Sermon Central
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Something Wonderful, Terrible, Dreamed About, And Something Seen
Contributed by Bruce Howell on Mar 22, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: The message of the Bible can be summed up by four somethings--all pointing to the Resurrection.
Something Wonderful, Something Terrible, Something Dreamed About, Something Seen
1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ’He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you."
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.
10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
LONG AGO IN ANCIENT ISRAEL, one of the kings asked a man of God, “Is there any word from the Lord?” And of course there was. There always has been. There always will be.
You see, the primary means that God uses to communicate His truth and love is the Bible. And it always has something to say about every issue facing us in this life–especially when it comes to the matter of life and death.
The message of the Bible can be summed up by four somethings–Somtehing Wonderful, Something Terrible, Something Dreamed About and Something Seen.
1. The Something Wonderful is LIFE
If you put your finger on your wrist on the right spot, you can feel your pulse–a gentle “thump, thump, thump.” It’s the echo of your heart beating. Try to stop it for a minute. You can’t do it, even if you hold your breath. And you know what? You didn’t start it either. It began weeks before you were even born. ..when you were tiny and still in your mother’s womb and didn’t know anything or think anything.
There it was at work–your heart–thumping away. You were alive, for your heartbeat is the whisper of that wonderful thing called life!
By the way, your heart beats 32 million times a year. If you live to be 70 (and some of you have), it will have beat 2,207,000,000 times. 3,600 times an hour (except for that time when you first fell in love). 86,400 times a day, 31,586,000 times a year.
There was a time when you were so small that one would need a microscope to see you. You were hidden in your mother’s womb no bigger than the point of a pin. But the pattern of you was there–how tall you would be, what color eyes you would have, whether you would be a boy or a girl–even your personality was designed. The Pslamist was right. We are fearfully and wonderfully made!
More wonderful yet is the fact that you are not only alive and planned, but you are a human being, not just an animal. The Bible says that we were created a little lower than the angels.
We are different from dogs and cats and the reason is that God created us to plan, to dream, to invent, to build, to worship. God has breathed His Spirit into our spirit. He has put a deep longing in our souls to know Him.
How fortunate we are to be human beings–to have life and therefore to be able to love and work and play. Life is wonderful indeed because it is a gift of God.
Illus.: “The Greatest Wonders of the World”
An elementary class was asked by a teacher to write down what they thought the seven wondrs of the world were. And they named all the usual: Grand Canyon, Pyramids of Egypt, Mt. Everest, etc. Each was asked to share theirs, but one little girl had a different answer. Her list? “To see, to touch, to smell, to hear, to taste, to think, to love.” She captured the essence of life. Her whole list was simply a celebration and exaltation of life!
Ask anyone you meet to give you a definition of LIFE and no two people will give you the same answer. Even in this congregation the answers would be as different as the flowers of the field.
The nonbeliever thinks of life as an accident, while the believer acknowledges life as a sacred trust from God.
