Break Out of Our Comfort Zones—Part 2
Would you be excited if God said to you, “I have a dream I want you to share in”?
I’m sure that sounds good! And I don’t want to discourage you. But this chapter underscores that those who accept God’s invitation to dream His dreams usually have to break out of what I would call their “comfort zones.” Such an invitation is extended to Thespia, a young actress in the book Tales of the Resistance. She is “the most beautiful player of all.”
The Dagoda of the Enchanter loomed in the middle of Enchanted City, so that none would forget the watching eye of the fire wizard. Close by, and a happier place was the Palace of Players. Here the people of the city, filled with weariness and heartsickness, came and forgot for a time their griefs and fears and pains.
Thespia stood in the wings of the stage brushing her long and luxuriant hair. She was the most beautiful of all the players and even now she could hear the house chanting her name. “Thespia! We want Thespia!” Many suitors sought her hand, but she turned them all away.
“Flowers from the Dagoda!” the assistant stage manager called. Thespia yawned and instructed that the gift be delivered to her suite in the Palace.
“Four minutes! Four minutes!” the callboy warned. Thespia straightened her gown and took one last look in the mirror.
Through a crack in the thick velvet curtain, she could see that the theater was full. It was almost time for the play to begin. Poor ones. Poor, poor ones. Forget for a while, then home again only to remember your empty half-lives. She whispered this hollow blessing over them. “See you t’night,” the lead actor shouted as he hurried to take his position. “QUIET!” warned the stage director.
“But … ” Thespia wanted to protest to the actor; then she shrugged her shoulders and turned to wait for that always-thrill, the curtains rising and the stage filling with the sudden radiance of spotlights, then the sonorous voices of trained players. She particularly loved tonight’s play. The Return of the King had been banned for years, but recently several very old myth cycles had been restored to the Palace repertoire.
We need a king—Thespia quickly looked around as though the stagehands could read her innermost mind. Treason, this thinking; she knew it. Careful, or the most beautiful player of all could play a final role tied to a stake at Burning Place. The first rule all children of Enchanted City learned after branding was:
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A KING.
DEATH TO PRETENDERS!
Senseless! she thought, and looked around again. If there’s no such thing as a king, why such a fuss? The placards, the lectures, the propaganda songs—“ … no king, no king, the Enchanter’s the thi-ng.” Silence would have helped her to forget, but each protest made her wish all the more: If only there really were a king!
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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?
Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?
David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.
We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.
For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.
