Sermon Central
-
Covetousness And The Emperor's New Grove
Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2013 (message contributor)
COVETOUSNESS AND THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROVE
In Disney's thirty-ninth animated film, "The Emperor's New Groove," self-proclaimed "King of the World" Kuzco (COOS-coh), who had an evil female advisor named Yzma (EEZ-muh), made plans to demolish an entire village to build a new water park. At the highest point of the village he planned on building his new summer home, Kuzcotopia. This was all to be done as a birthday present to himself on his eighteenth birthday.
The plot of ground on which Kuzcotopia was to be built belonged to a lowly llama herder named Pacha. Pacha and his family had lived on that hill for many years, and Pacha had no desire to sell his land; that's when Kuzco informed Pacha that his intention was not to pay for it but to simply take it for his own. Pacha was supposed to view it as a charitable contribution to the Emperor. Pacha denied Kuzco the land, and Kuzco envied it with a passion.
This sounds like a story straight out of the Bible; a story where a king, along with his evil female advisor, desired a new plot of ground. The piece of real estate desired by the king in our passage of Scripture for today was a vineyard or a "grove" of grapes; therefore, I have entitled our message "The Emperor's New Grove." This sermon will address the topic of the slippery slope of envy, or the downward spiral of coveting. If you have ever seen the Disney cartoon, then you will be surprised to discover just how similar the story sounds to our Bible passage.
This morning we looked at the downward spiral of coveting, and we learned that desire leads to coveting, and coveting leads to sin, and that there is a price to pay for sin. Most importantly we learned that the penalty for sin can be forgiven through our faith in Jesus Christ and acceptance of Him as our Lord and Savior who laid down His life for us.
In "The Emperor's New Groove," Kuzco's hard heart was eventually softened and his life was changed, and that's when he got his new groove on. You too can have a new groove and see your life changed if you will accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. 2 Corinthians 6:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
(From a sermon by Damian Phillips, The Emperor's New Grove, 8/13/2012)
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
There Once Was A Fellow Who, With His Dad, ... PRO
Contributed by Philip Harrelson on Dec 28, 2006
There once was a fellow who, with his dad, farmed a little piece of land. Several times a year they would load up the old ox-drawn cart with vegetables and go into the nearest city to sell their produce. Except for their name and the patch of ground, father and son had little in common. The old ...read more
-
Do We Know The Pessimist's Creed?
Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Feb 9, 2007
DO WE KNOW THE PESSIMIST’S CREED? THINK, IF THE PESSIMIST HAD A CREED WHAT WOULD IT BE? ALL BUT ME AND THEE! THE PESSIMIST CREED! By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Why rejoice in sunshine? It will just turn to dark clouds and much rain! Besides that, the sunshine can hurt your eyes, More ...read more
-
A Young Son's Attempt At Full ... PRO
Contributed by Greg Buchner on May 9, 2005
A young son’s attempt at full forgiveness…(Illustrations Unlimited) A pastor’s son and his mom had been to a shopping and the boy had not behaved himself. As they were driving home, he could sense her displeasure and said, “When we ask God to forgive us when we are bad. He does, doesn’t he?” His ...read more
-
Transient Forgiveness PRO
Contributed by Greg Buchner on May 9, 2005
Transient Forgiveness (Illustrations Unlimited) Two little brothers, Harry and James, had finished supper and were playing until bedtime. Somehow, Harry hit James with a stick, and tears and bitter words followed. Charges and accusations were still being exchanged as their mother prepared them ...read more
-
5 Ways To Get Rid Of Your Pastor PRO
Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Feb 9, 2007
5 WAYS TO GET RID OF YOUR PASTOR John R. Rice told of five ways to get rid of your pastor that you might should think about. 1. Sit on the front pew, smile and say AMEN real loud. Your pastor will preach himself to death. 2. Compliment your Pastor often, pat him on the back, brag on how well ...read more
Related Sermons
-
The Rich Fool Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 4, 2018
Why was God angry at the "rich farmer?" What had this farmer done wrong and what can we learn from his story about the need to being rich toward God?
-
Living In Contentment
Contributed by Dennis Lee on Oct 17, 2017
This sermon looks at contentment, what causes discontentment and how we can live in contented no matter what happens in life. (Updated)
-
Overcoming Greed Series
Contributed by Manny Salva Cruz on Jul 25, 2013
Every Biblical character is a unique personality and has been written for us to learn something. We will be warned of Gehazi's downward pull due to the sin of GREED. We will learn lessons from the life of Elisha on how he maintained his INTEGRITY.
-
The Need To Be Freed From Sin Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jul 3, 2016
Jesus came to free us from our sins. But then, why do so many not sense the need to to be freed from those chains? To them it seems that the phrase "freed from sin" is mere Christianese. But is it?
-
Escaping Your Prison Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Aug 2, 2020
As Christians we're supposed to live a different life than those around us. But how can we do that when we're surrounded with so many temptations to do things we know we shouldn't do?
