[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for March 17 - Part 1

Tue Mar 12 23:04:59 EDT 2013

Lent 5

March 17, 2013

Sermons for Lent 5

John 12:1-11- "It's OK to Be Extravagant" 
John 12:1-11 - "Be a Bethany" by Leonard Sweet

John 12:1-11, the sermon title "It's Ok to Be Extravagant" 

A few years ago there was a true story about a man in New York City who was kidnapped. His kidnappers called his wife and asked for $100,000 ransom. She talked them down to $30,000.

The story had a happy ending: the man returned home unharmed, the money was recovered, and the kidnappers were caught and sent to jail. But, don't you wonder what happened when the man got home and found that his wife got him back for a discount? Calvin Trillin was the writer of this story. He imagined out loud what the negotiations must have been like: "$100,000 for that old guy? You have got to be crazy. Just look at him! Look at that gut! You want $100,000 for that? You've got to be kidding. Give me a break here. $30,000 is my top offer."

Mark Trotter concluded his rendition of the story with this thoughtful comment: "I suppose there are some here this morning who can identify with the wife in that story, but for some reason I find myself identifying with the husband. I'd like to think if I were in a similar situation, there would be people who would spare no expense to get me back. They wouldn't haggle over the price. They wouldn't say, 'Well, let me think about it.' I like to think that they would say, 'We'll do anything for you.'"

The point of that story is this: sometimes it's O.K. to be extravagant! Now, that is precisely what this story in the Gospel is all about. Remember the story with me...

The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining http://www.sermons.com/signup 

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John 12, the sermon titled "Be a Bethany" by Leonard Sweet   

We never truly appreciate "home-grown," or "home-style"," "home-spun" or "down home" until "home" is in our rear view mirror. For college students, Mom's meatloaf suddenly take on a whole new luster after a semester of college cafeteria food. A burger from McDonald's, a Pizza Hut pie, or some KFC, tastes like heaven after an extended tour of duty in Afghanistan. It is the simple tastes, the simple things, the most simple and most familiar people, that make a particular place on this planet "home."

According to the gospels, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, spent a few years in Egypt, then relocated to Nazareth. Once Jesus began preaching and teaching he was constantly on the road. His very own "home-town" threatened to throw him off a cliff for his words of wisdom. Not surprisingly, Jesus stayed away from Nazareth and spent time in other regions - Capernaeum, Samaria, Jerusalem, the outer regions of Galilee. While "foxes had their dens," Jesus really had no place to rest his head, no "home land." 

Except. Jesus had one special place he liked to go when he wanted the companionship of friends and the absence of crowds. When Jesus wanted to be alone to pray and communicate with the Father he sought out the wilderness. When Jesus felt the need to be among his closest friends and earthly companions, he traveled to Bethany. Frank Viola calls Bethany "Jesus' favorite place on Earth." 

A scant two miles outside of Jerusalem, Bethany was still far enough away to be "far enough away." Jesus' best friends - Lazarus, Martha, Mary - kept their home open for him and for his disciples, always welcoming, always open armed. Bethany was not where Jesus went to preach or preside. Bethany was where Jesus went to hang out with his "buddies"...

The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining http://www.sermons.com/signup 

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Intentional Acts of True Devotion

IATDs - that's what this passage is all about. People were becoming more and more devoted to Jesus and they were expressing it openly in ever increasing ways. They even started doing IATDs - Intentional Acts of True Devotion.

Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave and he came out struggling in the bondage of his grave clothing. But he came out, he had new life! Jesus had power even over death! The result was IATDs! People started following Jesus. Not only did they start following him, they become devoted to him, and their devotion was radical! Those who saw this resurrection put their faith in Jesus. The sense of the Greek in verse 45 is that people without reservation, without growing into it, at this one miracle put all their faith in him.

And it showed in IATDs. At one time the Jews had been devoted to the Pharisees and the law. Now in wholesale crowds they were turning to Jesus, becoming devoted to him, radically devoted to him with the kind of devotion that is dangerous:

"He'll upset the applecart! We can't have that around here! We'll lose our place and our power!" That was the thinking of the Pharisees, so they plotted to take Jesus life. We often think it was Jesus who got himself in trouble with the Pharisees, but the Pharisees wouldn't have cared a bit if he didn't have these followers with their IATDs. Their IATDs got him in trouble, too.

Intentional Acts of True Devotion - they're powerful, they're dangerous, and they mark the lives of those who put their faith in Jesus. 

Bill Versteeg, Intentional Acts of True Devotion
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Gratitude

Pastor Victor Shepherd tells the story of a missionary surgeon he met who was rather gruff and to the point. On one occasion the surgeon was speaking to a small group of university students about his work in the Gaza Strip. He was telling us that we North American "fat cats" knew nothing about gratitude. Nothing! On one occasion he had stopped a peasant hovel to see a woman on whom he had performed surgery. She and her husband were dirt poor. Their livestock supply consisted of one Angora rabbit and two chickens. For income the woman combed the hair out of the rabbit, spun the hair into yarn and sold it. For food she and her husband ate the eggs from the chickens. The woman insisted that the missionary surgeon stay for lunch. He accepted the invitation and said he would be back for lunch after he had gone down the road to see another postoperative patient. An hour and a half later he was back. He peeked into the cooking pot to see what he was going to eat. He saw one rabbit and two chickens. The woman had given up her entire livestock supply--her income, her food, everything. He concluded his story by reminding us that we knew nothing of gratitude. He wept unashamedly. The incident will stay with me forever.

There is another incident concerning gratitude that will never be forgotten. It's about a woman who poured costly perfume over our Lord as she wiped his feet with her hair. Make no mistake--the perfume was expensive, three hundred denarii, a year's income for a laborer in Palestine. 

Enough to keep a family alive for twelve months.

Victor Shepherd, Preacher's Annual 1992, Nashville: Abingdon p. 122.
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