TAKING A STAND (4 OF 7)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: Acts 8:4-6, Acts 8:8-25, Acts 8
This content is part of a series.
Taking A Stand (4 of 7)
Series: When The Rock Moved
Jeff Strite
Acts 8:4-25
OPEN: In February 2001, Adam Burtle, a 20 year old student at the University of Washington put his soul up for auction on eBay.
The ad read: ''Hardly used. I make no warranties as to the condition of my soul. As of now it is near mint condition, with only minor scratches. Due to difficulties involved with removing my soul (he wasn't dead yet), the winning bidder will either have to settle for night of yummy Thai food and cool indie flicks, or wait until my natural death.''
The bidding started at a nickel; his ex-girlfriend bid it up to $6.66, the mark of the ''Beast.''
In the final hour of bidding, the price rose from $56 to $400, placed by a woman in Des Moines, Iowa...
But then eBay officials learned of the auction and removed the listing before bidding closed - not because auctioning a soul over the Internet is improper, but because eBay requires that EBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove explained ''you have a piece of merchandise that a seller can deliver to a buyer,''. (eBay also forbids the selling of drugs, alcohol, guns and body parts).
APPLY: People will do all kinds of things for money... some are apparently even willing to sell their souls on E-Bay.
Here, in Acts 8... we find a man - Simon the Sorcerer - who was in danger of doing just that.
For the price of power and prestige, he nearly endangered his relationship with God.
BUT... let's back up a little and examine what kind of man - this Simon - was
I. When we 1st meet Simon, we find that he is described to us as a Sorcerer. He is a magician - capable in the art of prestidigitation. In other words... sleight of hand.
Now, we don't know if he made rabbits appear out of thin air.
Or cut lovely assistants in two.
Or made large buildings seem to disappear.
But - as with every magician - he specialized in fooling his audience - making them believe he was doing something that he wasn't.
ILLUS: Now. ...
Series: When The Rock Moved
Jeff Strite
Acts 8:4-25
OPEN: In February 2001, Adam Burtle, a 20 year old student at the University of Washington put his soul up for auction on eBay.
The ad read: ''Hardly used. I make no warranties as to the condition of my soul. As of now it is near mint condition, with only minor scratches. Due to difficulties involved with removing my soul (he wasn't dead yet), the winning bidder will either have to settle for night of yummy Thai food and cool indie flicks, or wait until my natural death.''
The bidding started at a nickel; his ex-girlfriend bid it up to $6.66, the mark of the ''Beast.''
In the final hour of bidding, the price rose from $56 to $400, placed by a woman in Des Moines, Iowa...
But then eBay officials learned of the auction and removed the listing before bidding closed - not because auctioning a soul over the Internet is improper, but because eBay requires that EBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove explained ''you have a piece of merchandise that a seller can deliver to a buyer,''. (eBay also forbids the selling of drugs, alcohol, guns and body parts).
APPLY: People will do all kinds of things for money... some are apparently even willing to sell their souls on E-Bay.
Here, in Acts 8... we find a man - Simon the Sorcerer - who was in danger of doing just that.
For the price of power and prestige, he nearly endangered his relationship with God.
BUT... let's back up a little and examine what kind of man - this Simon - was
I. When we 1st meet Simon, we find that he is described to us as a Sorcerer. He is a magician - capable in the art of prestidigitation. In other words... sleight of hand.
Now, we don't know if he made rabbits appear out of thin air.
Or cut lovely assistants in two.
Or made large buildings seem to disappear.
But - as with every magician - he specialized in fooling his audience - making them believe he was doing something that he wasn't.
ILLUS: Now. ...
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