Yet...
Good morning!
Thank you to everyone for the birthday cards, texts, and emails last week! I also want to extend thanks to Rick Brenneman for leading the hymn sing on Sunday and to everyone who brought a snack. It was a fun night…I imagine we will do it again!
This Sunday we are looking at the book of Habakkuk, and once again I have too much sermon. Habakkuk begins with a conversation between the prophet and God about the reality of evil. Habakkuk just doesn’t understand why evil folks prosper. We’ll look at this conversation on Sunday.
Chapters 3 & 4 of Habakkuk is a prayer that he writes after his conversation, and something interesting happens. Habakkuk circumstances haven’t change…Judah is still being led by evil men and the even more wicked Babylonians are still coming. But what has changed is Habakkuk’s perspective.
Habakkuk is now focused on God’s faithfulness, not his circumstances. He reminds himself of God’s unchanging character, God’s mighty power, and God’s faithfulness in the past to protect His people. It is this knowledge that God has been faithful in the past and is being faithful in the present that allows Habakkuk to respond with joy and worship, because he knows that God will be faithful in the future.
Look at Habakkuk 3:17-18:
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
That “yet” is doing a lot of heavy lifting and is a sign of a maturing faith! Even though things aren’t going well, Habakkuk is still able to rejoice in the Lord. Having the Lord in his life is now enough for Habakkuk.
It is so important for us to realize that faith does not mean pretending that trouble is not coming. Habakkuk knew trouble was coming! God told him directly that it was. And as we will see on Sunday, we may have questions that we won’t know the answer to on this side eternity. We may have fears that will never fully go away. But like Habakkuk, we can choose where we will place our trust and our hope.
One other note – Solanco Neighborhood ministries distributed backpacks full of school supplies to 228 students on their giveaway day…and were giving more out in the days leading up to the start of the school year. Thanks again to all who were able to donate!
Here’s what’s happening:
TONIGHT – Youth Group at 6:30 pm at the church.
SATURDAY – Youth Missions Project with Good Neighbors Home Repairs
SUNDAY – Summer Coffee Fellowship. Join us at 9:30 for a light snack and a cup of coffee before the service.
SUNDAY - Baptism Service at 6:30 pm at the Hoover Pond.
9/13 – Corn Roast at the Kreider Home after the worship service
9/16 – Tentative Start Date for the Building Project.
9/20 – Double Nickels
If you know of someone who is struggling with some big questions because life just isn’t making sense for them right now, I encourage you to invite them to join you at the Bridge on Sunday. We’ll look at the questions that Habakkuk asked of God and God’s response to them.