{"id":1762828,"date":"2022-12-05T06:30:33","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T11:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1762828"},"modified":"2022-12-05T06:33:25","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T11:33:25","slug":"how-its-a-wonderful-life-delivers-sermon-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-its-a-wonderful-life-delivers-sermon-of-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"How \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life\u201d Delivers Sermon of Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-its-a-wonderful-life-delivers-sermon-of-hope%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1762828&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Its-a-wonderful-life-sermon-christian-values-2.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p><strong>Last year I finally sat down to do what I had wanted to do for a long time \u2013 develop a sermon based on the classic Christmas film \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Only, what I had come to find out after watching it again, was that I could not do a sermon on it, but a sermon series.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because\u00a0while there is an overarching theme to this film\u2013\u2013that one life touches another, and that life touches another, and so on\u2013\u2013there are many aspects of this film that can preach, even if it doesn\u2019t intend to.<\/p>\n<p>Take, for example, the very beginning of this film, we see an array of homes, neighborhoods and churches and hear an array of people praying for George Bailey. And, well, they may not see what happens in the Heavens, but we do.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/smithsonian-institution\/what-its-a-wonderful-life-teaches-us-about-american-history-180979223\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Smithsonian Magazine puts it:<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe angels, Joseph and Franklin, who appear as clusters of light in space, bring in an apprentice named Clarence, a clockmaker in life, who hasn\u2019t yet earned his wings by offering help to a human.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While we know this isn\u2019t how it works theologically, it\u2019s still cute to see this particular rendition of an angel helping George. So we can relate how God hears our prayers and sends angelic help on our behalf, though not quite like Clarence.<\/p>\n<p>And what about Clarence?<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s been patiently waiting in Heaven for 220 years to finally \u201cearn his wings.\u201d So what can be said of him? In a word: perseverance.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, this may not have been the intention of Capra, to bring out some kind of Biblical illustration, but Clarence Oddbody, AS2, does give us a little picture of what it means to never give up.<\/p>\n<p>William Barclay said, \u201cEndurance is needed to run that race. Endurance is translated from the ancient Greek word hupomone, which does not mean the patience which sits down and accepts things but the patience which masters them\u2026 It is a determination, unhurrying and yet undelaying, which goes steadily on and refuses to be deflected.\u201d And by gum, that was Clarence Oddbody.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FAST FACT: \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life\u201d originally cast <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryliving.com\/life\/g2845\/its-a-wonderful-life-movie-facts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cary Grant to play George Bailey<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s another one: in the case of George Bailey, how about the idea of God\u2019s plans overruling our own?<\/p>\n<p>Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, \u201cThere is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.\u201d Proverbs 16:9 says, \u201cIn their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And with those two simple verses, we have pretty much 90 percent of \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life.\u201d You see, all George Bailey wanted to do was to get out of the small, one-horse town of Bedford Falls, and see the world.<\/p>\n<p>He saved and saved and saved to make that dream a reality. Since he was a child, it was all he really dreamed about; that was the one thing he wanted to do in life.<\/p>\n<p>But unfortunately, one thing after another happened\u2013\u2013and well, just when he was about to leave, something urgent came up where he had to set his dream aside, and he had to stay in Bedford Falls and take care of business.<\/p>\n<p>His plans got interrupted. But God\u2019s plans unfolded.<\/p>\n<p>And what were those plans? To touch lives that he otherwise may not have had he not stayed in Bedford Falls.<\/p>\n<p>Probably the biggest lesson we learn from \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life\u201d is the title of the story. We learn that George Bailey, an ordinary man, had a rich life. We can see the contrast between the humble George Bailey and mean Mr. Potter.<\/p>\n<p>While George was never rich in material wealth, he had plenty of love, whereas Mr. Potter had plenty of money, but he did not have love. Kind of similar to what we read in 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul lists a number of items that we can boast about, but if we do not have love, then we have nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Though George may have never had the riches of Mr. Potter, and at times lacked a few \u201cnice things,\u201d George Bailey did end up with a nice home in a nice town, a wonderful family and many friends. And as we learn in the end, regardless of what he lacked in material wealth or having never achieved his dreams, \u201cno man is a failure who has friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And his friends come to his aid when he is down and out. And he almost missed out on that blessing, had he jumped off of that bridge moments before.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/bad-santa-review-2003\/\"><strong>RELATED: WHY RUDE, CRUDE \u2018BAD SANTA\u2019 NAILS THAT CHRISTMAS SPIRIT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>But through the help of Clarence Odbody, angel second class, George realized how different the town of Bedford Falls and even further, would have been had he never lived.<\/p>\n<p>He saved the life of a boy who would have been poisoned when Mr. Gower accidentally put the wrong ingredients in his medicine. By saving that boy\u2019s life, he in turn saved Mr. Gower\u2019s life because he would have gone to jail and been ostracized by the community for having done so.<\/p>\n<p>George Bailey also saved the life of his brother, and in turn, his brother served in World War II and earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for having saved the lives of men on a transport vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>He touched so many lives, and he didn\u2019t even realize it. And today, as we enter the Christmas season and then the new year, I want to ask you, how can you be someone like George Bailey?<\/p>\n<p>Maybe you already are, but maybe you just need to stop and realize what life would have been like for others had you never been born. And maybe it\u2019s time to intentionally live a life like George Bailey.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">It\u2019s A Wonderful Life\u2019s 75th anniversary: Now revered as 1 of the definitive Christmas films it was a rare flop for Capra upon release, though this was ultimately a blessing in disguise as it fell into the public domain making it a TV mainstay where it gained its legendary status <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lDoSbK8PgH\">pic.twitter.com\/lDoSbK8PgH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Samuel J. May (@sjmay92) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sjmay92\/status\/1472884675987316740?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 20, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This movie is an example of how Hollywood, and our American culture as a whole, used to be. We used to be a people filled with the kind of warmth, community and kindness that this film exemplifies.<\/p>\n<p>And, well, if they want to call us Christian Nationalists, I suppose they could, but they\u2019d be wrong. We don\u2019t want the U.S. to become a Christian nation through legislation, as liberal\/progressives misinterpret.<\/p>\n<p>But we want our nation to return to\u2013\u2013even exceed\u2013\u2013the Christian culture we used to have not so long ago when this movie was made\u2013\u2013churches full, people praying, and a culture that reflects Christian values as demonstrated in \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But to do this, we must first exemplify the Christian values of love, service and kindness as demonstrated in the life of George Bailey and pray for revival and another Great Awakening.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jeff Miller is a husband, dad, pastor, artist, writer and all-around good guy (for the most part). He lives in the Western Finger Lakes Region of New York State with his wife, Diana. He has three grown children. Jeff has two blogs of his own, <a href=\"https:\/\/acloserlookjm.wordpress.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A Closer Look<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/flashbackfridaychristianmusicreview.wordpress.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Flashback Friday Christian Music Review<\/a>.\u00a0Jeff is also a contributor to <a href=\"https:\/\/kingdomwinds.com\/author\/jeff-miller\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kingdom Winds<\/a>, where you can read his sermons online.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>This story originally appeared at <a href=\"https:\/\/acloserlookjm.wordpress.com\/2022\/11\/25\/how-its-a-wonderful-life-is-a-sermon-unto-itse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A Closer Look.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last year I finally sat down to do what I had wanted to do for a long time \u2013 develop a sermon based on the classic Christmas film \u201cIt\u2019s a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1762831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1762828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1762828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1762831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1762828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1762828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1762828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}