[Propertalk] Fw: SermonWriter: Nov. 22 (Reign of Christ B) John 18:33-37

[Joe Parrish]

The following are SermonWriter materials for Nov. 22 (Reign of Christ B).
They focus on John 18:33-37, where Pilate asks Jesus, "Are you the King of
the Jews?"


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Dick Donovan


A THOUGHT ON PREACHING:  "I've heard a lot of sermons in the past ten years
or so that make me want to get up and walk out.  They're secular,
psychological, self-help sermons.  Friendly, but of no use.  They didn't
make you straighten up.  They didn't give you anything hard.... At some
point and in some way, a sermon has to direct people toward the death of
Christ and the campaign that God was waged over the centuries to get our
attention." Garrison Keillor


TITLE:  A Life Worth Living


SERMON IN A SENTENCE:  When you make Christ the King of your life, he won't
promise to make you rich -- but he will give you a life worth living.


SCRIPTURE:  John 18:33-37

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SERMON:

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 In the U.S., we claim not to have a king, but in fact we have lots of them:

- NBC has a show entitled Kings.
- We have a basketball team called the Sacramento Kings.
- And a hockey team called the L.A. Kings.
- There are several Kings Colleges scattered around the country.
- Seattle is located in Kings County on the west coast.
- And so is Brooklyn on the east coast.
- Brooklyn's sister county is called Queens County --or just Queens.
- One of our favorite fast food chains is known as Burger King.

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Louis Evans was the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood -- a
large, dynamic congregation.  One of his church members was a surgeon who
experienced a call to the mission field.  After struggling with his
decision, he resigned his practice and went to Korea to establish a medical
clinic there.  In those days, Korea was still quite a primitive place, so it
was a considerable sacrifice.

When Pastor Evans was traveling in the Far East, he stopped to visit his
surgeon friend.  He observed as the good doctor prepared to operate on a
little girl.  After three hours in the makeshift operating room, the surgeon
stepped out and announced that the little girl would be OK.

Pastor Evans asked, "How much would you have received for that operation
back in the States?"  The surgeon answered, "Oh, $500 to $750 is the going
rate, I guess."  Keep in mind that this was many years ago, when most people
would have considered $500 a good monthly wage.

Pastor Evans asked, "How much for this one?"  The surgeon answered, "Oh, a
few cents-a few cents and the smile of God."

And then he put his hand on Pastor Evans' shoulder and added, "But man, this
is living!"

When you make Christ the King of your life, he won't promise to make you
rich -- but he will give you a life worth living.  Amen.


FOR MORE SERMONS ON THIS TEXT, GO TO:

http://www.lectionary.org/SermLinks/NT/NT04_John.htm

Scroll down to John 18.  There are two sermons on this text posted there.



THOUGHT PROVOKERS:

We find the Kingdom of God with Jesus
when we enter into community with the poor,
the sick, the sorrowing, and the guilty,
recognizing them as fellow members of the Kingdom....
If we want to speak in a Christian manner
of the kingdom of God and his lordship,
then we must look to Jesus alone and not to ourselves,
to his history and not to our own.

Jurgen Moltmann, Hope for the Church

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Wherever God rules over the human heart as King,
there is the Kingdom of God established.

Paul W. Harrison

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Kings and kingdoms all pass away --
Nothing on earth endures.
But the love of God who sent His son
Is forever and ever yours.

Helen Steiner Rice, "I Do Not Go Alone"

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Greatness in the kingdom of God
is measured in terms of obedience.

John Stott in Authentic Christianity

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To want all that God wants,
always to want it,
for all occasions and without reservations,
this is the Kingdom of God which is all within.

Francois Fenelon

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

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HYMN STORY:  Rejoice, the Lord is King

Charles Wesley found the inspiration to write this hymn in Paul's admonition
to the church at Philippi, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say,
Rejoice" (Philippians 4:4).

Paul was an unlikely candidate for rejoicing, because his life as a
Christian was difficult.  As he went about spreading the gospel, people did
all sorts of things to try to stop him.  They beat him.  On five occasions
he suffered the forty lashes that had the potential to kill a man.  People
stoned him and left him for dead.  He was in a shipwreck (see 2 Corinthians
11:23-28).  But he knew what Jesus had to offer people, and he felt happy
that God had chosen him to tell others about Jesus.  Paul was a joyful
Christian, and he encouraged other Christians to be joyful too.

Charles Wesley and his brother, John, were also unlikely candidates for
rejoicing.  Their lives were hard, too.  As they went about spreading the
gospel they encountered violent opposition too.  On one occasion, a mob
nearly destroyed the house where they were staying and drove their horses
into a pond.  The people whom they converted were often harassed and
persecuted.  But they found great joy in serving Christ and called other
Christians to do the same.  Charles Wesley wrote these joyful words,
"Rejoice, the Lord is King! Your Lord and King adore" -- words that came out
of his joyful life.

There will be times when we, too, will be unlikely candidates for rejoicing.
Most of us at some time will experience hardships -- that's just part of
life. But we can decide whether we want to be crabby Christians or joyful
Christians -- we have that choice.  If we choose to be joyful in spite of
our problems, we will find that joy is its own blessing -- that we can be
happy in spite of difficulties.  We will also find that our joy is a
blessing to others as well, because genuine joy spreads joy.

An old Sunday school song said, "Brighten the corner where you are!"  If we
choose to be joyful Christians, we will do that -- we will brighten the
corner where we are.  Then we will not only live in the light, but we will
also find ourselves bringing light to the lives of other people as well.

NOTE:  See other hymn stories at http://www.lectionary.org/hymnstories.htm


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