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[These are words which I shared with my congregation this morning. I thumbed them into my phone late last night. They are not complete, but I pray helpful. I share these word, not because I believe them to be authoritative or particularly powerful, but merely because people expressed a desire to hear them again.]
Yesterday shots were fired at former President Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, PA, in what can only be described as an assassination attempt.
Such action is evil. Violence against anyone is an attack upon an image bearer of God. This particular action was evil and highlighted a divided nation. It must be denounced.
We pray for President Trump. May he quickly recover.
We pray for President Biden. May he be protected.
We pray for the family of the deceased shooter.
We pray for the family of the deceased rally spectator.
We pray for the severely injured rally spectators.
We pray for de-escalation of political violence and hostility.
We pray for unity.
We pray for healing in our nation.
We pray for peace.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
On March 4, 1865, as the Civil War entered its final weeks, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address from the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol. In that short speech, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed:
“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”
In a divided time, President Lincoln pushed us away from malice and toward charity. He pushed us toward doing what is right in God’s eyes. I know many of you woke up with the events of yesterday on your mind. So, I want to provide a brief framework for navigating the choppy waters upon which we are forced to sail.
Today is a day of prayer and repentance. This is not a political statement. This is a Christ is King statement.
Jesus began his ministry preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Nothing has changed.
Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Nothing has changed.
I remind you of Paul’s word in Colossians 1:15-20:
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.“
Nothing has changed.
I remind you of Paul’s words in Philippians 3:20-21,
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
Nothing has changed.
May today be a day of prayer and repentance.
May today be a day in which God draws all of us close.
Jeff Gravens 
Love this I wish we had different candidates but pray Gods puts His person in the Whitehouse. I wish Billy Graham was still alive. Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
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