{"id":35135,"date":"2024-02-15T18:13:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T18:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/people-express-deep-despair-to-elmo\/"},"modified":"2024-02-15T18:13:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T18:13:00","slug":"people-express-deep-despair-to-elmo","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/people-express-deep-despair-to-elmo\/","title":{"rendered":"People Express Deep Despair to Elmo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If there was any doubt that the national mood could need a dose of uplift, more evidence showed up in late January. On X (formerly known as Twitter), the account for Elmo, the red Muppet from Sesame Street, asked what seemed to be a simple, innocuous question.<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&ldquo;Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>In thousands of responses, social media users let Elmo know that no, they were not doing too hot. Users began pouring out their hearts to Elmo:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\t<li>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m tired, Elmo,&rdquo; said one user.<\/li>\n\n\t<li>&ldquo;The world is burning around us, Elmo,&rdquo; said another.<\/li>\n\n\t<li>&ldquo;Elmo I&rsquo;m depressed and broke,&rdquo; one wrote.<\/li>\n\n\t<li>Others told Elmo that they were anxious about the 2024 election.<\/li>\n\n\t<li>&ldquo;Each day the abyss we stare into grows a unique horror. one that was previously unfathomable in nature,&rdquo; replied author Hanif Abdurraqib. &ldquo;However, I did have a good grapefruit earlier, thanks for asking.&rdquo;<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anyone anticipated how deeply this particular question would resonate,&rdquo; said Samantha Maltin, a marketing officer for the Sesame Workshop. Maltin believes that Elmo&rsquo;s question provoked a lot of feelings because his character is rooted in the nostalgic memories of so many millennials.<\/p>\n\n<p>After about nine thousand responses in about 24 hours, the account posted again. &ldquo;Wow! Elmo is glad he asked!&rdquo; it read. &ldquo;Elmo learned it is important to ask a friend how they are doing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-article-subhead2\">Possible Preaching Angle:<\/h2>\n\n<p><em>It is more important than ever to have dependable friends who will listen to us and to whom we will give a listening ear. Let&rsquo;s remind ourselves and others that God is always available to hear our troubles and provide &ldquo;mercy and find grace in time of need&rdquo; (Heb. 4:16). <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3762,3766,3767,3809,3856,3864,4019,4021,4142,4168,4380,4546,4752,4964,5086,5193],"tax_ctp_topics":[395,400],"class_list":["post-35135","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-depravity","tax_ctp_tags-despair","tax_ctp_tags-desperation","tax_ctp_tags-distress","tax_ctp_tags-emotions","tax_ctp_tags-end-times","tax_ctp_tags-friend","tax_ctp_tags-friendship","tax_ctp_tags-helplessness","tax_ctp_tags-hopelessness","tax_ctp_tags-listening","tax_ctp_tags-news-that-illustrates","tax_ctp_tags-questions","tax_ctp_tags-sharing","tax_ctp_tags-stress","tax_ctp_tags-trouble"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>People Express Deep Despair to Elmo - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/people-express-deep-despair-to-elmo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"People Express Deep Despair to Elmo - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If there was any doubt that the national mood could need a dose of uplift, more evidence showed up in late January. 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