Illustration results for discipline
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Brian La Croix
A few years ago there was a series of commercials featuring a man wearing a flannel shirt and jeans who would be telling people how much he cared for them, often getting teary-eyed as he said with all the emotion he could muster, “I love you, man!”
And the person he was speaking to in that particular commercial, whether it was a girl, his dad, or whoever, would say, “You’re not getting my Bud Light.”
The commercials were funny, but they serve to illustrate the fact that these people could see through this guy’s self-serving talk.
He wasn’t interested in love, he was only interested in their beer, but he was willing to say anything to get it.
In the movie, Remember the Titans, the coach pushed the students to the brink of their abilities. Some accused him of trying to ruin them and break their spirits. But by pushing them - he made them stronger. It prepared them for a difficult season of football - and in the end they went undefeated and won the championship. If he hadn’t pushed them, they would not have pushed themselves. A team without discipline ends up weak and soft - unprepared for battle. And so, like a coach that pushes his players - God pushes us for our good. People can blame God for being too extreme all they want. And they will. “God took my son - so I won’t come to church. He told me I was going to hell. I can’t believe in a God that would punish in hell. He told me I couldn’t divorce my lazy husband. I can’t follow a Lord like that. That’s too extreme. ” But the Lord continues to push. Why? Because the stakes with God are not just winning a state championship. An eternity of either bliss or fire is at stake.
Superman fought a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way. Christians fight a battle for truth, justice and God’s way. The ancient words of Amos will never go out of date: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”
I am among the minority who had little interest in the original Star Wars movie but has a liking for the prequel story of Anakin Skywalker in Episode I and II. Anakin, who later evolved into the sinister Darth Vader, was a cute, helpful, and sacrificial 9-year-old boy in Episode I. In Episode II, the twenty year-old Anakin was a skillful, precocious, and daredevil Jedi apprentice who considered his mentor¡¦s instructions overbearing, sidestepped the rule that forbade romance for Jedi Knights, and erred on the side of reckless abandon.
In one defining moment, when Anakin and his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi were chasing an assassin in a space mobile at night, Anakin sped dangerously with no regard for the crowd or his own safety and chased the suspect through the crowded streets and airspace. No angle, acceleration, and altitude were disliked by the driver Anakin. Just as they had lost the assassin¡¦s ship, Anakin threw himself overboard, glided his body through air and traffic, and landed his body perfectly on the suspect¡¦s space mobile.
Obi-Wan Kenobi could only mutter, ¡§I hate it when he does that!¡¨
In another incident, Anakin massacred a whole village, including women and children, to avenge his mother¡¦s death at the hands of intruders.
Lucas explained to Time magazine why Anakin turned into t...
Brad Beaman
Illustration: Distractions
We can become distracted and look away from the goal of becoming like Christ. If you saw the movie Chariots of Fire, then maybe you remember the great runner Abraham. He had won so many races. His coach held up such discipline. But he finally lost one of the races because he looked to the side. Just as he was about to finish the race he looked to see where the competitor was. His coach said to him, that look cost you the race. He was not single minded on the finish and the prize that lay ahead.
That is similar to what Paul is calling our attention to here. He is calling us to be single minded toward the goal of becoming like Christ. Yes there are many things that are good. But there is only one thing that is really best. Those are the things that count for eternity. We make our lives more like Jesus.
You turn on the TV set to see a large family sitting at a long dining room table. A man and a woman sit at opposite ends of the table, with three boys on one side and three girls on the other. Then another woman appears from the kitchen wearing a blue blouse and a white apron. She’s also wearing a huge smile and carrying a large casserole dish. Who’s the servant? It’s Alice from The Brady Bunch.
