Amazing Rando
June 14th 2006, 05:56 PM
I'm preaching at the worship service this coming Sunday. :solly: Following the Revised Common Lectionary as we usually do, the passages are 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13; Psalm 20; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17; and Mark 4:26-34. I've decided to focus on the story of God's choosing David as king in 1 Samuel, with a few thematic tie-ins to the other passages. The main heart of this passage as I see it is encapsulated in 1 Sam 16:7- "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (NIV) or "the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (NRSV).
As an attention-grabbing intro to my discussion of the passage (which I haven't yet written out), I've written this little story, hopefully designed to bring out some of the same themes that are at play in the 1 Samuel passage. I would appreciate any comments, reactions, and/or suggestions you might have. I anticipate finishing the sermon text tomorrow with my detailed exposition of the passage. Please let me know what you think- is my story effective? Does it convey the general gist of the dynamics of this narrative? I anticipate stopping the sermon in the middle and having 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 read, and then tying my story into the story of God's selection of David as king after the scripture has been read.
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Imagine, if you will, that you’re at your high school prom. You and all your friends are dressed in your best, having a great time. Then comes the most simultaneously dreaded and anticipated moment of almost all senior proms- the naming of the king and queen of the prom. Everyone whispers expectantly to one another… who is it going to be? The three girls who are widely anticipated to be the favorites for prom queen all prepare themselves to hear the good news that they were selected.
Stacey, the school’s head cheerleader, is confident she’ll be chosen to be the queen. She’s far and away the most popular girl in school, and has been the trendsetter for the “in crowd” all throughout high school. She’s blonde, beautiful, and has a winning smile that melts the hearts of every senior boy in the class. Stacey is certain that because of her beauty, popularity, and prominent position on the cheerleading squad that she’s a shoo-in for the honor…
Lindsay is just as confident as Stacey. Lindsay is the star scorer on both the school’s soccer and basketball teams, both of which had recently won the state championships. Her success on the field has given the sporty brunette wide-ranging popularity among the athletic circles and other cliques of the school. Lindsay just knows that her achievements and her likeability will lead to her crowning as prom queen. She’s been dreaming about it for months now and is sure she’ll be the one…
Annette also feels she’s got a pretty good chance at being named prom queen. After all, she is the school’s valedictorian, having achieved a perfect grade-point average all through high school. She is by no means “nerdy” though, she muses. With her statuesque build, charming wit, and competitive ambition, Annette has made quite a few friends at school, and with the wild weekend at the beach she has planned for her many acquaintances and ardent supporters after her upcoming victory, her popularity isn’t likely to fade anytime soon…
As the moment for the big announcement arrives, everyone in the crowd hushes up. The music is faded out as the principal walks to the center of the stage, holding the envelope with the winner’s name. Stacey, Lindsay, and Annette, all confident of their own victory, take a quick glance in their mirrors to make sure they’re still looking their best, smooth the few stray hairs back into place, and prepare to receive the accolades of their classmates.
The principal steps to the microphone, tears open the envelope, and begins his announcement: “It is my privilege to introduce you all to this year’s prom queen… Sarah!”
“Sarah?!? Sarah who?” you ask your friends. Stacey, Lindsay, and Annette all look stunned. The crowd is abuzz with rumors and speculation.
Suddenly from the back of the room, the crowd begins to part to make way for the unexpected prom queen- Sarah. Sarah had never expected to even be noticed by the “cool” kids at school, must less be named queen of the senior prom. As she passes you, the glimpse of her jogs your memory as to who she is.
You see that Sarah is a rather plain-looking girl, not ugly, but certainly not possessing the stunning beauty of the three popular girls who had expected to win. Sarah’s family is not wealthy- indeed she hadn’t even been able to afford to buy a new prom dress. Instead, she and her mother had worked for hours, making her prom dress by hand. She had always been the quiet type, preferring to let others take the glory rather than grab the spotlight for herself. She routinely stayed late after school to help different teachers clean up or prepare the classroom for the next day, and always had a smile and a cheerful greeting for the janitors and the office secretaries. Sarah is not wildly popular either, preferring to forge close, caring relationships with a few good friends, but was always around to lend a hand to anyone in need. You suddenly remember a time that you had fallen and dropped your books all over the hall in your rush to get to class, and Sarah had been there, without even being asked, helping you gather your things and clean yourself up.
Though she is not the most beautiful, popular, athletic, or intelligent girl in school, you realize, she is certainly the most gracious, humble and compassionate, consistently regarding others before herself.
So how did Sarah, the social “nobody” without outstanding abilities or attention-grabbing beauty get named this year’s prom queen over Stacey, Lindsay, and Annette?
