoniac speak to OUR day as it did its own? Absolutely! To the church which battles the demons of social evil, the message is there is hope in Jesus. To individuals for whom there is an everyday battle ongoing with the demon of depression, the message is there is hope in Jesus. To those who battle the demon of fear, the message is there is hope in Jesus. Those who fight the demon of addiction, the message is there is hope in Jesus. And to those who have so many battles going on against so many demons that their name is LEGION, the message is there is hope in Jesus.
David E. Leininger, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
Battle Hymn of the Reformation
Martin Luther, believed in demons but he believed in God more. In that great Hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" he writes:
And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That hymn, first published in 1529, has been called "the greatest hymn of the greatest man of the greatest period of German history." It has also been dubbed the "Battle Hymn of the Reformation" and with good reason. The Reformation touched off one of the most influential movements in world history. But before this famous Battle Hymn could be written....
For the rest of this illustration and many additional illustrations, sermons, and commentary for this Sunday and every week of the year, login at www.Sermons.com.
Children's Sermon: Big Rocks
Props: (a description of all props needed for this children's sermon is available with a subscription)
Lesson Preview: Okay, time for a quiz. Put the one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar in the middle of them. Carefully place the dozen fist-sized rocks, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar is full and no more rocks will fit inside: Is this jar full? (yes) Really? As you dump in the gravel, shake the jar causing the pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.
There we go! Is the jar full? (response) If some say, "No," say, Good! If all say, "Yes," say, Really? Bring out the container of sand. Pour the sand in between the cracks; fill the jar so that all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel are filled. Some shaking may be required. Ask the question once more, Is this jar full? (no) You hope they are onto you now and will answer negatively Good! With the pitcher of water, fill the jar to the brim. Now is it full? (no) Yes, it is! It is now full. What is the point of this illustration? (response) Give them time and several attempts at the answer.
Here is the actual point of the illustration: What this teaches us is...
The full version of this children's sermon, and many additional resources and activities to engage children can be accessed at www.Sermons.com. Just click Children's Sermons or Children's Bulletins from the drop-down menu to search our library.
Please visit https://www.Sermons.com/signup to subscribe to our library of resources.
To contact us, please call or text 813-808-1681, or email support@sermons.com.