SPECIAL DAYS: Outdoor Worship - Church Picnic

September 14, 2003: Lesson: Matthew 9.18-26

Sermon Title: The Touch that Heals

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INTRODUCTION:

  1. Bibleman, Action hero

  2. How do we get from Bibleman to Jesus.

    1. We don't

    2. Jesus is Bibleman

    3. We get to Jesus only by action.

MAIN BODY:

  1. According to Jennifer Farley, "It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's Bibleman!!"

    1. Batman! You've got some competition. It's Bibleman. (1)

      1. At first glance, Bibleman looks like other action figures. Like Superman and Batman, Bibleman uses his powers to fight evil in the world. He has rippled muscles, a cape and a Robin-like sidekick named Cypher. But Bibleman is different; he has the wrath of God on his side.

      2. Clad in purple tights and yellow body armor, this action doll is a Scripture-quoting hero. Kids can take a 12-inch version of him home from any of the hundreds of Christian-theme toy stores nationwide for $12.99.

      3. Bibleman preaches his message of faith and redemption through videos, books, live tours, CDs and on his Web site, www.bibleman.com. Approximately 75,000 copies of each video have been sold along with nearly 500,000 action figures since the products were created in 1995.

      4. Bibleman characters and synopsis of the latest episode from website: http://www.bibleman.com/index2.html

    BibleMan

    Characters

        1. Miles Peterson / Bibleman

    Not-So-Secret Identity: Bibleman
    Occupation: School Teacher
    Tools: The Full Armor of God
    Residence: Eaglegate Manor
    Best Friends: Cypher / Unice
    Favorite Color: Purple
    Life Bible Verse: Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ because He gives me strength."

    Profile: Miles Peterson was a man who had wealth, status and success. Still, something was lacking. Now transformed by the Word of the Lord and empowered by His strength, Miles Peterson lives out a pledge to fight evil in the name of God, under the identity of Bibleman.

        1. Cypher

    Real Name: Unknown
    Occupation: Bibleman's Partner
    Tools: Spectroscopic Headgear
    Residence: Eaglegate Manor
    Best Friend: Miles Peterson
    Favorite Color: Black
    Life Bible Verse: Proverbs 27:17 "Iron can sharpen iron. In the same way, people can help each other."

    Profile: Cypher, over the last few years, has secretly been watching Bibleman and praying he would be called to join the Bible Adventure Team. When Coats, former partner of Bibleman, was sent on a classified mission, he passed the torch on to Cypher. Cypher's job is to manage the laboratory's communication systems and assist Bibleman, providing tactical and technical support.

        1. Lia Martinez / Biblegirl

    Not-So-Secret Identity: Biblegirl
    Occupation: Student at Randall Town High School
    Tools:
    Residence: Lakewood Estates; Randall Town, USA
    Best Friend: Her Brother Sammy
    Favorite Color: Yellow
    Life Bible Verse: Proverbs Chapter 31:30 "Charm Can Fool You, And Beauty Can Trick You. But A Woman Who Respects The Lord Should Be Praised."

    Profile: Lia Martinez, a desperate drama major, and long time friend of Cypher was called to the Bible Adventure Team after an encounter with Bibleman's nemesis, Luxor Spawndroth. Lia still attends school but assists Bibleman and Cypher in many adventures when needed.

        1. U.N.I.C.E.

    The Universal Networking Intelligence Computing Entity
    Location: Miles' Laboratory
    Function: Defeating Evil
    Programmer: Classified
    Capabilities: Full Access to Villain's Computer Systems
    Global Access: Unlimited Satellite and Remote Operations

    Profile: The Unice, pronounced (you-niss) mainframe consists of super-conductor CO2 fiber optics. She can assimilate and access over 100 trillion bytes of information per second. Unice has her own identity, is voice activated and can scan frequencies of any person entering the room to immediately identify their ability to access laboratory databases. Unice is the fastest, smartest computer ever made, and her technologies are not yet available to the outside world.

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        1. The enemy Luxor Spawndroth

    Alias: Luxor
    Occupation: Satan's Minion
    Tools: Microbius Disobedientis (Germ of Disobedience)
    Residence: The Sewer
    Sidekicks: Ludicrous / L.U.C.I.

    Profile: Luxor Spawndroth infects victims with (Microbius Disobedientis) the germ of disobedience. When infected, the victim's sensory perception is distorted thus, inhibiting the study of bible verses. This infection creates an allergic reaction that makes the victim do the opposite of what God wants.

