Mt. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church     
 
Pastor Tim Janiszewski - "Je Suis Christian"

Links:

 

Messages of Grace

(Past Recorded Sermons) 













 
This Sunday
Nov. 22, 2015



Sermon Title:
"The Great Thanksgiving Comeback"



Scripture:
Luke 17:11-19
Picture of Pastor Tim
November 19, 2015
 
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends:
 
The news has been dominated by reports concerning the Islamic fundamentalist attacks on Paris late last week. And rightly so. We have pressing reason to know of that awful situation. Our hearts go out to the people of Paris in light of these heinous acts. People are identifying with the French by saying, "Je suis Paris." Many are tinting their facebook pages with the colors of the French flag. Nobody I know of in the media is cracking jokes about the French these days in the wake of such violence.
 
In view of this, I make a few brief observations for our consideration. These are not intended to be exhaustive or to address the nuance of details, which would take pages and pages. This simply is food for thought.
  • We pray. Times of disaster and conflict often open people's hearts to God that would remain closed when all is well. Pray that God will move among the people of Paris with His solution to the twisted ways of fallen human beings.
  • We have sympathetic hearts toward the victims of these attacks. Our hearts remain soft to human suffering when it strikes in situations such as this one.
  • We ask God to position Christians in strategic positions to reach into this situation with the Good News of Jesus Christ through deeds of mercy and words of new life in Christ.
  • We pray for our enemies. We even ask God to soften the hearts of terrorists so that they may come to the love of God in Christ. This is hard. But let us remember that we once were enemies of God when Jesus gave His life to save us. Perhaps these enemies of God and of His good are not beyond the reach of grace either.
  • We do not confuse prayer and love for enemies with giving a free pass concerning their acts of atrocity. We do not lessen the evil committed. We rather seek a just response that holds such evil accountable. Justice cannot be sacrificed for mercy, nor mercy for justice.
  • We examine our own hearts. Do we tend to be too bent on vengeance? Are we too soft on allowing or excusing wrongdoing? How well do we live like Jesus who perfectly was characterized by both "grace and truth" (John 1:12)?
  • We keep this horrible act in perspective. The last report I read, 129 were killed in Paris. This has captured world attention in dramatic fashion. International leaders, including President Obama, have spoken directly and forcefully to the situation. I applaud this."Je suis Paris" indeed is a fitting phrase that identifies many in sympathy and support of the Parisians as the world calls for accountability. But I immediately am reminded that in April 2015, the Islamic fundamentalist group, Al-Shabaab, attacked Garissa University Christian College in Kenya, slaughtering 147 students and wounding 79 more. Yet the incident barely made the newswires. International leaders such as President Obama made no declarations and ordered no response. Christian students were gunned down by Muslim fundamentalists every bit as brutally as Parisians, and the world stood by and watched.
Please don't misunderstand. I am not minimizing Paris. My heart and our hearts should go out to the people of that great city. But for better or worse, my heart even more so still goes out to our Christian brothers and sisters who were gunned down in Kenya while the world seemed not really to care. Why my response? Well, at a lesser level, I am part of the human family, and when the human family is attacked as in Paris, yes, "Je suis Paris." But at a far deeper level, I am part of the family of God with a far deeper love for my brothers and sisters in our Savior, and when they are attacked as at Garissa University Christian College or elsewhere, "Je suis Christian."
 
Pastor Tim

++++ 

Having Trouble Viewing the Clip Art?

 

If you are having trouble viewing the clip art on this Pastoral E-Letter, please go to the top of the page and click where it reads "Click Here." If you have Outlook, please right click in the image block and "download pictures."