Lessons From Spider-Man Series

Lessons from SPIDER-MAN

Scripture: Isaiah 30:21 Date: 17 October 2010

Purpose: To encourage the congregation to the power and responsibility we each have as Christians.

Within the last few years or so America has gone Super hero crazy!! With movies out like The Hulk, Superman, Iron Man, The X-Men, and even cartoons out like Astro Boy, and the Incredibles, we have gone Super Hero Crazy.

I noticed on television that recently a new series has begun called “No Ordinary Family”, a series about a family with super powers. It seems everywhere we turn, we see something about super heroes.

Last week I shared with you some lessons from my all -time favorite super hero, Superman. I believe God has placed before us a message in all things and I do believe we can draw some guidance from super heroes as well.

Spiderman has been a popular super hero; there for a while it seemed that good ol’Spidey was everywhere you looked. Lunch boxes, bedding, toys, costumes, clothes, bikes, comics, and even three very successful movies.

Today I want to use each movie as a point that we can draw a lesson from today.

The Scripture that God has lead me to use today is found in the book of Isiah chapter 30 verse 21. The main theme is the Guidance of God.

Isaiah 30:21Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

SPIDER-MAN I “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”

A.Peter Parker was bitten by a genetically modified spider. This event gave Peter, a nerdy, shy, and awkward high school student spider-like ability that he eventually must use to fight evil as a superhero.

1.This one event changed Peter’s life forever. He went to bed that night and awoke as a new creature.

2.This is what happened to us as well. When you accepted Jesus, your life changed from that event. You became a new creature.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

3.At that point of salvation you were given great powers.

4.When we became a Christian we ceased looking out only for ourselves. There is a power in us not only for holy living but also for helping others, and if you and I are only concentrating on one and not the other, then we are off balance and out of the will of God.

Illustration: In Spiderman 1 after Peter was bitten by the spider. He passes out in his bedroom at home, and the next day his vision is perfect, he has become more muscular, his wrists emit web strings, and his reflexes are super-quick. At school, he saves Mary Jane, the girl he has a crush on, from falling and easily defeats her boyfriend in a fistfight. Realizing that the spider's bite has given him spider-like powers, he learns how to scale walls, jump between building rooftops, and swing through the city.

Peter enters a wrestling tournament, hoping to use his new spider skills to win $3,000 so he can buy a sports car to impress Mary Jane. On the day of the tournament, his Uncle Ben tries to give him some fatherly advice, but Peter lashes out at him.

VIDEO: “Uncle Ben”

5.What do you want to be this morning? As Peter’s uncle challenged him to choose to be the man he ought to be, so God challenges us to be the person He wants us to be.

B.Jesus has not given us His power to waste on ourselves but to help humanity - to make a difference. Because it is right!

1. Jesus came to serve rather than be served. He asked those who followed Him to care for one another and help one another. “By this they will know you are my disciples in that you have love one for another.” (John 13:35)

2.The real test of a person’s faith is not just a belief he/she may hold or a weekly appointment every Sunday morning at church. Real faith is measured in what one is doing to help others – to care for the needs of the broken, the hurting and the hopeless.

3.Not everyone is called to go to the jail to minister to the prisoners, but we are to support the ones who do. Not everyone is led of God to go to a third world country and serve as a missionary, but we are to support the ones who do.

4.The fruit of faith is our works. That is what James meant when he said, James 2:21 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of works, faith was perfected.”