Just like you I was so sickened by what I read Sunday morning about the attack in Orlando. The death toll was 20 in the early morning hours, then by the time church was over, I read it was revised to 50.
The FBI reported that while they were processing the horrible scene, the cell phones of the 50 deceased kept ringing with incoming calls and messages. I can’t imagine.
Lord God, we beg you to be our anchor in seas too rough to navigate, to be our rock as we feel we are standing in sinking sand, to be the heart that pours out compassion when our broken ones just can’t feel anymore. We pray for all those families who received the phone call we all fear – Who got the news we can’t even let ourselves think about. We pray for all the parents, the kids, the friends, the loved ones, the teachers, the co-workers, the churches with holes in the pews this week, all those who got that news they never wanted to hear.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy,
Lord have mercy,
AMEN
Encounter Culture Recap week #2
This week in our sermon we looked at what it takes to reach out with Christ’s love to people in a culture when they don’t share a similar religious background.
If we can learn from what Paul did in Thessalonica, we would see that our LIVES become a witness to the love of God. This is a TALL order for sure, but when we think of being an example of love, we have to remember, it is NEVER about us, its always about the one who loves us perfectly. Our example starts and ends with Christ alone.
For a scholarly look at what it means to be a witness to the faith like Paul was in Thessalonica, read this article by Dr. Charles Gieschen
To reference the article I mentioned in the sermon by Matthew Parris, an atheist who sees the value of the Gospel in Africa. It’s an interesting read (it will be a Word download file, just a heads-up)