I know I don’t usually blog about topics such as this but it is on my heart this morning and I wanted to address it. I was in church this past weekend streaming our church services over the web when I learned about another church shooting this weekend. This one occurred in Maryville, Illinois at the First Baptist Church.
These types of things are becoming too commonplace in our society today and I think that it speaks volumes toward problems that we have going on in society. There was even recent legislation introduced to address the addition of firearms for churches, this is not a lone event by any means.
If we as Christians don’t address these problems and pray for our communities, who else is going to? Our pastor at The Church Alive often asks us to pray for our community, and we often do so corporately as a group. This is an important practice! Please join with me today in prayer for the pastors family, his congregation, the shooter, and the shooter’s family as they enter into this time of healing. Here is a press release posted on the First Baptist Church website about the shooting:
On Sunday, March 8, 2009, a little after our 8:15 service began, a man entered First Baptist Church and fired several gunshots at our Senior Pastor, Dr. Fred Winters. Pastor Winters was taken to the hospital but died of his wounds. Please pray for Dr. Winter’s family, our two brave members who were injured when they stopped the assailant, for the assailant himself and his family, and for our church members as they deal with this tragic loss.
In this day, where uncertainty seems to abound creating an environment in which people are vulnerable in doing things they might not do otherwise, 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 Book we call 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.
Questions or Comments?