{"id":37163,"date":"2021-09-17T12:47:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T12:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/line-at-gates-of-hell\/"},"modified":"2021-09-17T12:47:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17T12:47:00","slug":"line-at-gates-of-hell","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/line-at-gates-of-hell\/","title":{"rendered":"A Line at the Gates of Hell"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hell is not a popular topic today, except for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n\n

The theme song for the film Cruella <\/em>tells us right up front that Ms. de Vil was "born to be bad." Estella Miller is a creative child with a talent for fashion but has a cruel streak, leading her mother Catherine to nickname her "Cruella." After a tragic series of circumstances Estella finds herself an orphan on the streets of London. She tries to be good, but when she befriends fashion legend Baroness von Hellman, she embraces her wicked side to become the raucous and revenge-bent Cruella.<\/p>\n\n

The chorus to the theme song reads:<\/p>\n\n

\n

Call me crazy, call me insane<\/p>\n

But you're stuck in the past<\/p>\n

And I'm ahead of the game<\/p>\n

A life lived in penance, it just seems a waste<\/p>\n

And the devil has much better taste<\/p>\n

And I tried to be sweet, I tried to be kind<\/p>\n

But I feel much better now that I'm out of my mind<\/p>\n

Well, there's always a line at the gates of Hell<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Possible Preaching Angle:<\/h2>\n\n

The truth is, almost everything about these lyrics is wrong. Penance is not a waste, when won through Christ. The devil does not have better taste. But the one area where the lyrics are spot on, there is a long line at the gates of hell.<\/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":[3508,3724,3726,3733,3744,3745,3903,3911,4134,4139,4313,4314,4502,4836,4909,4918,4936,4937,5273],"tax_ctp_topics":[393,394,396],"class_list":["post-37163","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-boasting","tax_ctp_tags-cruelty","tax_ctp_tags-culture","tax_ctp_tags-darkness","tax_ctp_tags-deceiver","tax_ctp_tags-deception","tax_ctp_tags-evil","tax_ctp_tags-excuses","tax_ctp_tags-heaven","tax_ctp_tags-hell","tax_ctp_tags-judgment","tax_ctp_tags-judgment-day","tax_ctp_tags-movies","tax_ctp_tags-revenge","tax_ctp_tags-self-centeredness","tax_ctp_tags-self-exaltation","tax_ctp_tags-selfish-ambition","tax_ctp_tags-selfishness","tax_ctp_tags-wickedness"],"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":"\nA Line at the Gates of Hell - 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\/line-at-gates-of-hell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Line at the Gates of Hell - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hell is not a popular topic today, except for all the wrong reasons. 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