Author: Bryan Gibson

Weekly Bulletin
March 21, 2021

Tornado Terror
by Bryan Gibson
Just a few days ago, March 17, 2021, we witnessed yet another tornado outbreak here in Alabama. Praise God, no fatalities were reported this time, even though the property damage was considerable. Tornadoes, though, have caused many deaths in previous outbreaks, and likely will again in the future. I don’t presume to know God’s precise role in these events, but I do know what He wants you (and me) to learn from them.
Life is fragile, uncertain, and all too brief. “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). And it may vanish a lot sooner than you think, because the tornado that missed you this time may kill you the next. Don’t take tomorrow for granted, for it may never come. Prepare today to meet the Lord in judgment (Luke 12:20), and if you know someone else who’s not prepared, help them get ready, too.
Sin messed up everything. Death and destruction, whether from tornadoes or any other cause, didn’t exist in the beginning, not until Adam and Eve sinned, and were then driven from the garden and denied access to the tree of life (Genesis 3:17-24; Romans 8:20-22). God’s creation, while still beautiful to behold, just hasn’t been the same since.
Rest your hope, then, on the one place where there is no sin. Those horrible scenes of devastation, the ones you see in the aftermath of a tornado, should make you long for a place where nothing but “righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13), a place free from death and destruction (Revelation 21:4), a place where you can once again eat freely from the tree of life (Revelation 2:7; 22:1-2, 14).
Trust in God, not in yourself. Hard to feel more powerless than when a powerful tornado is bearing down on your house, and then if you do survive, to go outside and see everything man has built reduced to rubble. “Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9). Learning to trust in God is a good thing, even if takes a calamity to do it, and maybe, just maybe we can learn to maintain that trust both in bad times and in good.
Cling to the things that endure. Sometimes we see people lose everything they own, things they spent a lifetime accumulating. Calamity teaches us time and time again that “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15), but instead in a relationship of faithfulness to the Lord, a foundation that cannot be swept away by any storm. “Whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 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” (Matthew 7:24-25). Your house may fall in a tornado, but not the “house” that matters most.
Repent, or perish! The folks who perish in these tornado outbreaks—there’s no reason to believe they are any worse sinners than those who survive (read carefully Luke 13:1-5). But once they perish, their eternal fate is sealed. They will either receive eternal life or eternal death. Now, suppose you perish in one of these tornadoes. Would you perish eternally? Would you be ready to meet the Lord? Not unless you are willing to turn from your sins. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5).

Contact Information
	P.O. Box 680872 / Prattville, AL 36067
	(334) 365-5887 / (334) 868-0801
	prattmont@gmail.com / prattmontchurchofchrist.org

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The Prattmont Church of Christ is just what the name suggests, a church that belongs to Christ. We are not a denomination; we are simply a group of Christians trying very hard to practice the teachings of our Head, Jesus Christ. The New Testament offers a complete pattern for what each local church should be like—its organization, its worship, its work, etc. We are committed to following that pattern. We cordially invite you to attend our services. We would also welcome any comments or questions about this bulletin.

TIMES OF SERVICES:
(temporary during pandemic)
Sunday
Bible Classes………...9 A.M.
Worship 10:00 A.M.
Wednesday:
Bible Study 7:00 P.M.