You switch channels and see a family in the living room of their Bel Air mansion. A teenage girl has just brought in the haul from her shopping day at the Beverly Hills boutiques. A younger sister clamors to see what she bought. A large middle-aged man seems to be rebuking a tall, slender, younger man, while a woman stands behind nodding her approval. In walks a short man with a black tuxedo with tails, a white shirt with a black bow tie and white gloves. He makes a smart remark before being sent to another room by the increasingly grousy middle-aged man. Who’s the servant? It’s Jeffrey from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
A few more channels away you see a creepy lot of characters. The living area has the finest antique furniture but is strewn with cobwebs. Candles flicker throughout the room. A hyperactive black-haired man kisses up and down his rather gothic looking wife’s arm on the sofa while the kids play with a tarantula on the floor by the fireplace. Even stranger sights are yet to appear. In comes a bald man so pale he looks almost blue. He’s dressed like a monk and has a light bulb in his mouth. Next in comes a 4 foot ball of hair on legs waving its arms and wearing a hat and glasses, followed by a single hand scurrying across the floor. Then the amorous man takes a break from the arm of his wife long enough to pull a large rope dangling from space and in walks a monstrous living corpse of a man, who bellows in a deep monotone, "You rang?" Who’s the servant? It’s Lurch from the Addams Family.
TV has had its share of servants. Alice, Jeffrey, and Lurch are distinguishable from the families they serve because they are always serving. You might recall, even the occasional glimpses into Alice’s love life were centered around her dutiful runs to the meat market, where she was wooed by Sam the Butcher. You see, a servant is always identified by their activity.
In one particular M*A*S*H episode, the character of Charles Emerson Winchester III has been on leave, only to have a woman show up at the unit who he had met on leave and claimed to be his wife. He, of course, being a upright person, was appalled to find out he had acted on leave in such a manner as to lose control of himself. The wedding was only a fabrication of one evening’s partying, but that was not the way a Winchester acted, and he was ashamed.
Video Illustration: Movie Pay It Forward.
Clip is from the beginning of the movie were a reporter becomes the recipient of a random act of kindness after his car is smashed at a police domestic scene. The reporter is given a new jaguar by a stranger to replace his old wrecked mustang. He responds to the act of kindness by calling the stranger a freak because he cannot believe someone would do this. He later learns that the man is returning the favor from another stranger who saved his daughters life. The man who saved the strangers daughter told him to pay it forward. In other words do three big random acts of kindness for 3 other strangers in need. He later on instructs the reporter that he too must pay it forward. The concept of pay it forward started from a classroom assignment in Social Studies were the teacher assigns his class the following task: “Think of an idea to change our world-and put it into action.”. A young 11 year old boy seem at the end of our clip comes up this idea. He tells his teacher that he did this not for the grade but he really wanted to see if the world could and would change. The boy ends up losing his life when he tries to rescue a friend in trouble at the end of the movie. But by the time he dies his “Pay it Forward” idea is in full motion across the country.
Point: I use this clip to talk about the importance of changing our thinking. The man who ...
Michael McCartney
Video Clip Illustration: Planes Trains and Automobiles-
The scene: After a long exhausting day, Neil is at the end of his rope. Not only does he have to share a hotel room with Del, they have to share the same bed! The noises Del makes as he tries to get comfortable are too much for Neil. His anger and frustration boil over, and he unleashes a torrent of words that catch Del completely off guard. Clearly wounded, Del considers what has been said and tells Neil that, although he knows he is far from perfect, he has no intention of changing. Realizing the extent of the damage he has done, Neil feels miserable. Knowing his words can never be taken back and the pain he has inflicted may never completely heal (Fields, James page 124)
We recently watched a movie titled, “Behind Enemy Lines”. An American pilot is down behind enemy lines in Croatia, and trying to avoid search parties while making it to his pick up spot.
A professional assassin has been given the task of hunting him down, and this assassin has been required to take a member of the regular military with him. As they walk through the woods the professional is wisely looking at where he is putting his feet, in order to avoid booby traps.
The camera pans down to his feet and you see him pause slightly over a trigger sticking up out of the leaves, then widen his step to avoid it.
The poor soldier coming up right behind him is foolishly just plodding along daydreaming, and he steps down on the trigger.
Now he’s in a fix. The bomb won’t go off until he lifts his foot, but since the assassin didn’t want him along anyway, he just walks away and leaves the soldier frozen on top of this booby trap.
A few minutes later, after the assassin has gotten a few hundred yards further into the forest, an explosion can be heard from his back trail.
Folks, when we are careless and drift into the practice of walking according to the world’s wisdom, which to God is foolishness, we can find ourselves very suddenly in a fix that we cannot get out of without major hurt; to ourselves and often to those who love us.
