60-Second Sermon

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Gustave dreamed of building himself a cozy apartment with an adjacent laboratory where he and his scientist friends could perform experiments and share with each other the latest ideas and inventions. 

Shortly after its completion, the simple apartment became the envy of the elite throughout the world, not because of its amenities, but because of its location in the structure that named after Gustave, the Eiffel Tower.

In 1 Corinthians (4:18), we are encouraged to not look “to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Gustave Eiffel was offered incredible amounts of money to rent the apartment for just one night, but he turned them down each time. In the same vein, Satan makes offers to us of temporary pleasure and satisfaction, but these offers will cost us much more in the long run.

Just as Eiffel stood firm, be encouraged to stand strong against the temptations of this world, and set your heart on what is pure, what is good, what is holy.  

The reward will be much better than anything the world has to offer.

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The parents of the young German boy were concerned when he wasn’t speaking as soon as the other children his age. He eventually began talking, but most around him noted he was withdrawn from the world, even as a boy.

During school, some of his teachers used the following words to describe him: mentally slow, unsociable, adrift forever in his foolish dreams. After failing the college entrance exam the first time he took it, it would have been easy for him to allow himself to be shaped by the words of his teachers and the descriptions of those around him.

Instead, he followed his “foolish dreams,” and devoted his time to the field of science, developing into one of the brightest minds history has ever known … Albert Einstein.

In John (1:12), we are told that “to all who did receive [Jesus], who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

Satan uses the words of others, and even our own thoughts at times, to try and convince us that we are defined by our faults, our shortcomings, our past mistakes and regrets. But God came to us in the person of Jesus Christ to tell us that we are loved, that His blood covers all, and that we are all welcome to come to Him and become children of God.

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Roy Sullivan was a U.S. park ranger at the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. In 1942, Sullivan was seeking shelter during a thunderstorm when a lightning bolt struck him, running down his leg and burning a hole in his shoe.

Sullivan survived the ordeal and was driving down the road 27 years later when lightning bounced off a tree and shot through the open window of his truck, striking Sullivan and burning off his eyebrows and eyelashes.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Sullivan was struck by lightning again in his yard one year later, then again two years after that, then again one more year later. In June 1976 and 1977, Sullivan was struck by lightning again, lighting his hair on fire both times, but living to tell the tale after each of his total of seven lightning strikes.

In Romans 6 (4), Paul reminds us that “we were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

We have the incredible opportunity to elude death, not necessarily in the same way as Roy Sullivan, but through the resurrection of Christ. If we confess Jesus as Lord, submit our lives to Him through baptism, and live lives dedicated to serving God, we will overcome death and be united with Jesus in a resurrection like His.

Let that thought serve to light your way this week. 

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In 1968, Dr. Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M, was trying to develop an ultra-strong adhesive. Instead, he accidentally ended up creating a weak, re-positionable adhesive, but he couldn’t figure out what to do with it. 

Five years later, a colleague asked to use the adhesive on the back of a bookmark for his hymnal. The idea took off, and a new product was created and rolled out to the public in 1979 ... the post-it note. 

Paul tells the Ephesians (5:15-17) – and us – to “look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Due to the current public health directives as a result of COVID-19, I, like Dr. Silver, have accidentally made the following wonderful re-discoveries: There is such a thing as life without sports; slowing down can be more productive than being extremely busy; the fingerprints of God are evident all around us; and there is no such thing as spending too much time with those you love. 

Take advantage of the extra time you have right now to refocus on the things that are most important, and commit to making these things a bigger part of every day when this pandemic is over.

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You couldn’t turn on the television without hearing a news report about the health scare. The world was in an uproar, government officials were trying to figure out how best to handle it, and parents were taking special precautions with their children. Billion-dollar industries were brought to their knees and suffered its effect for years. What was this entity that plagued the world? Red M&Ms in the 1970s.

In Matthew 5, Jesus says “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

I in no way want to make light of the current pandemic facing the world, and I encourage everyone to keep in your prayers those being affected by this outbreak.

But you do have to admit that when a candy product is one of the worst health scares of any year, our society is pretty pampered, and it’s no wonder we’re having such a hard time adjusting to the current situation.

I wonder if it isn’t the same with our faith. We have brothers and sisters throughout the world suffering incredible persecution on a daily basis. So many Christians worship in small groups like we are today, not so they won’t get sick, but so they won’t be killed. How blessed we are to be able to worship freely, but how easy it is to take it for granted. 

