Hide and Seek, Seek and Hide - Zephaniah 1-2

The first apocalyptic movie ever made was Deluge in 1933.  It showed a massive earthquake in California and a tsunami that went all the way around the world and destroyed New York.

Through the 1950’s only eleven apocalyptic movies had been made.  The most famous was based on H. G. Well’s novel, The War of the Worlds.  

  In the 1960’s we picked up the pace a little with thirteen apocalyptic movies as we started worrying about nuclear war.  We produced The Day the Earth Caught Fire and the dark comedy, Dr. Strangelove.

The 70’s brought us 23 apocalyptic movies, including several sequels of Planet of the Apes in which intelligent apes take over the world.  Also, there was a remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers - as if one wasn’t enough.

In the 80’s we stepped it up with 30 apocalyptic movies, including the classic Aliens and Arnold Schwartzeneger’s first Terminator.  When said, “I’ll be back,” I guess he was right.  Who knew it would be as governor of California?

We were kind of slackers in the 90‘s.  We only made 29 apocalyptic movies, but we hit it big with computers sucking the life out of humanity in The Matrix and a meteor bound for earth in Armageddon.

But since 2000, we have seen an explosion of apocalyptic movies, a total of 76.  We’ve killed ourselves off through cold, heat, disease, computers, zombies, pollution, evil, divine judgment, and of course more aliens.

  More than ever before, we humans are aware that our lives may be violently disrupted by events beyond our control.  This is the essence of the apocalyptic genre - the sense that life cannot continue indefinitely as it is now, the sense that huge, cosmic changes may be coming soon.

Zephaniah is an apocalyptic prophet.  He is a preacher of dramatic, unstoppable change.  

Nazarene Heritage: Unity (Snakes in a Church)

Numbers 21:4-9
 4 Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, 5 and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”
 6 So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.
 8 Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” 9 So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!

    Snakes on a Plane was possibly the worst movie made in the last ten years.  The basic concept is that someone releases hundreds of poisonous snakes on a plane flying over the Pacific Ocean.  They can’t land, and they can’t get the snakes out.  Just so you don’t have to watch it, let me give you the summary.  It’s a bad movie, and lots of people die.
    At the risk of extreme cheesiness and possible biblical irreverence, I want to use snakes as a theme for our talk today on unity.  You might call this sermon Snakes in a Church.   Let me give you the summary.  It’s a bad problem, and lots of people die - spiritually. 
    In Moses’ story, God sent the snakes as a punishment for Israel’s complaining and lack of faith.  In our story, the snakes are more the cause of the problems.  Our snakes are our sneaky, sneaking sins that hide in the darkness, tell us lies, and masquerade as truth.  They poison our lives, and they poison our churches.  Both stories point to Jesus as the cure.