I am working on a Lenten sermon series that I am really enjoying and thought I would share it. I call it "Stones... that rock the world." The idea is to focus on every place that the word "stone" appears in the story of the last week of Jesus' life in the Gospel of Luke. It turns out that it both hits some of the high points, while also challenging me to focus on some parts of the story that I often over look. Here are my examples:
On Palm Sunday as the crowds are cheering and some are complaining, Jesus says, "If these were silent, the stones would shout out." Luke 19:40.
When Jesus' authority is challenged, he asks them about John the Baptist. They realize they are caught between a rock and a hard place and reply, "If we say, 'Of human origin,' all the people will stone us." Luke 20:6.
Jesus describes himself by saying, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." Luke 20:17.
As he looked at the Temple he said, "The day will come when not one stone will be left upon another." Luke 21:6.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus "withdrew from them about a stone's throw." Luke 22:41.
After Jesus was crucified, "they laid the body in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had been laid." Luke 23:53.
On Easter, "they found the stone rolled away from the tomb." Luke 24:2.
I offer this as a thought to spark your creative thinking.
