Following our early service yesterday one of the worshippers said to me, “This was a heavy subject for 9:00 in the morning!” She was right. Our Scripture yesterday was Exodus 20:13 – “You shall not murder.” Who wants to come to church early in the morning to hear life and death discussions about murder, mayhem, and violence?
But for the sake of those who came to the early service you should know that you were not at a disadvantage; the subject matter wasn’t any less weighty at the 11:11 service!
This is the nature of Scripture. It confronts us with hard truths about ourselves and our world that we would rather not hear. It might be easier to stay home and listen to some of the “come-on-in-the-water-is-fine” preaching that the TV serves up every day. While I have nothing against messages of encouragement – of which the Scriptures are full – it does us no good to jump straight to the feel-good stuff unless we have first dealt with the fact that we are in a mess. This is why a cross stands at the center of the Christian faith. Resurrection only comes after crucifixion.
Thanks to all who hung in there with the message yesterday. I pray that in the final analysis we landed at a message of hope: we do have the power to make a difference in the culture of death and destruction that surrounds us. We can be agents and messengers of life-giving hope!
Have a blessed week!
Chris