Sermon Illustrations

He was raised in the Church of Christ. Early in his life, he developed faith, but at one point his parents split up. He ended up with his grandmother and abandoned what faith he may have had. He later said that accepting the theory of evolution enabled him to pursue his twisted urges. He accepted that if we all came from slime, he was accountable to no one. He’s right. If we did, no one is accountable to anyone. So, he lived out the logical conclusion of his evolutionistic convictions. He abused and murdered 17 young men, the first when he was age 18. Jeffrey Dahmer was an Alcoholic, Homosexual, Pedophile, Serial Murderer, and Cannibal.

February 17, 1992, he was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences, because there was no death penalty in Wisconsin.

In 1994, Curtis Booth and Mary Mott sent Jeffrey Bible correspondence courses from World Bible School. He completed the courses and sent back a letter saying he wanted to be baptized.

Roy Ratcliff, a Church of Christ preacher, received the call from a preacher friend. He had nothing to do with Jeffrey Dahmer. In fact, he had never even done any prison ministry. He just happened to live near Portage, WI. It was a whole day before he could even confirm that the request wasn’t a joke.

After some time teaching with him, Jeffrey Dahmer was baptized May 10, 1994 at the Columbia Correctional Institute in Portage, WI. From that day, they met each Wednesday as Jeffrey continued to study the Bible. Was he sincere? Roy Ratcliff is convinced he was, although Dahmer remained a complex personality. Then, November 28, 1994, Jeffrey Dahmer and another inmate were murdered by a fellow prisoner. No one is sure of the motives.

Jeffrey Dahmer’s situation raises an interesting question: Was he for real? Did he make it? Alcoholic, Homosexual, Pedophile, Serial Murderer, and Cannibal. Did Jeffrey Dahmer die and go safely into the arms of Jesus?

More than one person actually told Roy Ratcliff, “If Jeffrey Dahmer’s going to be in heaven, I don’t want to be there.” That may be you this morning. If it is, I suggest you’d better get studying and figure out exactly where Jeffrey Dahmer is so that you can go ahead and decide where you want to spend forever!