[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for January 13 - Part 1

[Joe Parrish]

Sermons for the Baptism of Our Lord 
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22  – “Have You Got a Prayer?” 
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22  – “Pet Peeves and Pet Pleasures” by Leonard Sweet
 


 
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Luke 3, the sermon title “Have You Got a Prayer?”  
 
In the season of Epiphany we look at those special events in Jesus' life where his presence was especially manifested with power. Jesus' baptism is one of those epiphanies. You heard Luke's version read this morning. The Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased." In newer translations, which are thought to be more accurate, the adjective "beloved" is made a separate phrase to emphasize the intensity of the personal nature of this experience. "You are my Son. My beloved. In thee I am well pleased." 
 
That is Luke's version. All four gospels portray this scene. But Luke's version is a little different than the others. In each version, though, the Spirit descends "like a dove." The Holy Spirit is not a bird. Luke and the other apostles use the dove as a metaphor for the Spirit's coming into our lives. It is a beautiful metaphor. Have you ever seen a dove descend and land? It is graceful, gentle, and quiet. That's the point being made. That is the way the Holy Spirit will enter into our lives. The Holy Spirit came to Jesus gently, quietly, and in Luke's version, privately. 
 
That is why Luke is different than the other three gospels. The other writers imply that the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism, apparently when he was still in the water. That is the way this scene is often portrayed in religious art, especially those beautiful paintings out of the Middle Ages. Jesus, standing waist deep in water. John the Baptist standing next to him, pointing at Jesus, as if to say, "This is the one!" or, in the words of the Gospel of John, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!" Above Jesus' head in these scenes is the Spirit, as a dove, descending. It is like the symbol that is in the baptismal font here, a nimbus around the Holy Spirit as he hovers above Jesus' head. 
 
That's the way all the other gospels picture it. But Luke is different…
 
The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining http://www.sermons.com/signup 
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Luke 3, the sermon titled “Pet Peeves and Pet Pleasures” by Leonard Sweet  
 
The weather is always a good source for small talk. In these dark and dreary days of January, that “small talk” is probably even smaller — meaner and more morose. Whether it’s chatting at the check-out stand with a cashier, or making conversation in the cramped quarters of a slow moving elevator, this time of year “weather talk” isn’t likely to be upbeat. 
 
“I hate the snow!” 
“Don’t’ you just love what the salt does to your shoes, your car, your clothes?” 
“Tornado warnings in January? Really!!” 
“It’s dark when I go out in the morning and dark when I get home after work. I haven’t seen daylight in weeks!” 
“Why does every parking spot come equipped with its own giant puddle?” 
 
Everyday grouses of everyday glitches. But they give our casual conversations and interactions a kind of “survivor” camaraderie. Verbalizing all our gripes might bind us together. But it doesn’t lift us up. We’re still all stuck in the same dreary day.
 
I’m going to guess that every one of you here this morning has a pet peeve. [You might want to make this an interactive moment, revealing one of your pet peeves and then asking for theirs. For example, one of my pet peeves is rudeness. Why are People So Rude? Why can’t people be gracious and kind to one another? Here are some of my pet peeves of rudeness . . . In a store, the checkout people don’t talk to you because they’re talking to one another. When you hold the door open for someone, and they blast by you, and don’t even look at you, forget about saying “thank you.” The use of offensive, crude language in public does to me what a red rag does to a bull. Rude cell phone usage . . . Why can’t people “Set Your Phasers on Stun!” . . . Sometimes I want to go up to people who are nice to each other and congratulate them for NOT being  rude. .. .. See how easy it is to go on and on with “pet peeves?”]
 
Why is it so easy to talk, tweet, or text all of our favorite “pet peeves” of the day, and not so easy to pay attention to and pass on those things that bring the gift of joy to a mundane moment in each day?...
 
The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining http://www.sermons.com/signup 
 
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Meaning of Baptism
 
Those who are baptized in Jesus do not need to strive after a new life. They have already attained new life through dying with Christ. But they do need to nurture that new life so it can grow and mature. That's what church is for. That's what Bible study is for. That's what prayer is for. It is like the Parable of the Sower. Many of those seeds sprouted up, but only a few grew into maturity. The rest withered and died.
 
A wealthy businessman was horrified to see a fisherman sitting beside his boat, playing with a small child.
 
"Why aren't you out fishing?" asked the businessman.
"Because I caught enough fish for one day, "replied the fisherman.
"Why don't you catch some more?"
"What would I do with them?"
"You could earn more money," said the businessman. "Then with the extra money, you could buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters, and catch more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. With the nets, you could catch even more fish and make more money. With that money you could own two boats, maybe three boats. Eventually you could have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me."
"Then what would I do?" asked the fisherman.
"Then," said the businessman, "you could really enjoy life."
The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and asked, "What do you think I am doing now?"
 
The baptism of Jesus is dying to our self-centered endeavors and being resurrected into a life marked by grace and love. When we live in the baptism of Jesus, we touch the hearts of others and help open them to the Holy Spirit and new life in Christ. Are you living and growing in the new life you have been given?
 
Paul Peterson, The Waters of Death.
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Washed Away in a New Beginning
 
Some of you may have seen the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou. This is a whimsical retelling of Homer’s Odyssey set in 1930s Mississippi. Three hapless escaped convicts--Everett, Pete and Delmar--are hiding out in the woods, running from the law. There they encounter a procession of white-robed people going down to the lake to be baptized. As they move toward the water they sing, “Let’s go down to the river and pray.” As the baptism ceremony begins, Delmar is overwhelmed by the beauty and the mystery of this rite. He runs into the water and is baptized by the minister. As he returns to his companions, he declares that he is now saved and “neither God nor man’s got nothing on me now.” He explains that the minister has told him that all his sins have been washed away. Even, he says, when he stole the pig for which he’d been convicted. “But y ou saidyou were innocent of that,” one of his fellow convicts exclaims. 

“I lied,” he says, “and that’s been washed away too!” 

Later the three convicts steal a hot pie from a window sill. The one who felt that his sins had been washed away returns and places a dollar bill on the window sill. 
 
Delmar wasn’t made perfect by his baptism any more than any of the rest of us are made perfect by our baptism. But he was conscious that it was time for him to make a new beginning. That is why in understanding baptism we begin with the washing away of our sins. 
 
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com, quoting O Brother, Where Art Thou, by Joel and Ethan Coen 
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