Sermon Central
-
The Bible And The Bounty
Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011 (message contributor)
THE BIBLE AND THE BOUNTY
The English ship Bounty, commanded by Lt. William Bligh, journeyed to the South Pacific in 1787. Many signed on considering the voyage a trip to paradise. Bligh appointed a young friend, Fletcher Christian, to the post of second in command. The Bounty stayed in Tahiti for 6 months and led by the happy go lucky Fletcher Christian enjoyed paradise to the fullest. On April 28, 1789, Fletcher Christian staged the most famous mutiny in history. He and his mutineers set Bligh and his supporters adrift in an overloaded lifeboat.
The mutineers aboard the Bounty immediately began quarreling about what to do next. Christian returned to Tahiti, where he left some of the mutineers, kidnapped some women, took some slaves, and traveled with the remaining crew a thousand miles to uninhabited Pitcairn Island. There the little group unraveled. They distilled whiskey from a native plant. Drunkenness, disease, and murder took the lives of all men except for one. John Adams, a.k.a. Alexander Smith, found himself as the only man on the island surrounded by an assortment of women and children.
Then an amazing change occurred. Smith found the Bounty’s neglected Bible. As he read it, he took its message to heart, then began instructing the little community. He taught the colonists the scriptures and helped them obey its instructions. The message of Christ so transformed their lives that twenty years later, in 1808, when the ship Topaz landed on the island, it found a happy society of Christians living in prosperity and peace, free from crime, disease, murder --- and mutiny. Years later the Bible fell into the hands of a visiting whaler who brought it to America, but in 1950 it was returned to the island. It now resides on display in the church in Pitcairn as a monument to its transforming message.
(From a sermon by Stephen Sheane, The Table of Shewbread, 5/25/2011)
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
A Priest And A Rabbi From Local Parishes Were ... PRO
Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Oct 17, 2004
A priest and a rabbi from local parishes were standing by the side of the road holding up signs. The rabbi’s read, "The End is Near!" The priest, on the other side of the road, held up a sign which read, "Turn before it’s too late!" They planned to hold up their signs to each passing car. "Get a ...read more
-
It Was A State Campground Near Old Walker Mine ...
Contributed by Charles Wilkerson on Nov 14, 2003
It was a state campground near Old Walker Mine in late September. My father and I pulled in about 11:30 at night and setting up camp what I remember most was the night sky. It was black, not dark but black. The stars were clearer, huge, close and more brilliant than I’d ever seen them or could ...read more
-
Contrary To Popular Belief, It Wasn't The Apple ... PRO
Contributed by Randall Newman on Oct 10, 2005
Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t the apple on the tree that got us banished from Paradise. ...read more
-
But The Tongue Is As Volatile As It Is Vital. ...
Contributed by Bart Leger on Feb 14, 2005
“But the tongue is as volatile as it is vital. It was Washington Irving who first said, ‘A sharp tongue is the only edge tool that grows keener with constant use.’ It was James, the half brother of Jesus, who first warned: The tongue is a fire…a restless evil and full of deadly poison (James ...read more
-
The Work Of Evangelism Is Never Complete Until ... PRO
Contributed by Dave Mcfadden on Oct 20, 2004
"The work of evangelism is never complete until the one evangelized becomes an ...read more
Related Sermons
-
-
-
The Life That Stands Through A Storm
Contributed by Gordon Weatherby on May 6, 2013
This is a message based on Jesus' parable of the Wise and foolish Builders. Anything less than Jesus Christ, and the word of God to build our lives on will fail us.
-
I Love His Word
Contributed by Rajendra Kadia on Nov 22, 2016
Loving God's Word leads to many blessings
-
Speak No Evil. Do No Evil. Series
Contributed by Allan Quak on Oct 7, 2011
Our belief in Jesus and His calling on our lives dictates how we act therefore we should stop compromising with worldly values and behaviour and give ourselves wholly to the Lord. To do this we should Accept the Word Apply the Word Activate the Word
