An eagle breaks its beak on a rock and sheds its feathers and claws over 150 days to renew itself. The sermon uses this to explain why many Christians want resurrection but won't accept the suffering that comes first. Jesus said you must lose your life to find it.
This will preach. Now listen.
Eagles can live up to 70 years because they are mentally strong. After 40 years, every eagle has to make a difficult decision. Its claws are no longer sharp enough to hunt. Its beak becomes bent and blunt, and its feathers become thick. The eagle has 2 options. Either it dies or it goes through a painful change. This painful change is that the eagle must go to the mountain and crush its beak on a rock until it falls out. When the old beak falls out, a new beak grows in. With the new beak, the eagle rips out its claws, and new ones grow in. Then the eagle plucks out its feathers, and new ones grow in. This painful journey lasts 150 days. But after doing this, the eagle gets a new.
So many of us want the benefits and the power of the resurrection, but are not willing to go through the crucifixion. Jesus said that if we lose our life for his sake, that's when we actually find.
