Sermon Preview
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
As we have been considering the life and times of Gideon, I’m sure we have all shared the experience of meeting ourselves in his story. As we discovered last Lord’s Day, Gideon, the one chosen by God to deliver his people from the oppression of the Midianites, was very much like the nation he was to save. He was, as the narrative of chapters 6 and 7 of the Book of Judges will make clear, a sinner for sure. Gideon’s weaknesses are particularly revealed in his reply to “the angel of the Lord” who summons him into the service of the Covenant people. The “angel,” who is Yahweh Himself, provides Gideon with the magnificent promise that “the Lord is with you” (6:12), and further guarantees that by means of the power of God he will “defeat Midian as one man” (6:16). Verse 13, however, reveals Gideon’s verbal response to this divine Word of assurance:
“Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
We could rephrase Gideon’s questions this way: ‘Where were you, Lord, when the Midianites came and destroyed our land, flocks, homes, and crops? Do You not care about Your people? Why have You permitted these awful things to happen to us? Are You unable to help us? Are You unaware of our suffering? Why have You abandoned us?’
I would imagine that we have all raised such questions heavenward, if not openly, at least in our hearts. Gideon is wrestling with something that we all deal with at one time or another. Theologians and philosophers call it ‘the problem of evil.’ Why would our good, and gracious, and great God allow such terrible things to occur in the lives of His own redeemed people? This is Gideon’s essential question, and it is the very one that often haunts us today.
On Sunday we will explore this interesting and informative interchange between Gideon and the Lord that we discover in Judges 6:13-24. As always, let’s prepare for worship by spending some time reading and meditating on our sermon passage, and then by praying that the Lord will open our eyes and hearts to the wonder and glory of His Holy Word.
A Special Fellowship Opportunity
Before I go, I want to tell you about a special fellowship opportunity that we have coming up on December 3. You may know that we are now scheduling a quarterly Visitor’s Lunch at the home of Rich and Christina Bagdazian following Sunday worship. The next luncheon is Sunday December 3. All visitors to the Church are invited to attend, as well as any members who would like to join us. If you would desire to connect with others in the Church or to assist us in welcoming our visitors, we’d encourage you to plan on eating with us. Sign-up for the luncheon begins this Sunday in the narthex, and for more information you may contact Christina.
I love you all so very much!
Mike
Upcoming Events:
November 18, 12 PM – Providence Presbytery Youth Party at Monte Sano State Park
November 19, 4 PM – Alleluia Choir Practice
November 21, 6 PM – Women’s Evening Study
November 22, 9:30 AM – Women’s Morning Study
November 28, 9 AM – Senior Fellows Breakfast at the Church House
December 3, 12:30 PM – Visitor’s Lunch at Bagdazian Home
December 3, 4:30 PM – Youth Group
December 6 – Women’s Christmas Party
December 7, 6 AM – Men’s Morning Bible Study
December 7, 11:30 AM – Women’s Lunch
December 17, 6 PM – Alleluia Choir Christmas Program
Order of Worship:
You can access this week’s Order of Worship by clicking here
The songs for this week are:
O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing (Hymn 164, vs. 1-4)
In The Shadow Of The Glorious Cross
Fairest Lord Jesus (Hymn 170, vs 1-3)
My Jesus, I Love Thee (Hymn 648, 1,2 4)
Announcements:
Special Announcement from the Session: The Session would like to share with you some very exciting news! Following a long process of praying and seeking the Lord’s will, the Session has recently hired Mr. Matthew Elliott to be our Pastoral Assistant for Counseling. Many of you will know that Matthew is the husband of our own Meg (formerly Wohleber), and currently serves as the Children’s Director for Cornerstone Presbyterian Church (PCA) here in Huntsville. On January 1, 2018, Matthew will begin his ministry with us as a full-time Assistant to our Pastor, specifically in the area of counseling. Matthew, a native of Mississippi, is a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson, Mississippi) where he earned both a Master of Divinity (MDiv) and a Masters of Family Therapy (MFT). He is also a PhD student in Pastoral Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, Kentucky). We are thrilled that the Lord has brought Matthew and Meg to us, and we look forward to telling you more about Matthew and how the Lord so graciously led us to him. On Sunday December 3 during the Sunday School hour at 9:15 AM, the Session will be conducting an informational meeting in the Worship Center regarding Matthew’s role and responsibilities, and our vision for the future. We hope you will plan to attend. In the meantime, please be in prayer for Matthew and Meg as they make this transition. We love you all and delight in serving our Lord with you!
Women’s Bible Studies: There are two Fall Women’s Bible Studies going on, Tuesday evenings at 6PM and Wednesday mornings at 9:30 AM. For more information about these or any other women’s ministries please contact Denise Scrip.
Alleluia Choir: The Alleluia Choir (Grades 2-6) meets every Sunday 4:00-4:50 pm upstairs in the Church House. New choristers are always welcome!
Senior Fellows: On the morning of November 28 at 9 AM the Senior Fellows will have breakfast at the Church House.
Monte Sano Youth Party: There will be a party for all youth groups in our presbytery (grades 6-12) at Monte Sano State Park on November 18 from Noon until 4 PM. Admission is free if you tell the guard shack you are with the party. Please contact Eric Fulcher at Westminster Pres eric.fulcher@gmail.com for more information.
Women’s Christmas Dinner: Save the date for the Women’s Christmas Dinner at the Monte Sano Lodge on December 6 at 6 PM.
Prayer Requests:
Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Bud Lancaster, Robin Holloway, Chris Smotherman, Elizabeth Holton, Janet Chou, Ramona Edwards, Nolan Osmer, George Boyd, and Joyce Bosley
Expecting: Please pray for the Bryant family, expecting in December, the Townsley family, expecting in March, and the Staffords and the Deans, expecting in April.
Ministries: Please pray for the following missionaries and ministries: Seth and Jessica Lewis (Ireland); Steve and Rita Williams (New Zealand); Vinnie and Molly Athey (RUF at UAH); RUF at Alabama A&M; Ken and Angie Burnett (FCA); Franky Garcia (seminary student).