Rev. David Holwick ZO
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 14, 2003
John 1:1-9
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I. The great Gothic cathedrals.
A. Visiting great cathedrals as a boy.
1) Loads of people - more a tourist attraction than a church.
a) They even had gift shops right in the sanctuary.
b) But this suited me fine, because I wasn't spiritual.
2) Yet even I sensed a special atmosphere there, a sense
of holiness.
a) Vast, dark spaces.
b) The only light was diffused through huge stained glass
windows.
B. Cathedrals defined an age.
1) Most of the great cathedrals were constructed in a spurt
of spiritual fervor starting in the eleventh century.
a) It was the time of the Crusades and a new outward-focus
by European Christians.
b) They built the cathedrals to show the glory of God
(and for bragging rights.)
2) Stained glass was among the greatest accomplishments.
a) Guilds protected the secrets of construction.
b) The cathedrals did not have huge windows that had to
be filled with glass, but had to have glass so
large windows were put in the plan.
c) Ever since, even simplest churches have had stained
glass.
3) Marilyn asked me to do a sermon on our windows.
a) (It had been done years ago by a previous preacher).
b) Since I have always loved stained glass and make
it as a hobby, I present this sermon.
II. The history of Ledgewood Baptist's windows.
A. High quality, but not Tiffany.
1) Unknown studio, produced around 1917.
2) Richly colored opalescent glass.
3) Style made famous by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
a) Medieval glass had tiny pieces and lots of paint;
multiple scenes were on each window.
b) Tiffany's style has large pieces and little paint;
landscapes were a favorite theme, like ours.
B. Technical details.
1) Double and triple plating of glass. (sign of quality)
2) Only select areas are painted, rest is real color
of original glass.
3) Not cheap.
a) Exact cost not known, but entire church cost
something like $17,000.
b) This is enough to do an extensive repair on ONE
stained glass window here.
C. We have always loved our glass.
1) It is protected by heavy plate glass on the outside.
2) Back in 1917 it was protected by a wire mesh that was put
up during baseball games. (evident in an old photo)
III. Our stories in glass.
A. Lessons for the ignorant.
1) Common view that medieval glass taught Bible lessons to
illiterate peasants. [not main reason - see below]
2) Appropriate for us - one of the Bible quotes is even
misspelled!
(The fear of the Lord is the begining of wisdom)
B. A (rough) history of salvation in our windows.
1) Natural window (creation).
2) Jesus and lambs - in his earthly ministry he cared for us.
3) Fields of harvest - the mission he gave us to evangelize
the world.
4) Gethsemane - he prays before his death.
5) Ascension - Jesus goes up through clouds to heaven.
a) (also fits Second Coming, since verse below says, "In
the same way he will come back.")
b) Note that in images of his earthly ministry, he has
color in his robes, but in heaven it is all white.
C. Traditional imagery.
1) General symbols of faith.
a) Alpha and Omega (first and last of alphabet).
b) Lamp and Bible.
c) Cross and crown.
2) Traditional verses.
a) I can imagine pastor asking: "What are your favorites?"
D. Windows fit our congregation.
1) Jesus-centered.
2) Familiar and comfortable.
a) Our windows don't shock or break new ground.
b) This is exactly what they wanted church to be.
IV. Revealing God's glory.
A. The main theme of stained glass is God's glory.
1) Ezekiel's vision of God's throne. Ezekiel 1:25-28
compare Rev. 4:3
a) God and his city are always described as full of
color and light.
b) Glass itself is a symbol of calmness and peace,
compared to the turmoil of the world. Rev. 4:6
2) Coming to church is like coming into the presence of God.
a) A sense of beauty and wonder and awe.
1> (Bible lessons were a far more distant purpose.)
b) But only a taste.
1> As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12 in the KJV, we
can only "see through a glass darkly."
2> The full experience of God requires our death and
glorification.
V. People are a lot like stained glass.
A. Stained glass can reflect light, or transmit it.
1) Flash vs. non-flash photos of our windows.
2) Reflected photos are flat and not beautiful.
3) Best photos allow natural light to come through.
a) It also shows flaws and quality of the glass.
B. People need to have that inner light shining through.
1) Like glass, we can merely reflect, or transmit light.
a) Compare visible glory on Moses' face, which he
covered with a veil. (he was embarrassed it faded)
b) Paul says Christians can have that same glory.
1> (Though it is not evident in all of us!)
2> Perhaps it is not evident, because the reality
is not there...
2) Jesus offers inner light to those who accept him.
a) He is the light of the world.
1> (read John 1 and give application to Jesus).
2> We can accept the light, or reject it.
b) If we believe, that inner light becomes ours.
C. People come to see our stained glass.
1) What do they see in you?
2) I have a partially-completed stained glass lamp in my
basement.
3) A metaphor for our own lives...
Clay Crosse, a Christian musician, released a very successful CD in the
summer of 1997.
The title song was named "Stained Glass."
In the first verse of the song, Clay sings about a stained glass window
left in the attic of an old church.
Now that it has been taken from the light and discarded, it's worth no
more than the frame.
In the second verse, he sings about how he picks the window up and holds
it to the light, revealing hidden and forgotten beauty, originally
created to inspire others.
In some ways, we are each this stained glass window.
Perfect creations of God, yet all in various stages of our faith.
The final verse of the song goes:
There's a stained glass window, in the soul of man,
A pattern of perfection, that was made with Holy hands
With the light of Heaven, pouring through each pane
Truth in all its splendor, is revealed and will remain
Truth in all its splendor, is revealed and will remain [1]
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SOURCE FOR ILLUSTRATION USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] From sermon "Stained Glass" by Rev. Diana K. M. Hamilton,
http://www.geocities.com/paris/cathedral/3650/stainedglass.htm,
#17052 in Evangelical Database by Holwick.
This and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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