Mark Prater, Executive Director of Sovereign Grace, wrote on the Orlando shooting yesterday. His post reflects a good combination of compassion for the suffering and help for the Christian as we try to think, act, and speak in a way that rightly reflects our God. You can read it below. One of our sister churches in Orlando pastored by Benny Phillips also wrote on the incident for their blog. Others have offered helpful words: Russell Moore of Southern Seminary wrote for Time.com, and Joe Carter crafted a thoughtful post at The Gospel Coalition. Obviously, there is no perfect response, certainly not a simple one, to such a complex event, but these authors have provided some good handholds as we try and walk wisely and compassionately.
We will have a time of prayer on the issue at the start of the sermon this Sunday. Here is what Mark Prater wrote:
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The tragic news on Sunday morning of a mass shooting in an Orlando nightclub, frequented by the LGBT community, remains almost incomprehensible. In an act of terror, 49 people were killed and several more injured in what we now know to be the deadliest mass shooting in United States history. As authorities investigate, we, as Christians, wrestle with questions like “how do we respond?” and “what do we do?” One verse is helpful, at least in part, in answering those questions. “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Rom. 12:9, ESV).
Let love be genuine
Paul exhorts Christians to love others in a genuine way. He then gives several descriptors of what genuine love looks like. One of them is found in v. 15, “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15b). It is an expression of genuine love for us, as believers, to weep with those who lost family members and friends. Christians are called to love genuinely, including those in the LGBT community, and one of the ways we do that is to weep with them, and pray that God would comfort them. And as some of us are geographically closer, we may be called to help—donate at a blood drive, volunteer to serve at a community event that is reaching out to those who lost family members. The point is to ask God to comfort those who lost loved ones and to ask him how you can be a tool to provide care.
Abhor what is evil
The first descriptor of genuine love is to “abhor what is evil.” This act of terror was evil, in part because those who lost their lives early Sunday morning were made in the image of God. God forbids the killing of another person, including those in the LGBT community, because we are all made in the image of God. In other words, an expression of genuine love is to call what happened on Sunday night evil.
Be constant in prayer
One of the many descriptors of genuine love found in Rom. 12:9-21 is to “be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12c). Praying earnestly and constantly for others is one expression of genuine love.
Because Sovereign Grace has two churches in the Orlando area, I reached out to Wayne Brooks, who leads Grace Church, and Benny Phillips, who leads Redeemer Church, to ask how Sovereign Grace can pray for their churches, their communities and the city of Orlando. Benny Phillips, along with a group of pastors in the Lake Nona section of Orlando, are holding a prayer vigil tonight, and he asked that we pray for that meeting. Wayne Brooks said, “There is a measure of fear and uncertainty in the community. Shock that it could happen in our little community. Therefore, pray that Christians would not give way to fear.” In addition to these requests, here are several things Benny and Wayne gave me that our family of churches can pray for:
- Pray that God would comfort the families directly affected by this tragedy.
- Pray that God would give wisdom for how to respond in practical ways looking to serve, and offer counseling to the community.
- Pray that God would provide opportunities to share the hope of the gospel.
- Pray for the prayer vigil this evening in Lake Nona.
Thank you for praying for Grace Church, Redeemer Church, and the city of Orlando. It is a wonderful expression of genuine love.
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