Dead Man Walking
Ecclesiastes 6:10-12 Victory Fellowship
February 25, 2024 - Rev. Roderick Grabski
2nd Sunday in Lent – Healing Service
I. Introduction: Dead Man Walking (1995. Based on a true story)
a. A convicted murderer on Death Row and the nun who befriends him. Through the portrayal of finely drawn characters and their interactions as the days, hours, and minutes tick down to the condemned man's execution, powerful emotions are unleashed. While Matthew Poncelet and Sister Prejean desperately try to gain a stay of execution from the governor or the courts, scenes are intercut from the brutal crime, gradually revealing the truth about the events that transpired. In addition to her temporal help, the nun also tries to reach out spiritually and assist as a guide to salvation.
Prison Guard: Tell me something, Sister. What is a nun doing in a place like this? Shouldn't you be teaching children? Do you know what this man has done? How he killed them kids?
Sister Helen Prejean: What he was involved with was evil. I don't condone it. I just don't see the sense of killing people to say killing people's wrong.
Prison Guard: You know how the Bible says "an eye for an eye."
Sister Helen Prejean: You know what else the Bible asks for? Death as a punishment for adultery, prostitution, homosexuality, trespass upon sacred ground, profaning the Sabbath, and contempt of parents.
Prison Guard: I ain't gonna get into no Bible quoting with no nun, 'cause I'm gonna lose.
b. Is the film Dead Man Walking for or against capital punishment? It provides us with just as many arguments for capital punishment as it provides against capital punishment. "Dead Man Walking" is perhaps most successful in depicting the families of both the murderer and his two victims.
c. Solomon concedes that without God, What is the advantage for man? For who knows what is good for man in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? Who can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?
II. Lent reminds us that we are all Dead People Walking.
a. Paul writes:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. Ephesians 2:1-2 NIV
b. For many Christians, preparing yourself for 40 days during Lent can be a spiritual discipline that enhances your prayer life, helps you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, draw you to God’s word, and help you to love God and neighbor more intensely.
c. LENT IS ABOUT REPENTANCE. Jesus’ first words in his ministry were “Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).
d. Repentance is not only turning from your sin. It is turning to God. It’s not just feeling sorry. It’s being convicted, becoming inwardly humbled and visibly reformed. It’s a directional change in your life: from sin - to God. From being a dead person walking to becoming alive in Christ.
e. Repentance is one of the foundations of Christianity. It’s mentioned over 60 times in the NT.
III. All have sinned. All need forgiveness.
a. God reveals our sin – not to condemn us – but to invite us into a closer communion with Him. If we feel the pain of our sin, it surely means that we must know the Lord. The guilt that we feel is a severe mercy God gives to His erring children. Our tears of repentance are signs of life within. Our pain and our shame and frustration are signs that we are children of God.
b. We serve a Holy God. He desires for us to be holy too, and He has provided a way though His Son, Jesus Christ, to cleanse us of our sin forever. By His wounds we are healed.
PRAYER and ANOINTING with OIL
SONG: Victory in Jesus
Ecclesiastes 6:10-12 (HCSB) 10 Whatever exists was given its name long ago, and it is known what man is. But he is not able to contend with the One stronger than he. 11 For when there are many words, they increase futility. What is the advantage for man? 12 For who knows what is good for man in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? Who can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?
