illustrations
sermon illustrations
Community VOLUME 1
Auschwitz Grace makes free Auschwitz is a former Nazi concentration camp located in the nation of Poland. It was at this camp, during World War II, that the Nazis murdered and housed countless Jews from all over Europe. It is estimated that between Auschwitz and its joint camp of Birkenau, over one million Jews were gassed to death during the Holocaust. On the metal gate in front of the entrance to Auschwitz, are the German words “Arbeit macht frei” (pronounced ARE-BIT-MOCKED-FRY), which means in English, “Work will make you free.” The Nazis had erected the sign to convince the Jews into believing that if they worked hard enough they would be set free. As a result, many of the captives bought into this slogan. Countless Jews literally broke their backs trying to impress the Nazi soldiers and, in turn, buy their freedom. Sometimes as followers of Christ, it’s easy to fall into this same lie. “Work will make you free.” We base our salvation, our relationship with God, and our freedom from the sins that weigh down our life, on our behavior. Many of us think that if we can just do all the right things, if we can just work hard enough, then we can earn God’s grace.
Jury Duty Obedience as honor to God Houston is getting more people to show up to jury duty by focusing on the positives, not the negatives. “The percentage of people who appear for jury service after receiving notices has risen to 34 percent from 30 percent in 2010, which the District Clerk’s Office attributes in part to its ongoing campaign.” Source: http://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/?p=48037 Application: When we focus less on obedience as a way to get out of punishment, and more as a way to honor God, righteous living becomes easier and more fulfilling.
Forgiving a Murderer We receive forgiveness, we give forgiveness The father of a murder victim forgives the man who killed his child. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIkywrKVWAo Application: We should give grace to others, even when it hurts.
Humility “The humble are in and the proud are out.” Pastor Timothy Keller says “The Gospel is not religion or irreligion. It’s not morality or immorality. It’s a radically different approach. The moralistic grid divides the world into the good people and the bad people. The good are in and the bad are out. And the relativistic grid divides the world into the open-minded people and the bigots. The open-minded people are in and the bigots are out. But the Gospel divides the world into the humble and the proud. It says the humble are in and the proud are out. The Gospel says, those who think they’re good are out and those who know they’re not are in.”
Email Scams Grace is 100% Free Talk for a moment about email scams. Our inboxes are often flooded with invitations for investments and money-making ventures. They all say the same thing: you can get something from nothing. The truth is, however, this is not true. You might get some laughs by sharing the story of a man who ironically replied to scam emailers: http://www.boredpanda.com/funny-phishing-scam-emails-dot-con-james-veitch/ Often, we can learn to think about God’s grace like it is a scam. Something can’t be 100% free! The Bible teaches though, that God’s grace is completely free of charge.
MINISTRY
Community VOLUME 1
Auschwitz Grace makes free Auschwitz is a former Nazi concentration camp located in the nation of Poland. It was at this camp, during World War II, that the Nazis murdered and housed countless Jews from all over Europe. It is estimated that between Auschwitz and its joint camp of Birkenau, over one million Jews were gassed to death during the Holocaust. On the metal gate in front of the entrance to Auschwitz, are the German words “Arbeit macht frei” (pronounced ARE-BIT-MOCKED-FRY), which means in English, “Work will make you free.” The Nazis had erected the sign to convince the Jews into believing that if they worked hard enough they would be set free. As a result, many of the captives bought into this slogan. Countless Jews literally broke their backs trying to impress the Nazi soldiers and, in turn, buy their freedom. Sometimes as followers of Christ, it’s easy to fall into this same lie. “Work will make you free.” We base our salvation, our relationship with God, and our freedom from the sins that weigh down our life, on our behavior. Many of us think that if we can just do all the right things, if we can just work hard enough, then we can earn God’s grace.
Jury Duty Obedience as honor to God Houston is getting more people to show up to jury duty by focusing on the positives, not the negatives. “The percentage of people who appear for jury service after receiving notices has risen to 34 percent from 30 percent in 2010, which the District Clerk’s Office attributes in part to its ongoing campaign.” Source: http://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/?p=48037 Application: When we focus less on obedience as a way to get out of punishment, and more as a way to honor God, righteous living becomes easier and more fulfilling.
Forgiving a Murderer We receive forgiveness, we give forgiveness The father of a murder victim forgives the man who killed his child. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIkywrKVWAo Application: We should give grace to others, even when it hurts.
Humility “The humble are in and the proud are out.” Pastor Timothy Keller says “The Gospel is not religion or irreligion. It’s not morality or immorality. It’s a radically different approach. The moralistic grid divides the world into the good people and the bad people. The good are in and the bad are out. And the relativistic grid divides the world into the open-minded people and the bigots. The open-minded people are in and the bigots are out. But the Gospel divides the world into the humble and the proud. It says the humble are in and the proud are out. The Gospel says, those who think they’re good are out and those who know they’re not are in.”
Email Scams Grace is 100% Free Talk for a moment about email scams. Our inboxes are often flooded with invitations for investments and money-making ventures. They all say the same thing: you can get something from nothing. The truth is, however, this is not true. You might get some laughs by sharing the story of a man who ironically replied to scam emailers: http://www.boredpanda.com/funny-phishing-scam-emails-dot-con-james-veitch/ Often, we can learn to think about God’s grace like it is a scam. Something can’t be 100% free! The Bible teaches though, that God’s grace is completely free of charge.
MINISTRY