Remember to pray for those being persecuted, and commit to appreciating the gift you have to worship openly. Take advantage of this responsibility, and share the Good News everywhere you go.

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Tsutomu Yamaguchi was a 29-year-old engineer in Japan. On August 6, 1945, he was preparing to head back home after a three-month business trip in Hiroshima. On the way to the station, however, he realized he forgot an item at his workplace and went back to retrieve it. Upon returning to the station, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb only 3 km away from Yamaguchi. He was left with burns, ruptured eardrums, and temporary blindness from the ordeal, but he survived and was able to return to his hometown of Nagasaki 

Yamaguchi reported back to work three days later and was describing the experience to his supervisor. While talking to him, the American bomber Bockscar dropped another atomic bomb, this one also just three km away from Yamaguchi. Incredibly, he survived this blast as well, and is the only person officially recognized as having survived both explosions.

In Deuteronomy (31:6), we are encouraged to “be strong and courageous. … [God] will not leave you or forsake you.”

Our hope is that when this pandemic is over, we will all be able to look back and share our experiences of survival and isolation. The fact of the matter, however, is that we are never truly alone. God is always with us, and will never leave us or forsake us.

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Bryan Berg is an architect known for creating record-setting structures that leave onlookers in awe. After graduating with degrees from Iowa State and Harvard, he began touring the world and designing his structures for corporations around the globe.

Berg isn’t only known for building, however; he’s also known for his destruction. As soon as he completes his buildings, he immediately tears them down, which would be a very dangerous proposition except for the fact that all of his buildings are made of playing cards.

In 1 Corinthians, we are reminded that “you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (12:27)

Berg says that he destroys his structures because it “dispels all rumors of falsities.” In other words, when the cards fall, the onlookers are able to see that it really was a structure made from cards – no tape, no glue, no strings.

Many people have preconceived opinions of Christians – weak-minded, hypocritical, fake. We as Christians, through the lives we live, have an incredible opportunity to dispel these rumors of falsities by developing relationships with those who don’t know Christ and by displaying to them the real and true love of Jesus.

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Walter dreamed of making it big, but it seemed like it wasn’t meant to be. On the heels of a failed business venture, he moved to Los Angeles in the hopes of becoming an actor. This attempt failed as well, and he was left with nothing but beans to eat as his debts escalated.

Walter began to seek funding for his latest concept, but was rejected by over 300 financiers. He didn’t give up, though, and his idea grew from a figment of his imagination into a $50 billion a year corporation known as the Walt Disney Company. 

In Galatians, we are encouraged to “not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (6:9)

Being a faithful follower of Christ is not always easy. It requires faith, commitment, and perseverance. And while we may miss out on certain things of this world, Jesus has told us that our reward in Heaven will be great.

Let’s rejoice and praise God for this wonderful gift.

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In the 1800s, two brothers, John and Will, were carrying out research on nutrition and the impact certain foods can have on a body. While making dough, one of the brothers forgot about his batch when leaving it out to dry.

Much later, when the brothers tried to roll out the forgotten dough, it splintered into dozens of individual pieces. Not ones to let anything go to waste, the brothers decided to go ahead and bake the pieces, and they accidentally discovered a new food called granose, which the brothers, whose last name happened to be Kellogg, went on to mass produce as corn flakes.

In 2 Corinthians, we reminded that “God … has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (4:6-7)

Like corn flakes, that are nothing more than broken pieces of dough, we come to God as damaged, scarred, imperfect creations, and his Spirit works through us, not so that we can be praised, but so that God can be praised.

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Naval engineer Richard James was stationed at a Pennsylvania shipyard in the 1940s and faced the same struggle as many other sea-faring officers … how to stabilize sensitive instruments aboard ships in rough seas.

James developed springs that would hold the instruments in place, but discovered another use for them when he knocked one of the springs from the shelf and watched as it moved from the shelf to a stack of books, to a tabletop and then to the floor.

After making some modifications, James was able to sell 100 million  springs over the next two years under the spring’s new name … Slinky.  

In 2 Corinthians, we reminded that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (5:17)

One of the attractions of the Slinky is its simplicity. Oftentimes, we get bogged down as Christians because we make things more complicated than they need to be.

The truth of the matter is that God loves us, and that He, through Jesus, allows us to be forgiven and free from the chains of sin. What a simple, and wonderful, message to share with others!

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