Mt. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church     
 
Pastor Tim Janiszewski - "No Brainer!"

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Messages of Grace

(Past Recorded Sermons) 















 
This Sunday
July 24, 2016




Sermon Title:
"Prescription for a Good Night's Sleep"




Scripture:
Psalm 127:1-2
Picture
July 21, 2016
 
Dear MLEPC Member and Friends:
 
Earlier this week, I was watching the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on television. Two of our children joined Juli and me. As we viewed, Melania Trump, the 46 year old wife of Donald Trump, gave her speech. Melania, a former model and clothing designer who is of Slovenian descent, did a credible job delivering the speech written for her. As she did so, we noted that Bill Clinton would soon be giving the same sort of speech at the upcoming Democratic National Convention. One of our children, not to be named, interjected something like, "Hmmm, if casting your vote based on which of the two spouse's you'll have to look at for the next four years, who do you pick? . . . No brainer." Well, perhaps we have dipped to a new political nadir if this becomes the voting criteria for the next President!
 
I will venture no deeper into politics than this, yet I would remind us of a few simple principles. The first is that our final trust is not in the political system. It does not rest with the election of Hillary or The Donald. Our faith and hope are in the Lord. As the Bible reminds us, it is God who raises up and casts down leaders of nations. His sovereignty overrules even the outcome of the vote in November. And we can trust that God will use the election to implement His ultimate plans for the unfolding of history. This helps us to put the election in proper perspective, particularly if we happen to hold concerns with regard to the candidates being brought forward. 
 
To say this, however, is not to be fatalistic. Because God is sovereign, we do not simply sit back and let the chips fall where they may. By no means. Scripture is equally clear in its call for Christians to participate in the process. I think immediately of Israel when it was living in exile in Babylon. If ever there were a time when we might think that God's people should be either passive or even adversarial, this would be one of them. Nonetheless, God directed His people to work hard in a foreign land and to seek the well-being of the nation. Ultimately for the Christian, our final citizenship is in heaven with our God, yet we hold a sort of dual citizenship while on earth. We therefore seek God's best for our world, including our country . . . including the November election. 
 
So we are called to engage, not to withdraw, but we engage with the confidence of God's final authority over the affairs of men and women. This being the case, I ask us to pray for God's mercy and help for our country through the election. I encourage us to do our best to know the candidates and the issues. And as conscience permits and directs, let us cast our vote on Election Day with a modestly greater command of our choice than whether we are inclined to want to look at Melania or Bill for the next four years.
 
May God yet again shed His grace on us!
 
Pastor Tim
 
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