A vandalized 180-year-old church taught us a powerful message about Jesus Christ.
Vandalized 180-year-old church
The St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Amarillo, Texas was vandalized and severely damaged recently. At around 2:00 in the morning of May 2, someone broke into the church and ruined sacred elements in the church. Some of the things that were damaged were the altar, the baptismal, and the processional cross.
Church leaders and members were heartbroken to see how their house of worship had been disrespected. But out of this mess, a message is forming. One of the church members, Audrey Pybus, posted photos from inside the church along with a meaningful message on her Facebook account.
Audrey Pybus [@audrey.pybus]. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Facebook, May 5, 2023, https://www.facebook.com/audrey.pybus
The Church of Jesus
Apparently, the church had previously been damaged by a fire almost three decades ago. Everything in the church was burned except a bell. After the recent vandalism, the church leader took the bell and rang it in front of the congregation as a sign of hope.
“The person leading the service last night rang a bell that was preserved from a previous fire that destroyed the church building in 1996. His point is ‘the bell still rings.”’ I teared up watching this. I felt the presence of God,” Audrey wrote.
The following morning, God spoke again to Audrey and He revealed how His church would remain despite all the persecutions.
“As I was driving to work this morning, I was thinking about the persecution of the church. God said to me ‘When the church is crushed, it is never crushed into defeat. It is always crushed into new wine.’ I began to cry again. Seeing how The Church of Jesus has stood for 2 thousand years.”
Jesus Christ overcame
The Church will overcome because Jesus Christ overcame death and the cross.
“The whole book of Revelation is about the Church that overcomes. When these things come our way when our sacred elements are desecrated when our hope is pushed, we can stand firm on the Rock of Ages that never moves, never shifts, and never fails. The church will overcome and Jesus will get His full reward for His suffering.”
Read also: BSSM STUDENT MEETS THE PREACHER WHO CHANGED HER LIFE 6 YEARS AGO
Reference: Facebook | Audrey Pybus
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