Thank God For The Broken Road

Thank you God for the Broken Road Psalms 73:1-73:28

Last week as we were worshipping

• a man entered a Baptist church in Maryville Il

• And shot the senior pastor in mid-sermon and then stabbing two churchgoers.

• The pastor had stood on an elevated platform delivering his sermon about finding happiness in the workplace,

• Pastor Winters deflected the first of the gunman's four rounds with a Bible,

• And then managed to run halfway down the sanctuary's side aisle before collapsing.

• Worshippers initially thought it was a skit,

Pastor Winters was described as a bold pastor in sharing his faith

• And that he would want his death to be an opportunity for everyone

• To hear that there is hope and faith in Jesus Christ.

A Message issued by the church said

• Please pray for Dr. Winter’s family, our two brave members

• Who were injured when they stopped the assailant,

• Pray for the assailant himself and his family,

• And pray for our church members as they deal with this tragic loss.

• In this day, where uncertainty seems to create an environment in which

• People are vulnerable in doing things they might not otherwise do,

• One thing is certain, we, as human beings need a foundation upon which we can live our lives.

• We at First Baptist Maryville, along with other Christian believers,

• Share this conviction: that foundation is God’s Word.

• In the pages of the Bible, we find the pathway for peace, hope, and a quality of living life despite what circumstances we find ourselves in.

• To those who believe in the power of prayer, we covet your prayers right now.

It’s obvious that in todays world things have gotten out of hand

• The Maryville incident comes on the heels of a shooting in July in Knoxville, Tenn., that killed two people and wounded seven.

• In December 2007, at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo.,

• A man with a gun entered a church concert for teens, Killed one and wounded two before being shot and killed by a security guard.

• In March 2005 in Waukesha, Wis.,

• A gunman entered the Living Church of God’s service at a local hotel.

• He fired 22 shots, killing seven and wounding four before turning the gun on himself.

So the question that we find ourselves asking is

• How could this happen

• Why would God allow this to happen

• Is God even there and is He paying attention to what’s going on down here

Right now, someone- somewhere needs to know that God loves them,

• They also need to know that we love them,

• I believe that everything God does is for a purpose.

• Every time God meets us here it’s for a reason.

• I believe there is someone here today who is struggling with something

• And that something seems to be winning.

Sometimes life’s problems seem bigger than we are.

• A lot of times we feel like a squirrel fighting a lion.

• But it’s during these hard times,---- these life testing times

• That we are taught the lessons in life that we come to value the most.

If it weren’t for the broken road I had to go down

• I wouldn’t be where I am today.

• Loneliness, Rejection, Addictions

• All these things led to a point where I was looking for answers

• The need for answers led me to Christ.

• And Christ led me to the three things that I have come to love most in my life

• Jesus,.. My Wife,… And my ministry.

Another lesson that God has taught me,

• Is that now that I have learned to embracing the broken road

• It doesn’t matter where you are on the time line of your life,

• It doesn’t matter when you surrender your will to God,…

• He will use your past struggles to prepare you to be the person

• That He has planned for you to be

Why?... because God’s plan for your life isn’t subject to a time line,

• You can be 66 years old and surrender your life.

• And God can take your past stumbling blocks

• And turn them into stepping stones.

• You just have to change your perspective of your past.

• You have to change the way you look at it

• And then we can use these past struggles

• As God’s way of equipping us for the future that He has planned.

God has blessed each one of us

• So that we can be a blessing to others.

• You just never know where a person is in their life