|
|
This Sunday
August 27, 2017
Sermon Title:
"Like Calves from the Stall"
Scripture:
Malachi 4:1-2
Revelation 22:16
|
|
|
|
 August 24, 2017
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends,
"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire," says the Lord Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like calves released from the stall."
Malachi 4:1-2
 It is solar-eclipse-o-mania in North America this week, as the first total eclipse of the sun by the moon occurred this Monday--since 1918. I got a chance to see the partial eclipse version that was on display here in Pittsburgh, though the cheap eclipse glasses I was using seemed to be failing, so I cut my staring time short!
For some reason, each time I hear the word "eclipse" I cannot help but to think of the cheesy 1983 soft-rock love ballad entitled "Total Eclipse of the Heart." As a child of the 80's, the Bonnie Tyler--which hit #1 on the charts in several countries and sold six million copies as a single--was used in strategic ways by boys to try and get girls to slow dance with them. That was my memory, anyway. But recently, in light of the solar eclipse festivities going on, the song has been on the radio quite a bit. Upon listening to it again, I was struck by how profound some of the lyrics are:
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
'Cause we'll never be wrong together
We can take it--to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
On the surface, the lyrics betray their reality as pseudo-Romantic 80's sappiness. But dig a little deeper and they sound applicable to the life of a Christian. Our need for God  should be one of total dependence. Our desire for intimacy with the God to whom we cling should be a priority for us. Literally, following Christ is never wrong and can only be right in reference to the truths of the Scriptures. But perhaps what struck me most is the last line. Whereas the song is about love lost, the words of Malachi are about love gained. In comparison to the eternal rays of the sun of righteousness (Jesus), everything else is darkness. Whereas the brightness of the sun during an eclipse may hurt us, the rays of Jesus, God's Son--they heal us. What we perceive as darkness in our lives is used by God as a mechanism for His own glory and our blessing: "...even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You" Psalm 139:12. Whether we are illuminated by the sun of righteousness ("When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'" John 8:12), or nestled comfortably in the shade He provides ("Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings..." Psalm 17:8), the bottom line is that we are His. In the presence of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we have protection and joy and peace and healing. This is the blessing that God provides us, which indeed is a Total Eclipse of the Heart.
Please join us this week as we delve in further to Malachi 4 and also the Book of Revelation. I'll be preaching on the 1. warning, 2. the promise, and 3. the calling of God through the words of Malachi the prophet, and touching on their meaning for us and our church at this time.
Until then, may God richly bless you and yours,
Pastor Steve
|
|
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."
|
|
|
