Imagination February
8, 2009 Genesis 1:26-31
IMAGINE
THEME: Imagine all the
people living life in peace… why not?
INTRODUCTION
A. “Imagine
all the people living life in peace.” (John Lennon – Imagine)
B. I was a junior in high school when John,
Paul, George and Ringo – The Beatles
– flew “across the
pond” to make
their first live appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show… the year was 1964.
o Like so many people, I was glued to
the television on that Sunday evening so that I would not miss the most popular
group in the world.
o Their first big hit, Love Me Do, was recorded two years
earlier and caught on slowly…
o But before long, because their songs
were so “singable” and their appearance was so “cute,” the popularity of The Beatles soared.
o In 1965, a shift took place in their
lyrics… their most popular songs were no longer sweet, happy, and romantic…
their new songs were more melancholy… more thoughtful… their lyrics cried out
for help and change…
o <The Beatles sang together for the last time forty years ago last
week.>
C. “When
John Lennon married sculptor and filmmaker Yoko Ono he became politically
active for
peace. His
interest in religion and things spiritual gave way to a broad focus only on
this world
and it’s
problems.” (Fox)
o John Lennon wrote the song Imagine, which our Youth Choir sang this
morning as Janelle and Justine, Emma and Sara interpreted the song in dance.
o I know that some of you thought this
was a strange song to incorporate into a worship service and questioned my judgment
to include it today because John Lennon has been branded an atheist and as one
who is against the church and organized religion…
o But I’d like to suggest to you that
John Lennon and Jesus shared a similar vision – a vision of all the people
living life in peace… a
world without war, a word without hunger, a world where people loved their
neighbor as they loved themselves…
o And we need to ask ourselves, “why
not?”
I – IMAGINE
A. One of the most powerful gifts that you have
is the gift of imagination…
o Imagination is one of the gifts of
being human and one of the gifts that sets “man” apart from the rest of
creation…
o Your imagination is a God given gift…
B. The dictionary definition of the verb imagine is “to make a mental image”… to
see a thing that
has not yet been created
or experienced… to see things in a new way… to see things as they
might be…
o It is important to be a “realist” and
to see things as they really are…
o But it is also important to be a
“dreamer” – an “imagineer” – with the ability to see things as they might be… (note: imagineer
is a Walt Disney word)
o The first step in creating change is
being aware of how things really are…
o The next step in creating change is
to imagine how they might be…
o Imagination is how things get done…
imagination cultivates creativity…
C. Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more
important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited,
whereas
imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to
evolution.”
D. Einstein also said, “You can fill a human
with knowledge and all you will have is a human filled
with knowledge,
but spark the imagination and one can conquer the universe.” <
E. There are few references in the Bible to imagination and the very few references
that there are
paint the imagination with a negative brush…
o But it’s not the imagination that is bad… it’s the way some people choose to use
their imagination than can be bad…
o We are capable of both positive and
negative imagining. <
o God gives us many gifts, but we must
choose how to use them…
o When used for good, imagination includes dreaming, planning,
and developing…
F. WHAT
WOULD THE WORLD THAT YOU IMAGINE LOOK LIKE?
II – THE SONG – IMAGINE – BY JOHN LENNON
A. John Lennon wrote the song Imagine at the time that our country was
involved in the war in Viet
B. In the midst of war, John Lennon imagined a
world of peace… his song called for people to join
together, to
re-awaken their senses, and to look out upon creation with new imagination…
C. Change begins with imagining what is possible
and asking, “Why not?” <
o Change begins with a goal in mind and
the intention of working toward it.
o In John Lennon’s imagined world, people
would live together in peace because the lines that divided them had been
erased…
o John Lennon imagined a world without
divisions and asked, “Why not?”
§ Imagine a world without war and
poverty – why not?
§ Imagine a world where people would
live and let live – why not?
§ Imagine a world where we celebrate
diversity rather than fear difference – why not?
§ Imagine a world where hatred and
racism are no more – why not?
§ Imagine a world where religions
respect one another and seek peace – why not?
§ Imagine a world where we give more
than we take and we enjoy what we have, rather than what we haven’t – why not?
§ Imagine a world of love and respect –
why not?
§ Imagine the possibilities of a world
filled with peace and justice…
§ Why not indeed! <
D. WHAT WOULD
THE WORLD THAT JOHN LENNON IMAGINED LOOK LIKE?
III - JESUS
A. “An
integral part of faith is imagination.”
o
“We
see the power of imagination at work in the life of Jesus.”
o
“Jesus
imagined a world in which if people loved one another, justice would prevail.”
o
“Jesus
imagined that the people could create the
B. What do you imagine the world would be like
if everyone – everyone –
followed the teachings of
Jesus?
C. WHAT
WOULD THE WORLD THAT JESUS CHRIST IMAGINED LOOK LIKE?
IV – GOD
A. The scripture reading that I chose for this
morning was from the story of creation <Genesis 1:26-
31>
B. When God created the world… when God created
man and woman… what did God imagine for
his creation?
o Did God imagine a world divided by
nations’ boarders?
o Did God imagine a world where
religions would become divisive?
o Did God imagine a world where people would
be divided into classes… where some are privileged and most are not… where some
are well fed and others go to bed hungry… where some hoard their wealth while
others scrape to survive?
o Did God imagine a world where the
drums of war would always be beating and peace would be so fragile?
o Did God imagine a world where respect
would be so scarce… where oppression and abuse would be so prevalent?
o Did God imagine a world that would
bring tears to his eyes?
C. WHAT
WOULD THE WORLD THAT GOD IMAGINED LOOK LIKE?
CONCLUSION
A. Imagine all the people living life in peace?
– Why not? Why not ineed?
SERMON
SEEDS
o
IMAGINE – The Beatles - lyrics by John Lennon…
o
“IMAGINE” – a sermon by The
Rev. Nancy O. Arnold – Easter Sunday – March 27, 2005… this is an excellent sermon and gave shape to much of my sermon…
o
“THE THEOLOGY OF THE
BEATLES” –
a sermon by Rev. Ann C. Fox with references to The Beatles by Hunter
Davies
o
“IMAGINING A
PROGRESSIVE REVOLUTION” – a sermon by Ian Lawton