In the normal course of human events, this would rarely, if ever, happen. But I’ve written this story as a dramatization of what might occur if God’s values, rather than human values, were the deciding factor in this contest. We human beings have a natural proclivity for judging based on outward appearance, and we value things such as wealth, beauty, power, pride, self-reliance, sex appeal, and so on. But to God, these things are utterly irrelevant. This brings us to the key Scripture of today…
As an attention-grabbing intro to my discussion of the passage (which I haven't yet written out), I've written this little story, hopefully designed to bring out some of the same themes that are at play in the 1 Samuel passage. I would appreciate any comments, reactions, and/or suggestions you might have. I anticipate finishing the sermon text tomorrow with my detailed exposition of the passage. Please let me know what you think- is my story effective? Does it convey the general gist of the dynamics of this narrative? I anticipate stopping the sermon in the middle and having 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 read, and then tying my story into the story of God's selection of David as king after the scripture has been read.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Imagine, if you will, that you’re at your high school prom. You and all your friends are dressed in your best, having a great time. Then comes the most simultaneously dreaded and anticipated moment of almost all senior proms- the naming of the king and queen of the prom. Everyone whispers expectantly to one another… who is it going to be? The three girls who are widely anticipated to be the favorites for prom queen all prepare themselves to hear the good news that they were selected.
Stacey, the school’s head cheerleader, is confident she’ll be chosen to be the queen. She’s far and away the most popular girl in school, and has been the trendsetter for the “in crowd” all throughout high school. She’s blonde, beautiful, and has a winning smile that melts the hearts of every senior boy in the class. Stacey is certain that because of her beauty, popularity, and prominent position on the cheerleading squad that she’s a shoo-in for the honor…
Lindsay is just as confident as Stacey. Lindsay is the star scorer on both the school’s soccer and basketball teams, both of which had recently won the state championships. Her success on the field has given the sporty brunette wide-ranging popularity among the athletic circles and other cliques of the school. Lindsay just knows that her achievements and her likeability will lead to her crowning as prom queen. She’s been dreaming about it for months now and is sure she’ll be the one…
Annette also feels she’s got a pretty good chance at being named prom queen. After all, she is the school’s valedictorian, having achieved a perfect grade-point average all through high school. She is by no means “nerdy” though, she muses. With her statuesque build, charming wit, and competitive ambition, Annette has made quite a few friends at school, and with the wild weekend at the beach she has planned for her many acquaintances and ardent supporters after her upcoming victory, her popularity isn’t likely to fade anytime soon…
As the moment for the big announcement arrives, everyone in the crowd hushes up. The music is faded out as the principal walks to the center of the stage, holding the envelope with the winner’s name. Stacey, Lindsay, and Annette, all confident of their own victory, take a quick glance in their mirrors to make sure they’re still looking their best, smooth the few stray hairs back into place, and prepare to receive the accolades of their classmates.
The principal steps to the microphone, tears open the envelope, and begins his announcement: “It is my privilege to introduce you all to this year’s prom queen… Sarah!”
“Sarah?!? Sarah who?” you ask your friends. Stacey, Lindsay, and Annette all look stunned. The crowd is abuzz with rumors and speculation.
Suddenly from the back of the room, the crowd begins to part to make way for the unexpected prom queen- Sarah. Sarah had never expected to even be noticed by the “cool” kids at school, must less be named queen of the senior prom. As she passes you, the glimpse of her jogs your memory as to who she is.
You see that Sarah is a rather plain-looking girl, not ugly, but certainly not possessing the stunning beauty of the three popular girls who had expected to win. Sarah’s family is not wealthy- indeed she hadn’t even been able to afford to buy a new prom dress. Instead, she and her mother had worked for hours, making her prom dress by hand. She had always been the quiet type, preferring to let others take the glory rather than grab the spotlight for herself. She routinely stayed late after school to help different teachers clean up or prepare the classroom for the next day, and always had a smile and a cheerful greeting for the janitors and the office secretaries. Sarah is not wildly popular either, preferring to forge close, caring relationships with a few good friends, but was always around to lend a hand to anyone in need. You suddenly remember a time that you had fallen and dropped your books all over the hall in your rush to get to class, and Sarah had been there, without even being asked, helping you gather your things and clean yourself up.
Though she is not the most beautiful, popular, athletic, or intelligent girl in school, you realize, she is certainly the most gracious, humble and compassionate, consistently regarding others before herself.
So how did Sarah, the social “nobody” without outstanding abilities or attention-grabbing beauty get named this year’s prom queen over Stacey, Lindsay, and Annette?
In the normal course of human events, this would rarely, if ever, happen. But I’ve written this story as a dramatization of what might occur if God’s values, rather than human values, were the deciding factor in this contest. We human beings have a natural proclivity for judging based on outward appearance, and we value things such as wealth, beauty, power, pride, self-reliance, sex appeal, and so on. But to God, these things are utterly irrelevant. This brings us to the key Scripture of today…