MCC - Crisis in a Pandemic
Psalm 42:5 (NIV)
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT)
Psalm 5
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by the flute.
1 O Lord, hear me as I pray;
pay attention to my groaning.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for I pray to no one but you.
3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
We are planning live worship June 14
• Remember CDC guidelines if 65 or older, or have
underlying health concerns, it is recommended to
continue to shelter in place.
• We will all be wearing masks
• We will keep 6 foot social distance
• May sit with your family
• No children's programming at this time.
• No fellowship time, donuts or coffee
• Music will be very limited
Micah 6:8 (ESV)
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Tony Dungy tweet:
As I have watched the events in Minneapolis unfold the last few days
I have wondered & prayed about how I should respond. Below are my thoughts.
I hope you read the whole thing because the final thought is most important. Romans 12:21
America is in a very sad place today. We have seen a man die
senselessly, at the hands of the very people who are
supposed to be protecting our citizens. We have seen people
protest this death by destroying the property and dreams of
people in their own community, the very people they are
protesting for. We have many people pointing fingers of
blame, painting the opposite side with a broad brush. We
have anger and bitterness winning out over logic and reason.
We have distrust and prejudice winning out over love and
respect.
What happened to George Floyd was inexcusable and it
should never happen. Justice needs to be served, but in
seeking justice we can't fall into the trap of prejudging every
police officer we see. What started out as peaceful protests
have devolved into arson and looting and that should never
happen, either. Yes there should be protest. But we do not
have license to perform criminal acts because we're angry.
Today we are a divided country. We're divided racially,
politically, and socio-economically. And Satan is laughing at
us because that is exactly what he wants. Dysfunction,
mistrust, and hatred help his kingdom flourish.
Well, what is the answer then? I believe it has to start with
those of us who claim to be Christians. We have to come to
the forefront and demonstrate the qualities of the One we
claim to follow, Jesus Christ. We can't be silent. As Dr. King
said many years ago, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere!" But we can't go forward with judgmental, bitter,
spirits. We need to be proactive, but do it in the spirit of
trying to help make things better. And it can't be just the
African American churches. It has to be ALL churches taking
a stand and saying "We are going to be on the forefront of
meaningful dialogue and meaningful change." We have to be
willing to speak the truth in love but we have to recognize
that we are not fighting against other people. We are fighting
against Satan and his kingdom of spiritual darkness.
In the words of the Apostle Paul, "Do not be overcome by
evil, but overcome evil with good."
Romans 12:21 NIV
Luke 6:27-36 (NIV)
Love for Enemies
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O God, who instructed the hearts of the faithful
by the light of the Holy Spirit
to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen