Peace be with you, my friends.
The first Iron Man movie came out in 2008. It was an international success, grossing 585.5 million dollars. It also launched the greatest and most lucrative Cinematic Universe in movie history. Although, that statement is a bit unfair considering that no other franchise has been able to create such a universe to the degree that Marvel has done. What makes this story so compelling is when we consider that such a success story was unlikely. Marvel studios was venturing on bankruptcy. They had hired Robert Downy Jr. to play Iron Man. At the time, he was a highly controversial pick to play the lead role. Marvel also did not have much money to make the movie and lacked a coherent script. In fact, over half of the movie was “ad libed” by the actors and actresses. Furthermore, unless you were into comic books like I was, most people were not very familiar with Iron Man. Due to all of these factors, the deck was stacked against it. It was just going to be another generic, ordinary, simple “Super Hero” movie. Yet, although many people inside and outside of Hollywood discounted this film, it single-handedly changed Cinematic Movie History for the foreseeable future.
Why am I discussing Iron Man (beyond the fact that he is my favorite Super Hero character!)? Because this real-life story provides a spiritual lesson for us. This story teaches us that successes occur even when others discount its possibility. Now, if we put our “spiritual lenses” on, we can go even deeper. By using this story as an analogy, we can discover a spiritual truth reflected in it. We can discover that God often times will use those whom we discount to perform God’s Will and Purposes in the world. Such a theme is prevalent throughout the Biblical Narrative. God uses Moses, an outcast. God uses David, a shepherd. God uses women as the first evangelists to Christ’s Resurrection. In each of these scenarios, God used people that the world discounted to perform Gods will and purposes.
This upcoming Sunday, I will be preaching on that message.
You can prepare for the service, July 23, 2023, by reading
Acts 3 and 4.
As always, if you are unable to attend, you can livestream our service right here at 11am.
You can also livestream it from our brand-new website! www.dansvilleumc.org
With compassion, love, and prayer,
Pastor Michael