        1. Ludicrous

    Occupation: Sidekick to Luxor Spawndroth
    Capabilities: Able to change character traits when needed
    Residence: The Sewer
    Best Friend: Thinks it is Luxor
    Favorite Color: Cottage Cheese

    Profile: Ludicrous is the only sidekick Luxor Spawndroth has ever had. His job is to assist Luxor in taking over the world, although the only job he ever accomplishes is being annoying and bothersome. Ludicrous is able to give very helpful insights but only after learning a few lessons the hard way.

        1. L.U.C.I.

    The Link to Underhanded Computer Influences
    Location: Luxor Spawndroth's Sewer
    Function: Being Nasty
    Programmer: Luxor Spawndroth
    Capabilities: Very limited access to U.N.I.C.E.'s computer systems
    Global Access: Very limited satellite and remote operation

    Profile: The L.U.C.I. pronounced (loo-see) mainframe is made up of only 100 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. She has her own identity, is voice activated and is able to find the worst trait of any person that enters the sewer. Her cryogeneric subliminal databases are able to hack into almost any computer system not protected by the Word of God.

      1. Synopsis of latest episode on internet: Lead Us Not Into Temptation.

    In this latest Bible Adventure, the infamous Luxor Spawndroth uses the first name in villainous software, "Hypno Hack by Micro Harsh" to tempt Bibleman's trusted friend Cypher and young school girl Riley Watson into going back to their old life styles of unkindness. With help from Bibleman, Biblegirl and the Word of God, they find out that God will give us a way to escape temptation (1st Corinthians 10:13).

    This action-packed adventure takes you from an amazing battle in the forest to a final bout in Luxor's lair!

    Has Luxor Spawndroth's hypnotic web site snatched young Riley? Will Cypher be tempted into hanging out with an old but dangerous friend? Find out, in this latest Bibleman adventure: Lead Us Not Into Temptation.

        1. I know we have spent too long on this ministry, for that is what it is.

        2. We need to move on.

        3. We have such a stark contrast with Jesus.

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    1. What a contrast between Bibleman and Jesus!

      1. Jesus is walking with his disciples and a large crowd of people who are following and listening.

      2. You cannot help but love this person.

        1. He is firm, but kind.

        2. He is candid, but gracious.

        3. He is deeply aware of the needs of the people and offers help.

      3. As Jesus is walking he is met by a leader of the synagogue.

        1. The whole procession stops.

        2. He kneels before Jesus.

        3. He informs Jesus that his daughter has died and asks that Jesus come and lay his hand on her so that she can live again.

          1. This requires action on the part of the leader of the synagogue.

          2. Jesus does not know of the child's death.

          3. He can only help, if he is invited to help.

        4. Jesus follows the leader of the synagogue with his disciples.

      4. There is another interruption to the procession.

        1. Jesus stops because he knows that someone has touched him.

          1. His disciples are disbelieving.

          2. How can you know that in this crowd of people that are pressed so tightly together that they are constantly bumping into one another.

        2. This is a woman who has had a hemorrhage for 12 years.

          1. She has taken charge of her own health care.

          2. She has spent much on physicians who have not been able to help her.

          3. She says to herself that if she can but touch the hem of his garment she will be healed.

            1. This is the touch that heals.

            2. And so she is.

            3. She has to touch.

        3. She receives not only physical healing, but also spiritual healing for Jesus cares for the whole person.

    2. You have to reach out and touch.

      1. Jesus is walking by.

      2. He will not intervene in your life.

      3. Faith impels action.

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    CONCLUSION

    1. Several years ago, I heard the story of Larry Walters, a 33-year-old man who decided he wanted to see his neighborhood from a new perspective. (2)

    He went down to the local army surplus store one morning and bought 45 used weather balloons. That afternoon, he strapped himself into a lawn chair, to which several of his friends tied the now helium-filled balloons. He took along a six-pack of beer, a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich and a BB gun, figuring he could shoot the balloons one at a time when he was ready to land.

    Walters, who assumed the balloons would lift him about 100 feet in the air, was caught off guard when the chair soared more than 11,000 feet into the sky -- smack into the middle of the air traffic pattern at Los Angeles International Airport. Too frightened to shoot any of the balloons, he stayed airborne for more than two hours forcing the airport to shut down its runways for much of the afternoon, causing long delays in flights from across the country.

    Soon after he was safely grounded and cited by the police, reporters asked him three questions

    Were you scared?

    Yes.

    Would you do it again?

    No.

    Why did you do it?

    Because, he said, you can't just sit there.

    1. You can sit there or not, it's up to you.

1. Jennifer Farley, "It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's Bibleman!!" Columbia News Service, April 10, 2002, jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/cns/2002-04-10/127.asp.

2. Gary Gonzales, Raising Your Creativity Quotient, Leadership 14 (Summer 1993), 35.

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