Sermon Illustrations: Crucifixion

A woman's husband liked baked dinners, chocolate, pavlova and percolated coffee. One night, his wife decided to bless him and serve all his favourite foods for dinner. She prepared a beautiful meal, took it through to where he was sitting in his armchair watching TV, but he made no response. In fact, he was dead. The sin virus makes sinning seem attractive to us. The Bible teaches that we are all under the power of this virus, but that if we die, it has no more power over us. Christians call this dying to sin.

If you're about to undergo a painful experience, try drinking more water. According to research from Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute, you'll be more sensitive to pain if you're thirsty. The study discovered a part of the brain is uniquely activated when pain and thirst are experienced together, suggesting there's a "priority switch" for these sensations, forcing the brain to decide which is more important to survival. Pain is accentuated because it is a greater threat than thirst. (Readers Digest April 2006 p16) Remember that Jesus was thirsty when He was crucified.

Dead people don't get offended.