I Can’t Breathe
June 7, 2020
Pastor Mark Fuller
The tragic murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis has triggered renewed awareness and discussions about race, inequity, and injustice that are incredibly important for our church family to engage.
Matthew 22:34-40
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Revelation 7:9-10
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
Genesis 4:8-10
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
What can we do today?
1.
Evil & Speak out
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
2.
Bridges and Do Good
Galatians 6:10
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people…”
3.
Love & Justice
4.
to God
*We are issuing a call to Lament, Prayer, and Fasting for Monday, June 8. *
I encourage you to read two short articles which I believe are especially relevant to this time in our history:
• “Dare to Hope in God: How to Lament Well,” available at www.desiringgod.org/articles/dare-to-hope-in-god
• “What Does Lament Mean? A Biblical Definition of Lament or Lamenting,” available at www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/08/20/what-does-lament-mean-a-biblical-definition-of-lament-or-lamenting