Sun. Aug. 17, 2014 (J. Evan Kreider)

Dr. Evan Kreider spoke on "God of Storms, God of Silences" based on the scriptures in 1 Kings 19:9-18 and Psalm 85:8-13. He addressed three of the most fabulous stories about Elijah found in scripture, to show the guidance God offers for direction in our own lives. In 1 Kings 18 and 19, Elijah defeats the prophets of Baal, but also offends Queen Jezebel and flees, hiding for a symbolic 40 days on Mt. Horeb, the sister mountain to the one where Israel received the law. In answer to the Lord's question, "What are you doing here?" Elijah answers that his faithfulness has left him alone. This, of course, is not correct - the Lord mentions another 7,000 faithful "who did not bow down to Baal" but even through windstorms, earthquakes and fire, Elijah has failed to keep faith and is to be replaced, along with Israel's leadership. Are there times today when we are incapable of keeping up with our changing world? Do we defend institutions that refuse to change? How do we know when we should change, and when it is time to be silent, or to annoint the next generation, no matter how wrong we may think they are? How does God come to us today - is His voice in disasters? Doe we hear God's voice in nature or in the impulses of our creative muses? Must we be in the wilderness for 40 days? When we are so distracted by our modern conveniences, how is God supposed to get through? Silence is when we set our agendas aside, still our minds and just listen. And if we are met with only more silence, let us rely on Psalm 46 and "Be still and know that I am God." [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 17th, 2014 using your browser's preferred media player.