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Engaging Sermon Illustrations on Salvation

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Featured Illustration

Rescue from the Deep Dark

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

On October 13, 2010, Luis Urzua emerged into the open air after 69 days trapped over 2,000 ft underground (300 ft deeper than the height of the tallest building in the US). Luis, the shift supervisor, was the last of 33 miners to emerge from a 21 in. diameter capsule which pulled him up to freedom.

On August 5, a “megablock” of stone weighing 770,000 tons had broken free from the mountain, sealing off the miners from the surface. For 17 days, it wasn’t known if anyone had survived. Finally, exploratory shafts found the miners in their refuge, alive, having stretched food meant to last two days for over two weeks. As boreholes were drilled to help them escape, they worked shift after shift to stabilize their own space and to make their rescue possible. Finally, on August 22, one of the probes detected tapping and, when drawn back up, had a note attached from the miners, telling them that all 33 were still alive.

A massive rescue operation began. International teams raced to rescue the miners. Even NASA was called in to help manage the health of the trapped miners. After weeks of round-the-clock efforts, one of the drill teams reached part of the mine accessible to the miners with a 2,050 ft shaft. Finally, on October 12 and 13, the miners were pulled up through that slender shaft, with their leader, Urzua being last to come to the surface.

The Bible teaches that, like the miners, humanity as a whole and each of us individually are in need of rescue. God’s rescue plan has stages, none of which are dispensable. The Old Testament covenants are in some ways like el refugio where the 33 miners found safety. It didn’t solve the problem, but it was the first step. But it wasn’t the last step. The miners still needed to get out and the sin problem still needed a solution. For the miners, the final rescue came through the shaft which allowed them to be pulled to freedom. For us, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection pull us out of the dark of sin into the light of day.