Sermon Illustrations
Illustrations Vol. 16
By Rev. Jeff Dixon, Senior Equipping Minister, Covenant Community Church
Jun 22, 2005, 11:22

Illustrations Vol. 16

Here we go again with a few more illustrations to inspire, encourage, and illustrate. These are helpful for both individiual study and public speaking...

Friends in Low Places

Several years ago the country-western singer Garth Brooks had a hit song titled "I've Got Friends In Low Places." It's the story of a young man whose girlfriend has dumped him to marry an older and wealthier man. The young man shows up at her wedding, but he doesn't have the right clothes or behavior and so he stomps off in anger to join his hard-living friends, telling her, "I've got friends in low places, where the whiskey flows and the beer chases the blues away." Raucous words, but set to a powerful melody. I've often thought as I've listened to the song on the radio that with a slight change these words could apply to God-in-Christ: "He's got friends in low places."

Perhaps even, "He's got friends in low places, where the mercy flows and the free grace is for you and me."

When the Invitation Comes

You never know where the invitation will come. Abraham was sitting at home. Moses was out in the wilderness. Isaiah was in a worship service.  Matthew was at work. The woman caught in adultery was, well, caught in adultery and about to be stoned. I would call that a crisis, wouldn't you? 

But it doesn't matter where you are or in what situation; God will find you. As the psalmist suggests:

Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall
lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast (Psalm 139:7-10).

Dr. Larry Bethune, “Join the Journey”


Matthew’s Loss and Gain

When Matthew made the decision to follow Christ he lost a great deal but William Barclay recognizes what he gained. He says:

He lost a comfortable job, but he found a destiny. He lost a good income, but he found honor. He lost a comfortable security, but he found an adventure the like of which he had never dreamed. It may be that if we accept the challenge of Christ, we shall find ourselves poorer in material things. It may be that the worldly ambitions will have to go. But beyond doubt we will find a peace and a joy and a thrill in life that we never knew before. In Jesus Christ a man finds a wealth beyond anything that he may have to abandon for the sake of Christ.



The Ministry in Interruptions

So often we claim we don’t have time to be to be merciful and help others.
Think about the call of Matthew (I'm paraphrasing) Ministry is what happens in the interruptions. In this story we see several examples of the types of things that can happen through interruptions.

a. Matthew at work, interrupted by Jesus.
b. Jesus teaching, interrupted by Jairus.
c. Jesus going to Jairus' home, interrupted by the woman.

You and I would probably go home very frustrated by this day of
interruptions! "I couldn't get a THING done today!", we would explode to our spouse.

Let us pray that God would open our eyes, ears, hands and hearts to such interruptions in which he provides us opportunities to give mercy and love to those who so desperately need it!

Rev. Philip Hopwood, Sermon: “I Desire Mercy Not Sacrifice”



The Special Olympic Race

John Beck used to be a football star for the University of Kentucky. Later on he became a preacher and was named as Chaplain of the U.S. Olympic Teams.
For a number of years he traveled with our Olympic Teams all over the world, leading in their devotions, counseling & praying with many of the athletes.

As he watched these young men and women train for the events in which they competed, he decided that this was a picture of what Christianity really ought to be. Here were people who were sincere and fervent and dedicated to the task before them. They were willing to pay any price, regardless of how much suffering or pain they had to endure. They were willing to pay any price to be number one, to win.

Then one day John Beck was invited to visit the Special Olympics. Special Olympics, as you know, are made up of special athletes. All of them suffer from some kind of mental or physical impairment.  He watched them as eight runners lined up for the 100-yard dash. They all took off when the starting gun fired, and he was amazed at how good they actually were. But as they reached halfway in the race, one of the boys fell down, skinned his knee on the track, and started to cry.
He said that what happened next was both beautiful and amazing. All seven of the other runners stopped, and all seven of them turned around and went to the boy who had fallen. Together they helped him to his feet. And the eight walked to the finish line together. Beck said that he then realized that he had seen the true meaning of Christianity, not in the Olympics, but in the Special Olympics.

Our highly competitive world seems always to be saying that the only thing that counts is “Number One.” I understand and appreciate the need for excellence, to be number one. But I know a better way. Will you pay the price to pick up the fallen?

Various sources

Tax Collectors of the Roman World

In the days of Jesus tax collectors deserved the scorn of the people because often they abused their position. Here is how William Barclay describes the business of the tax collector in the Roman world:

‘The problem of the Roman government was to devise a system whereby the taxes could be collected as efficiently and as cheaply as possible. They had done so by auctioning the right to collect taxes in a certain area. A man bought the right to collect the taxes within a certain district; he was responsible to the Roman government for an agreed sum; anything he could raise over and above that he was allowed to keep as commission. Obviously this system lent itself to grave abuses. People did not really know how much they ought to pay in the days before newspapers and wireless announcements and the widespread diffusion of news; nor had they any right of appeal against the tax-collector. The consequence was that many a tax-collector
became a wealthy man through his illegal extortion…

These tax-gatherers were universally hated. They had entered the service of their country’s conquerors, and they amassed their fortunes at the expense of their country’s misfortunes…They were notoriously dishonest. Not only did they fleece their own countrymen, but they also did their best to swindle the government, and they made a flourishing income by taking bribes from rich people who wished to avoid taxes which they should have paid. Every country hates its tax-gatherers, but the hatred of the Jews for them was doubly violent. The Jews were fanatical nationalists. But what roused the Jews more than anything else was their religious conviction that God alone was king, and that to pay any taxes to any mortal ruler was an infringement
of God’s rights and an insult to His majesty. By Jewish law a tax-gatherer was debarred from the synagogue; he was included with things and beasts unclean, and Leviticus 20:5 was applied to him; he was forbidden to be a witness in any case; "robbers, murderers and tax-gatherers" were classed together. When Jesus called Matthew, He called a man whom all men hated.’

Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com, June 2005. Adapted from William Barclay

Our Deepest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. "It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. "We ask ourselves: 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?' "Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a child of God."

Nelson Mandela


Learning Mercy

Some of us can learn mercy by reading about it in the Bible. Many more of us, however, learn mercy by taking the plunge and doing it.

Such was the case with Sister Helen Prejean. Her story is told in the book Dead Man Walking, which recently came out in film. Sister Helen hears one day of a correspondence program with prisoners on death row. She decides to participate and begins writing, even though she's been told not to expect to hear anything in return. Much to her surprise, though, one of the prisoners does respond and catches her completely off guard by asking her to be his spiritual guide. Apparently his execution date was fast approaching, and he wanted some representative of God to be there for support over the next several weeks.

Sister Helen hesitates. It is one thing to do charity long distance. It is
quite another thing to do mercy face to face with a convicted murderer. Gary had been sentenced to death by lethal injection for participating in the brutal rape of a young woman and the subsequent murder of both her and her finance. Sister Helen recoils at the very thought of meeting this rapist and murderer, let alone ministering to him. But a voice deep inside of her tells her she must go. So she does.  The first several meetings are difficult.

Gary comes across a whole lot more cocky and arrogant in person than he did in his letters. He refuses to admit his guilt and insists that he is the innocent victim of a corrupt legal system.

To make matters worse, Sister Helen is despised and publicly vilified by the victims' parents for even spending time with Gary. How could she, a deeply religious nun, befriend this cold-blooded murderer! They are horrified and let her know that every time they see her.  And yet, despite these difficult barriers, Sister Helen risks her name, her reputation, her own safety, to reach across them and embrace Gary with the love of God. And the more she perseveres in loving him, the more his defenses begin to crumble. Finally on the night before his execution, Gary confesses to his crime and asks for God's forgiveness. In a flood of tears, he thanks Sister Helen for all her love and support. He then tries to send her home, insisting that her work with him is done and that he is now ready to meet his Maker.

"No, that's okay," she responds. "I'll stay through the execution."
"But why?" Gary wants to know. "I'm only getting what I deserve."
"Because," she replies, "the last face I want you to see before you die is not one of hatred and vengeance, but one of love and mercy."

The next morning, Gary is strapped into place while Sister Helen and the victims' parents watch through the window of an adjacent room. Within a matter of minutes, the last lethal dose is injected and Gary is pronounced dead. Most of the by-standers breathe a sigh of relief. Some even begin to applaud. But Sister Helen alone stands there — with arms reaching out to Gary and a look of pure mercy on her face.

Some of us learn mercy by reading about it in our Bibles. But most of us, like Sister Helen Prejean, learn mercy by just doing it to those who least deserve it — to those who are unclean, who are despised and rejected by society.

Rev. J. Scott Miller, “Learning Mercy . . . Doing Mercy”

What Do You Want to Know?

People have been choosing up sides since the Garden of Eden.  The movie, "October Sky," illustrates this. Homer Hickam, a West Virginia high school student was faced with an important decision. Homer was part of a small group of friends. They weren't jocks or rich kids, but they knew what it meant when you associated with the wrong kid, especially John, that red-haired pimply-faced nerd that no one ever sat with at lunch. One day, Homer learned that weird John knew a lot about rockets. More than anything else, Homer Hickam wanted to learn rocketry, and now he was faced with a dilemma - would he follow his interest and publicly talk to John? Or would he do what all the others expected, and avoid John like a plague?

The scene is the lunchroom with Homer is walking over to see John at another table. His friends are saying, "No, no, don't do it - don't talk to him -- no one will ever talk to you again!" But Homer went anyway. "What do you want?" asked John. "I hear you know about rockets," said Homer. "Well, what you do want to know about them?" And thus began a friendship that would result in the Rocket Boys, a gang of four adventuresome guys who brought brief glory to the sleepy town of Coalwood, and the start of a distinguished career in aeronautics for Homer Hickam.

This incident begs a question - what if Homer had followed his friends'
advice and avoided John? What if Homer never had the courage to speak to this brilliant boy, this boy the others called a "loser"? What would Homer - and the world - have lost if he had followed social order and stayed within his own circle of friends?

I can here Matthew, Peter, James, John, and Paul as they walk up to Jesus, I hear you know a lot about God.” What do you want to know?  What would the world have lost if these men had decided not to listen to their friends?