Sermon Illustrations
Friend's Dedication Lands Cancer Patient on TV Sitcom
In this life, there are friends … and then then are friends.
In May 2009, Dillon Hill's best-friend-since-fourth-grade Chris Betancourt got a diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia. Since the two became friends through their mutual love of video games, Hill made frequent visits to Betancourt, playing games to lift his spirit. After lengthy chemotherapy treatments and hospital visits, Betancourt was cancer-free, and remained so throughout his teenage years.
So when Betancourt got the news that his leukemia had returned and wouldn't be curable without a bone marrow transfusion, Hill subsequently dropped out of college and started a campaign to honor his friend. He asked Betancourt to make a list of all of the exploits and hijinks he wanted to do before he died, then began posting videos of their adventures to raise money and awareness.
One of the items on the bucket list was to get matching tattoos. Their recent ink was an homage to the FX series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a quote by character Frank Reynolds, played by Danny DeVito:
"I don't know how many years on this earth I have left, but I'm gonna get real weird with it."
Pictures of the tattoo circulated on Reddit and social media, and got the attention of Rob McElhenny, one of the show's co-stars. McElhenny was so moved by Hill and Betancourt's friendship that not only are they scheduled to meet DeVito in person, but the It's Always Sunny star is pushing to arrange for the pair to appear in an upcoming episode.
Potential Preaching Angles: True friendship goes the distance, persistence will eventually be rewarded, we find joy from bearing one another's burdens