Introduction to this Sunday's morning sermon at Jubilee Church:
This past week has been rather distressing. Canada experienced two acts of terrorism—the first in Quebec with the murder of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent on Monday, and the second here in Ottawa on Wednesday with the murder of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who was standing watch over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Canada’s National War Memorial.
Two soldiers killed by terrorists! The second killer then stormed the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings. After he was, thankfully, brought down, the Sergeant-at-arms, Kevin Vickers, spoke what surely will be recorded as one of the greatest understatements uttered in Canadian history, “I engaged the assailant; he is deceased.”
This past Wednesday was trying for many of you and your loved ones as you spent the day in lock-down behind the security perimeter.
At a time like this we feel somewhat rattled. What do we do? Where do we go for strength? To the Word, loved ones! We go to the Word of God. We go there for comfort and direction.
This does not mean that all our questions will be answered. We are left with many “why” questions. And that is okay. But in the midst of the many “why” questions that continue to swirl around in our minds, the “Who” questions can be answered.
The “Who” questions are questions such as, “Who will take care of us? Who will provide rest for us? Who is our refuge? In Whom can we trust?”
For strength, encouragement, and direction to help us move forward, let us turn to Psalm 91. We will not explore everything there is to be uncovered in this Psalm. Some things we will focus on; others we will pass over and leave for another time. But we will hear the main message, which is that the LORD God is our dwelling place. We find shelter under his wings and behind his shield. We will hear about our LORD who is both as gentle as feathers and as strong as steel.……
