Crossroads Service – February 5, 2012 (video)
http://trinityumchurch.com/sermons/wp-content/uploads/02052012cr.flvReally? Still? – Dr. Jones
“They are such good faithful people. I don’t know why God let’s these things happen to them.” If you have been around the church long enough, you have probably overheard, or been in this conversation at some point. We see good, loving, devout Christians who go through horrible or difficult times. A child has a long-term illness, a loss of a job, a fire. And we wonder why God allows this sort of thing to happen to His people.
Sometimes we wonder this about ourselves. We go through hard times. We experience tragedy. But we are Christians! How is it this sort of thing can happen to me? I pray, I read my Bible, I go to worship. How is it God can let this happen to me?
Whenever I watch some of the more popular preachers on TV (which admittedly isn’t often) they often tell you that once you give your life to Jesus, everything is going to turn out OK. You will have success and money to go along with your good looks. So what do we say to those people who love Jesus but still suffer? What do we say to ourselves? How can God let His followers go through bad times? Shouldn’t we get some sort of exemption?
Well, let me ask you this. What if God has something to show us in the bad times of life that we won’t see anywhere else? If God doesn’t exempt His people, does He help them? Would you want to know more?
Springtime In Winter – Rev. Brooks (video)
http://trinityumchurch.com/sermons/wp-content/uploads/Springtime252012.flvSpringtime In Winter – Rev. Brooks
Unseasonably warm temperatures earlier this week brought thoughts of springtime. However, nearly everyone I spoke with who mentioned the weather added a quick caveat: “But we might still get hit with a blizzard!” Sad but true in ever changing Ohio.
One frigid Saturday not long ago, in less than sixty minutes I spoke by “ham radio” to 11 countries from Europe to South America. Two exchanges were especially memorable. A retired doctor on Grand Cayman Island said it was 81 degrees that morning as he watched an iguana lying in the sun on his dock. The next contact was with a man in Fairbanks, Alaska, where it was 41 degrees below zero! Last week it was almost 80 below near Fairbanks.
We enjoy unseasonable warmth whenever it arrives unexpectedly during winter but we know it won’t last because weather is so changeable. Life is, too. Some days seem bright and sunny then suddenly a storm rises over the horizon and a blizzard howls in.
What resources do we possess to strengthen us and maintain an inner sense of springtime even while it’s winter all around?