Sermon Illustrations

THE MISSION: TETHERED TO SIN

In the award winning film called "The Mission," Robert DeNiro plays a mercenary who has taken asylum in the local church after killing his brother in a fit of jealous rage. He eventually leaves the church and heads to a mission post located above the waterfalls in a South American jungle. Because of what he has done, and how bad he feels, he ties himself to a several-hundred pound net of items that represents his sinful life. He feels compelled to drag this sack of sin around with him as a way to do penance for what he has done.

As you watch this clip you'll see him slip under the burden of his past, with the rope choking the very life out of him. He feels terrible and yet doesn't know what to do with his sin and the shame that comes with it.

Our hero can't let go of his past life. Have you ever felt like that? Are you tethered to some transgressions this morning? Are you gasping under the guilt of things you did several years ago?

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