Sermon Central
-
Get A Clue Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jan 18, 2015 (message contributor)
Summary: In the game of "Clue" the person who died was "Mr. Boddy." In the Scripture, the person who died was us - we died in our sins. But what killed us, and whose fault was it that we should be counted dead?
OPEN: During WWII Nazi Germany believed they could bomb Britain into submission, so over the years they sent 1000s of bombs down upon London and other parts of England and 1000s of English people died. One of Britain’s forms of defense was to build bomb shelters. Essentially these were fortified cellars where Britons spent hours each night in fear and boredom. During this terrible time, an English clerk named Anthony E. Pratt developed a game he could play with his friends while they were stuck in those underground bunkers. It was a “Who Done It” kind of game that he called “MURDER!” And his friends were so delighted by the game that Pratt eventually sold the concept to a British company who renamed it Cluedo.
(http://cluecluedo.wikia.com/wiki/Clue_%28board_game%29)
(We showed a picture of Cluedo on the overhead)
Does that look like any game you've ever played? It should. Parker Bros. bought the game in 1949, and renamed it “CLUE”.
One website called “Clue’s” game board one of the 7 COOLEST game boards ever created.
(http://blog.psprint.com/designing/7-coolest-board-game-designs/)
The regular game has 9 different rooms, 6 different suspects and 6 different murder weapons.
The object of the game is to figure out … who done it? WHO did it, WHERE they did it, and WHAT weapon did they use?
When one of the players thinks they've figured out the answer, they’ll say
“I believe it was done by Prof. Plum, in the Kitchen, with the Revolver.
OR “I think it was Mrs. White, in the Ballroom, with the candlestick.
And, of course, the person who guesses correctly is the one who wins.
It’s basically it’s a “Who-Done-It” kind of mystery game.
And of course, every who-done-it needs a victim. Do you know what the victim’s name is.
It’s “Mr. Boddy” (get it, Mr. “Body”?)
Now, the Bible tells us about an entirely different kind of “who done it?”
It’s a who-done-it that is addressed by God.
It’s not a make believe game or a fictional story… it is a very serious mystery.
And just as in the game of Clue… there is a victim:
Paul told the Ephesians: “… you were dead in your transgressions and sins” Ephesians 2:1
And he told the Colossians the same thing: “… you were dead in your sins…”Colossians 2:13
They were dead.
They were the corpse found at the crime scene.
They had been DEAD… and do you know what killed them?
(THEIR SINS)
They were dead in their transgressions and their sins.
Now, the mystery is this: Who DONE it?
Who DONE the sin?
Well, who DID done it?
Who was responsible for their sins? Can you guess?
The Bible answer is very straightforward and to the point:
THEY done it. It was THEIR sins that killed their souls.
And in the same way, it’s our sins that made us dead too, before we became Christians.
You and I done it. We were the guilty party. It Was OUR SIN that caused us to be dead before God.
AND that’s what Jesus was talking about here in Matthew 5:
“If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Matthew 5:29-30
It’s YOUR eye.
YOUR hand.
YOU need to deal with it.
ILLUS: Years ago – when I decided to take my faith seriously – I began to read through the Bible for the first by myself. And, not knowing where else to start – I began in the book of Genesis. It was all very interesting, but it wasn't till I reached the 4th chapter of Genesis that I read something that made me mark in my Bible for the first time. The verse literally stood out for me.
“The LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’” Genesis 4:6-7
God told Cain - you've got an “anger management problem.”
You’re angry and you’re not managing it. So you've got a problem.
You need to deal with it! You need to master it!
Because if you don’t deal with it “Sin is crouching at your door and it desires to have you.”
I originally read this in the RSV that said “Sin is COUCHING at the door….” The image that put mind was of sitting in a Doctor’s office and just outside the door – in the waiting room – there were couches. Sin was out in the waiting room just waiting for Cain to open the door a little… and it would come in and take over his life.
