Life From Death? (5 of 5)
Series: The Upside Down Teachings of Jesus
Jeff Strite
Matthew 22:23-33
(This was the last in our series "The Upside Down Teachings of Jesus" and to emphasize that theme, we played the video "Blindness" found through sermoncentral. If you’ve not seen it it is worth the time to prevue it’s powerful message).
OPEN: His name was Roger Williams and he was a famous 17th century religious leader.
He died in 1683 and was buried in a poorly marked grave in the backyard of his home.
Nearly 200 years later (in 1860) one of his descendants ordered his body exhumed and moved to a more suitable location. But when they excavated the grave they didn’t find a body. All they fond were a few badly rusted coffin nails and few scraps of rotten wood.
But they did find something else in the grave that amazed them.
It seems an apple tree had grown up next to the burial site and one of roots had grown into the spot where Roger Williams had been laid to rest, taking the shape of William’s body – from its head to its heels.
As it grew, the root apparently had encountered Williams’ skull and followed the path of least resistance inching down the side of his head, backbone, hips and legs, molding itself closely to the contours of his body.
The corpse itself was gone, absorbed into the tree through its roots.
The tree had eaten Roger Williams
And over the years, it had produced numerous apples that had been eaten by people in the community.
Now, the Bible tells me that – when Jesus returns - we’ll all rise from the dead and have a new body… but HOW is God going to put Roger Williams’ body back together again?
It’s a mystery to me. But it’s not a mystery to God.
ILLUS: Back in 1994, Brian Kelly, a fireworks handler, went out with a bang during the grand finale at a convention of fireworks technicians near Pittsburgh. As he was dying he told family members he wanted his ashes loaded into a fireworks shell and exploded - scattering his ...
Series: The Upside Down Teachings of Jesus
Jeff Strite
Matthew 22:23-33
(This was the last in our series "The Upside Down Teachings of Jesus" and to emphasize that theme, we played the video "Blindness" found through sermoncentral. If you’ve not seen it it is worth the time to prevue it’s powerful message).
OPEN: His name was Roger Williams and he was a famous 17th century religious leader.
He died in 1683 and was buried in a poorly marked grave in the backyard of his home.
Nearly 200 years later (in 1860) one of his descendants ordered his body exhumed and moved to a more suitable location. But when they excavated the grave they didn’t find a body. All they fond were a few badly rusted coffin nails and few scraps of rotten wood.
But they did find something else in the grave that amazed them.
It seems an apple tree had grown up next to the burial site and one of roots had grown into the spot where Roger Williams had been laid to rest, taking the shape of William’s body – from its head to its heels.
As it grew, the root apparently had encountered Williams’ skull and followed the path of least resistance inching down the side of his head, backbone, hips and legs, molding itself closely to the contours of his body.
The corpse itself was gone, absorbed into the tree through its roots.
The tree had eaten Roger Williams
And over the years, it had produced numerous apples that had been eaten by people in the community.
Now, the Bible tells me that – when Jesus returns - we’ll all rise from the dead and have a new body… but HOW is God going to put Roger Williams’ body back together again?
It’s a mystery to me. But it’s not a mystery to God.
ILLUS: Back in 1994, Brian Kelly, a fireworks handler, went out with a bang during the grand finale at a convention of fireworks technicians near Pittsburgh. As he was dying he told family members he wanted his ashes loaded into a fireworks shell and exploded - scattering his ...
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