Preface: The following was first posted on May 28....2023....and I bring it back as my Lord Day post:
Our pastor began his sermon as he stepped into the pulpit by thanking God for the gorgeous day. Probably nine out of ten pastors in Western Pennsylvania began their message with that comment. There is nothing wrong with it....in fact thanking God for his blessing in the weather is wonderful....and I have said the same thing many times....but today the words hit me a little bit differently. My thought was that I would rather have had a windy day....with cloud cover....and ominous darker clouds on the horizon. I would rather see the brothers and sisters in Christ hurrying from car to church....grasping more firmly the hands of their children and anything they might be carrying....and only upon coming through the door of the sanctuary breathing a sigh of relief and thanking God for the reprieve of being in the church. The 'gorgeous' day....with the Antichrist plotting even as I type....and the world barely holding sway against world war....and the church of Jesus Christ....so many of us....thinking about their days activities as they sit in the pew....in these troublesome times we do not benefit from a....'gorgeous' day. I would rather the pastor have the opportunity to begin with....'Thank you Lord for the winds that warn us of the approaching storm....and the reminder that only in Christ is their shelter from that storm.'
