Surprise

When Frodo and Sam left the safety of The Shire, their perilous mission was to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mt. Doom located in the dark and deadly land of Mordor. Throughout their journey they battled sinister and terrifying enemies…and suffered the loss of several close friends along the way. But their resolve eventually brought them to Mt. Doom, and after a climactic fight with the treacherous Gollum, the ring was finally swallowed up by the heaving volcano. Middle Earth was safe…but the two tiny heroes weren’t!

“Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth.”

Topics Illustrated Include:
Athlete
Celebrities
Endurance
Fear
Fighting
Pain
Plans
Quotes
Sports
Strategy
Suffering
Surprise

(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)

Mrs. Terry went to the doctor’s office with a bit of trouble; uncontrollable hiccups. It wasn’t long before she was politely escorted into an examination room and seen by one of the new doctors. But just 4 minutes later, she burst from the room, and ran down the hall screaming like a banshee.

On Christmas Day in 2013, Carmen Lopez of Bothell, Washington sat around the tree with her family to open up presents. Her parents were planning on surprising the teenager with the gift of her dreams.

But when Carmen opened the box, everyone was surprised. Then confused. Then disappointed.

A tourist browsing a curio shop in New York noticed a very lifelike, bronze statue of a rat. It didn’t have a price tag, but the man was intrigued enough that he decided to buy it. “How much for the bronze rat?” he asked the shop owner.

“Fifty bucks for the rat. Two hundred bucks for the story,” came the reply.

People often “fall through the cracks” and it’s always very sad. They’re not connected to others, so nobody misses them when they go missing. The story of Pia Farrenkopf is an extreme example of this reality.

She went missing for six years before anyone noticed….

You know those people who routinely get themselves in trouble because of their mouths? It’s like their jaws start flapping without their brains being engaged. While some think it’s impossible to speak without a brain, there’s at least one Scarecrow who’d disagree.

And he’s an authority on the subject.

In Bedford, England there’s a statue and museum dedicated to John Bunyan and his brilliant work The Pilgrim’s Progress. The book follows the incredible story of “Christian” as he travels from this world to the next.

And when Ravi Zacharias traveled to the museum, he had an incredible conversation with a curator.

  Topics Illustrated Include: Animals Pain Persecution Suffering Surprise Thanksgiving Trial Trouble Warning   (Resource cataloged by David R Smith)

Scripture has some incredibly compelling stories of second chances. Jonah was swallowed by a whale, but was “released” three days later. Peter’s infamous denial of Christ was forgiven by the resurrected Lord. Oh, and those guys thrown into the fiery furnace had quite a story to tell, too.

But none of these guys have anything on Dr. William Mackay’s God-given second chance!