Sermon Central
-
Raising The Dead
Contributed by Rick Boyne on Apr 12, 2012 (message contributor)
RAISING THE DEAD
Easter Services are supposed to be focused on Jesus and the power of His resurrection. Yesterday, the members of Immanuel Southern Baptist Church in Wagoner, OK, got an object lesson to go along with the sermon.
Just before the services were to begin, the Sunday School Director, Marty Richardson, was walking around the sanctuary greeting visitors. As she took the hand of a young man, she collapsed. It was supposed that she had just fainted. The young visitor motioned to his mother, a medical doctor, that there was a problem and the visiting doctor realized that Marty was not breathing.
Dr. Nancy Murphy was visiting ISBC on Easter with her extended family to hear her nephew preach the Easter Sermon. Marty had fallen between the pews and it was impossible to get to her. The doctor asked for help and some members were able to move the pews out of the way. Nancy dragged Marty out into the aisle where she determined that not only was she not breathing, but her heart had stopped beating.
Immediately requesting someone to call 9-1-1, she asked if anyone knew CPR. Jeanine Loubier was tuning her guitar on the platform when she responded and assisted Nancy in administering CPR. The pastor met his wife, Sally, in the hall and she said she was on the way to call 9-1-1. The pastor ran ahead of his wife and made the call.
As the CPR continued (for more than ten minutes), it became apparent to the doctor that Marty wasn’t going to be revived. She later said that a very small percentage of patients are revived by CPR, but it is always worth doing. She called for all the children to be cleared from the sanctuary, because she didn’t want them seeing a dead body at church on Easter. The pastor asked everyone to leave the sanctuary and to go to the fellowship hall to pray for the situation. Sally was able to corral the members in the fellowship hall and began praying earnestly.
That’s when the power of God was made manifest.
As the doctor later described, “Almost as soon as the people began praying, Marty opened her eyes and took a deep gasp for air. I was never so surprised to see someone come back to life as I was her!”
Marty was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, about 45 minutes away. The doctors there found a blockage and inserted a stint. By the time the pastor was able to visit last evening, Marty was alert, smiling, and even ordered meatloaf, chocolate cake and iced tea for supper!
As we sat there together talking about the events of the day, I told her what else the doctor had said. She said that as a doctor, she had ZERO expectations that she would be revived. As far as she was concerned she had died on Easter Sunday. However, the only way to explain what had happened was that “it was a miracle”.
We were able to laugh about some of the things done and said during the crisis. As we talked, I mentioned to Marty, “you died this morning, but here we are laughing about death this afternoon”. What an awesome God we serve that we can laugh about death! Marty died Sunday morning, but she should be released from the hospital Tuesday or Wednesday!
God gets ALL the Glory for this one!
(This took place at Immanuel Southern Baptist Church, 611 N. Gertrude Ave, Wagoner, OK 74467, on April 12, Easter Sunday, 2009. www.immanuelsouthern.com Rick Boyne, Pastor)
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
A Large Majority Of Men--Married And Single--Say ...
Contributed by Lou Nicholes on May 27, 2005
A large majority of men--married and single--say they wouldn’t have an affair, even if they were certain their loved one would never find out, says a Gallup poll commissioned by Self magazine, in the June (1992) issue. Of 500 men surveyed, 67% of married men and 60% of unmarried men say an affair ...read more
-
What My Mother Taught Me PRO
Contributed by Joel Vicente on Feb 14, 2005
Illustrate Humor: WHAT MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME My mother taught me RELIGION: When I spilled grape juice on the carpet, she instructed, "You better pray the stain will come out of the carpet." My mother taught me LOGIC: From her decisive words, "Because I said so, that’s why." My mother taught me ...read more
-
Nothing We Have Is Attributable To Our Own ... PRO
Contributed by Clark Tanner on Aug 31, 2003
"Nothing we have is attributable to our own strengths and talents. People think so. It’s an attitude that was expressed very effectively by James Stewart’s character in the movie, “Shenandoah”. He was the patriarch of a large Southern family, running a very successful plantation when the Civil ...read more
-
Movie: Pay It Forward PRO
Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Sep 14, 2004
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 ...read more
-
Trate Fact: In 1907 Ana Jarvis, From ... PRO
Contributed by Joel Vicente on Feb 14, 2005
Illustrate Fact: In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother’s Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year ...read more
Related Sermons
-
-
Crucified & Risen
Contributed by Jerry Flury on Mar 31, 2013
Paul tells us that having received Christ as Savior, he was crucified with Christ. Can you say that? Do you understand what that means? It’s more than just saying “He died for me”. It means so much more to be crucified and risen.
-
In Him, We Live Series
Contributed by Keith Foskey on Apr 15, 2014
Christ is not just necessary for salvation... If we truly know Who Christ is, then we know that He is necessary for our very existence!
-
The Victory
Contributed by Allan Kircher on Mar 27, 2013
Had He never stooped to the grave, He would have been unable to help us in the supreme experiences of life!
-
Return To The Mount Of Olives
Contributed by Bruce Lee on Mar 30, 2015
Holy Week or Easter or even the Sunday after Easter. The Easter story is not just about the death, crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Christ. It is ultimately about the Second Coming of Christ.
