24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
God's sustenance through natural disasters is a theme that we see quite commonly, and we can give glory to God for the manifestations of His presence. Now, we are reminded that people lose their lives in such disasters, and the presence of God can provide comfort in those difficult circumstances.
Recently, there were close to 100 people gathered in a sanctuary in Finleyville, Pennsylvania when an F1 tornado touched down, resulting in the roof being taken off the building. The Christian Post quoted from Pastor Ken Barner of Crossroads Ministries, who shared comments online:
"The tornado came up the hill at about 6:14 p.m., and it came up, and it took the roof off of that building, and it sent it into the woods," he said. "I just have to tell you God was with us. The steeple got knocked out. Cars were damaged. Nobody was injured. There's a few cuts and bruises and bumps, as you might imagine, but nobody had to be hospitalized that we know of, and we're just thankful for that."
It was during a Saturday night service, and according to The Observer-Reporter, Barner said: "My wife, Rhonda, was singing, and all of a sudden, you could hear the noise of the storm. You could hear the wind outside. The power jumped once, then the power went out and came back on. I knew there had been a tornado warning for Lawrence County at 5 p.m., so I started evacuating people downstairs where there's a cinder block basement..." The Christian Post article went on to say:
"It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life," Lynn Michigan, who attended the Saturday evening service with her husband, Rob, told the publication.
Rob Michigan, a member of the Castle Shannon Volunteer Fire Department, helped lead the parishioners to safety in the church basement. He said he would never want to experience what happened in the tornado again.
The pastor had shared in his online statement that church activities had been canceled, and he offered these words:
"This is just a building folks. I thank God for it. The people who've gone before us, they have done a good job to hand us what they could do, and we've been doing our best to take care of it and really use it for the honor and glory of God, but folks, this is just a building here, and I know that God is really using us as his church," he added. "I want you to know that by next weekend, we will meet somewhere."
This occurred in mid-May, and by the end of the month, according to the church's website, the roof repair was nearly complete. The church is back in its building!
What an inspiration - after a devastating set of circumstances, this small church, which actually runs three services every weekend: 1 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday morning, is back in its building. It's a reminder that, as the pastor related, the church is not the building, and the building is not the church, and the work of the church has continued. So often, when we refer to a community, we talk about a "church" - it becomes a landmark, a gathering place. But, the real church is the people inside. There are empty "church" buildings that no longer house a congregation - it's the Church, God's Church, that has the potential to effectively represent Christ and to share His love.
This congregation experienced the presence and protection of God in a profound way - apparently, a direct hit by a tornado. They were gathered in worship, and tested in affliction. We may not have an F1 heading our way, but there will be storms. This story can remind us of the importance of maintaining a spirit of worship and trusting in the Lord, even when we face challenges. And, our storms can show us what we're made of.
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