Sermon: “Knowing God” Preached by RE Hunter Boggs

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This coming June, it will have been 5 years since my wife and I made the move from Louisiana to Baltimore, Maryland. In these 5 years, our family has grown from 2 to 5 (counting the cat) and we, like everyone, have experienced our share of joy and tragedy, of highs and lows, of loving our home and also of dreaming of someplace perhaps a bit more roomier, of loving this city and dreaming of a place maybe a little warmer in the winter. My wife followed me here to live many hours away from all family and friends to make a life in a new place while her husband was too busy working on the medical wards, and to raise two small children while her husband was often away on business trips or working late hours in the clinic. In June, as you may know, our time in Baltimore will have come to an end. We will be leaving to take a position in Birmingham, Alabama which will fortunately bring us closer to our biological family, but will unfortunately take us away from our “family” we have come to be a part of up here.

When you come to the end of a thing or a time period in life, it allows you the opportunity to be excited about the future…to look forward to the unknown, the possibilities, to what lies ahead. But just as importantly, it gives you the opportunity to look back and to reflect on what has happened during the time that is drawing to a close, to examine how those experiences have changed or shaped you (for better or worse), and to see how (and why) you have changed from the man or woman you were at the start of your life chapter, and compare it to the person you are today. Continue reading “Sermon: “Knowing God” Preached by RE Hunter Boggs” →

“Listen to the weeping of my people all across the city…”

Pastor DeborahLeave a comment

Today we can chime in with the words of the prophet Jeremiah… with God’s message to God’s people, not in Zion, but particularly in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.   “Listen to the weeping of my people all across the city: ‘Isn’t the Lord in Baltimore?  Is our God no longer here?’  ….Because my people are crushed, I am crushed; darkness and despair overwhelm me.”   (adapted from Jeremiah 8:19,21)

Now we ask ourselves, what can we DO?

1.  Pray.  Alone, with your family, with any group you are a part of.

2. Be a neighbor.  Get to know the teenager across the street or down the block.  Show interest in his activities, in her school progress, in his life.  You could be the positive, stable, healthy influence that makes a difference.

3.  Speak up.  Make it clear to our elected officials and to our police department that unequal treatment based on neighborhood, age, dress or race is not tolerated in this city.

4.  Commit to being a part of our Harlem Avenue Bible Camp this summer to connect with children starved for the opportunity to engage in healthy activities that many of us take for granted.

5. Pray.  Lift up those who are weeping, those who question God’s presence, those who have been crushed by loss of property or a job, by loss of trust in a family member involved in looting, by fear, and/or by sadness.