[Propertalk] Gospel sermon tips - Luke 13:31-5 Part 1

[Joe Parrish]

And still God comes, still God invites, still God seeks us, longs for us, weeps for us, wants us to come home. It is simply the heart and character of God to do these things, for God to long to gather us as a hen gathers her chicks, as a mother holds her own beloved children. God invites us to that embrace.

http://day1.org/1032-god_longs_for_us

James B. Lemler
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There are many fables about foxes. Just check a search engine on the internet. In almost all of them, the fox is wily, deceitful, seeking to be in charge. His method of control involves strategies and power plays. He's in it for himself. He wants to get something in his chops. In one version, he runs in circles around the hen house until the hen gets dizzy watching him and falls to the ground, only to be thrown in a sack by the fox. However, when the hen revives, she replaces her weight in the sack with a rock, and the fox goes home with unsuspected booty. Foxes are often devious, yet dumb. 

http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/predigt.php?id=69

David Zersen
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What a wonder this is! It all seems to be such a setting of weakness with the fox pursuing the helpless chick and devouring it, filling the tomb of his belly with the little defenseless chick!  Ah, but that little chick proved to be indigestible in the tomb of that belly, for the wolf had to give it up again in three days! 
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So suddenly, in a most unexpected way, the fox, the old satanic foe who appeared as Herod and Pilate, is now held prisoner among those whom he sought to destroy. He is not annihilated, to be sure, but he is collared and leashed in the very yard that he sought to terrorize. The chicks are free to come and go now, so long as they remain at a safe distance from the snarling fox tied to his tree. 

http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/predigt.php?id=70

Hubert Beck
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This past week, police officer Steven Underwood was shot and killed up on Highway 99. Steve was a fine young man, a loving husband and father, a good son. He was a consummate police officer and the many stories that I heard this past week about his life told of what a fine policeman he was. We grieve for his family. His father, Dick, is a member of our congregation. We, the whole community of Des Moines, reach out to his family, his wife and son with love and support. As a community, we are still stunned and are still in shock. Earlier this morning, the whole family attended our previous worship service. They came to grieve and pray.
As we all know in this sleepy little community called Des Moines, two days Officer Underwood was killed, the police discovered four bodies of people who had been murdered in one house. A grandfather, a grandmother, a grandson, and his girlfriend. We thought that these things didn't happen in our little town. The grandson who was murdered attended confirmation classes here at Grace years ago; his mother also had come to our parish. (2001)
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Dr. James Gilligan has a fascinating book and study. The title of his book is VIOLENCE and the subtitle is: A RISING NATIONAL EPIDEMIC. Dr. Gilligan works at the Center for the Study of Violence and that center is located at Harvard University. Dr. Gilligan's primary thesis is that our culture has become addicted to violence. Just as individuals can become addicted to heroine or cocaine, so also cultures also can become addicted. He cites the evidence that among the industrialized democracies of the world, the Unites States has two to twenty more times the rate of violence than these other advanced nations. He asks the question: Why? What is America so violent? His answer: we have become addicted to violence. And what is the first reaction to an addict on being confronted with his or her addiction: denial. "That's not me. That's somebody else." 
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Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and a world addicted to violence as a means of solving conflicts:  
http://www.picturesofjesus4you.com/images/oh_jerusalem.jpg

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_violence_a_rising_national_epidemic.htm

Edward F. Markquart
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Try this exercise when you have the opportunity to take some quiet time. Ask, "What is the driving force of my life?" Don't prejudge or even think too much about what emerges in your mind. Simply let it come and write it down. If the driving force of your life is something you wouldn't want to tell anyone else about, that's okay. You don't have to turn this sheet in to anybody. When you get the driving force of your life, what is the second most powerful force in your life? And third... keep going until there are no more answers? 
When you have exhausted the list, ask, "What do I wish was the driving force of my life?" Keep the two lists in mind and simply keep it in your heart during your times of daily conscious contact with God. Trust me... it will make an impact!

http://www.lectionarysermons.com/zun2l.html

John Jewell, 1998
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