The Cross Is Powerful Series

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

BAY BRIDGE WORLD SERIES EARTHQUAKE

There are so many events in history where you may have had this question posed to you: “Where were you when…?”

One of the most recent in history is where were you when you heard that a plane had hit the World Trade Center tower(s)? We all have vivid memories of those events of September 11, 2001 and where we were when we turned on the television or had someone call us to tell us what was happening.

How about, where were you when the Challenger Space Shuttle had a malfunction and was destroyed mid-launch over the skies? For me, I was in elementary school and this was part of our morning—to watch this exciting launch of the next space mission to launch a new satellite and study Halley’s Comet. That morning 7 astronauts were killed a little over a minute into their flight. January 28, 1986

Or, what about this one? I was not alive for this one. Where were you when you got word that John F. Kennedy was assassinated on that now famous street in Dallas, Texas November 22, 1963?

It is typically these significant and sad events that we remember this way. Why? The scary and the sad things in life have an impact on us. Here is a lesser known one but one many of you may remember. Do you know what happened on October 17, 1989? The Loma Prieta Earthquake.

This may or may not sound familiar because it isn’t really described in this way. Many who remember this event, recall it as the Bay Bridge World Series Earthquake. It was October 17, 1989 and Game 3 of the 1989 World Series was getting ready to begin. This was a famous World Series for us on the West Coast (California especially) because both teams were from California and both teams were from the same part of California. The Oakland A’s were taking on the San Francisco Giants. We had the Battle of the Bay with Will Clark and Kevin Mitchell’s Giants trying to overcome the Bash Brothers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco.

At 5:04pm PST, the rumbling began and the announcers even began to speak the words. Sportscaster Al Michaels exclaimed, “I’ll tell you what, we’re having an earth--.” And at that moment the signal from Candlestick Park in San Francisco was lost.

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake had hit. It was a violent earthquake. 63 people died and over 3700 people were injured. The collapse of a section of the double-deck Nimitz Freeway in Oakland was the site of the largest number of casualties. A 76-by-50-foot section of the upper deck fell onto the deck below. In other places the upper deck fell and crushed the cars in the lower deck.

In other places, buildings collapsed, homes were dislodged from their foundations, other bridges had been damaged, 1.4 million people lost power, many television stations were knocked off the air.

The quake caused $6 Billion (with a B) in damages.

Earthquakes are powerful and can be devastating depending on where they happen and what the infrastructure in that location is like. Many of our buildings and bridges are earthquake proof (at least for destruction—but can still be damaged).

We are going to see that even though earthquakes are powerful, we serve a mighty God who has given us Jesus. Let’s examine a different earthquake in the Bible because in the cross, we can see that there is power. That is the next aspect of the cross of Christ we are going to look at – The Cross is Powerful.

READ MATTHEW 27:45-54

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”