Sunday sermon: To die in Jerusalem, or to live again

Sep 14, 2014, 11:57 AM

Today's message come from John 11:16: "Then Thomas said, 'Let us go also, so we may die with him.' "

Not very cheery, is it? Not very encouraging either.

But if you look in your hearts, this is EXACTLY what many of you see as we prepare for the greatest opportunity Clemson has enjoyed in years.

The opportunity to be giant killers ... on the road ... in conference ... against a team that undressed us at our place last year.

I hear you already: "But...but...the Tigers can't win in Tally. We can't stop Winston. Their defense will shred us! Somebody needs to be fired!"

Lord, I don't know whether to put a hand on the shoulder of everyone who feels like Thomas in sympathy, or put a boot up your rear end. There is so much sniveling snarkiness on the board, the dull, incessant drumbeat of doom by people who can't wait to be proven miserably correct.

They WANT to die in Jerusalem, just so the mourners can say, "Well, that went as expected."

Well, $crew that and $crew anyone who feels that way. The Tigers are not going to roll over and die at the hands of Crabby Patty and his minions. This is exactly the kind of contest we have lived for, the stage we promise our players they'd play on, and it's about d@mn time we take care of it.

And if that doesn't fit you narrow, preconceived notion of what's going to happen next Saturday in Tally, join Thomas and the doubters on the side. This is more than the typical David-Goliath showdown. This is our resurrection, raising Lazarus from his tomb in Athens.

For our less-than Biblical folks, here's how that worked. Lazarus, a family friend of Jesus was sick. By the time Jesus got to his house, Lazarus was four days gone, stinkier than the ice at Willie-Bryce.

Clemson was left for dead as well in Athens. Some folks would just as soon keep heaping dirt and bemoaning. And they're very good at it.

I want them to look at this team they are so d@mn skert of that they have already dug a hole to lie in:

This supposed No. 1 team that needed some miserable special teams play from Okie State to win. This No. 1 team that is younger on the D line than we are on the O line. The No. 1 team that will see what we didn't show in Athens.

There is nothing ... NOTHING ... that FSU can do that we haven't already seen. There is nothing King Crab can show that we aren't prepared for. There is no reason the Sons of Clemson should be feeling anything but eager anticipation at this opportunity.

It will be loud. It will be wild. It will be ESPN's anticipated coronation of the Noles.

And it will all blow up in their collective faces ... and in the faces of anyone who has cast their faith with the false priests of doom waving their iron horns and claiming Clemson will be gored and destroyed.

We are not going to be destroyed. It will not not be pleasant, that's certain. Do not stand with Clemson if you are not willing to bleed. If you are not willing to stand and scream until your throat is shredded and the taste of bourbon and blood fills your stomach.

And do not claim to stand as a Son of Clemson if you plan to die in Jerusalem.

For Clemson will not die.

Pass the plate and grab a snake ... this is going to be good.

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Very well-written and entertaining, Pastor Dodd. I agree, optimism is always preferable to defeatism. If we have no chance to win, there's no point to even having a discussion. However, it is nice when there are some tangibles upon which to base the optimism. Many are concerned that our coaches aren't committed to playing the QB who gives us the best chance to win, however slim that chance may be. Too early to "throw him to the wolves", they say. To me that's indicative in a lack of testicular fortitude... and perhaps even a lack of judgment. The game next Satdy night will tell the tale on that. Last year an all-star, record-setting senior QB and a top-5 NFL draft WR weren't enough to even make the game competitive for us AT HOME; the prospect of doing markedly better on the road without those weapons seems... well...

Whatever. Again, next Satdy night will tell the tale. One minor correction to your treatise - our greatest opportunity was last year, when we were undefeated, playing AT HOME, with the star weapons who are no longer with us. That was a clash of the supposed titans, where only one team was actually thus. This year it is a David vs. Goliath scenario. All indications are that Providential intervention will be necessary to obtain victory for the children of T.G. Clemson. Hopefully our most capable slingshot will not be sitting on the bench when it is time to cast the decisive stone at Goliath.

Sunday sermon: To die in Jerusalem, or to live again

Re: Sunday sermon: To die in Jerusalem, or to live again

Re: Sunday sermon: To die in Jerusalem, or to live again

Well said. Reminds me also of the battle of Thermoplyae

Re: Well said. Reminds me also of the battle of Thermoplyae

Re: Sunday sermon: To die in Jerusalem, or to live again

He will deliver the uncircumsized Philistine into our hands***

Now that is a sermon I can believe in Rev. I always wanted

Thomas got the nickname from his statement...

Hear hear!

We know our God is able to deliver us....

Re: Sunday sermon: To die in Jerusalem, or to live again

Too many think we are taking on the Nephilim

Well Rev, for me, Clemson would be Jerusalem. Tallahassee

Dabo is a religious guy. He should

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