A Heart That Repents

Imagine a catastrophic hurricane hits a town known for its debauchery and immorality. Think of a tornado hitting the building where a church convention is voting to reject the historic Christian faith. Is it unreasonable to interpret that these events must be the judgment of God? Generally, our consideration of these things focuses on the sin and rebellion of those affected by the disaster. But Jesus turns our attention in a different direction in these situations. Since we don’t have a clear revelation of why God has allowed these events, to say they are punishment is to draw the wrong conclusion. Instead, we should be looking inward. We should be thinking about the ways that our own hearts reflect these sins. We humans tend to look down on the sins of others to make ourselves look better. But when we do so, we fail to see our own need for repentance. This is not to deny the immorality of that city or church convention. Jesus wants us to realize that we all bear the same guilt before God and deserve the same demise. May we never presume upon the punishment that other people deserve while ignoring the punishment we deserve. May we show the same compassion that God has shown to us and use any tragedy as a reminder of God’s mercy toward us. –Pastor Rory

Sunday at Liberty

9AM: Parable of the Virgins–Matthew 25:1-13

10AM: Pastor Nate–A Heart that Repents–Luke 13:1-9 (sermon notes)

6PM: Pastor Nate–A Tree Worth Growing–Psalm 1