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Learning From A Shooting Introduction: January 8th, 2011 Jared Lee Loughner shot 19 people in Tucson, Arizona. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was having a meet and greet even at a local shopping mall. Loughner walked up to her and proceeded to shot her in the head. He then started shooting at random those in line waiting to speak to the Representative. Six people were killed including a Federal Judge who came to just be friendly. Nine year old, Christina-Taylor Green came with a neighbor because of her interest in politics. She was killed and the neighbor lady was wounded. The neighbor's husband said Christina was an "adopted grand daugher" as they were waiting to have their own grandchildren. As I heard these accounts I thought of some spiritual lessons we can learn from this shooting. I) The Blame Game Can Not Be Played A) People often use the blame game 1. Almost immediately I wondered who the press would blame for this incident. 2. We often hear that society is to blame, one's environment, their economic social status, friends or peers, etc. 3. Loughner was to blame because he is the one who bought a gun, drove to the mall, and shot those people. a. It turned out that he read after Hitler but Hitler was not to blame. b. By all accounts he was and is a mentally deranged individual. B) We are free moral agents and will be judged individually before God. 1. We read of people in the Bible who tried to blame others for their deeds. a. Adam tried to blame Eve for eating the forbidden fruit, Genesis 3.12 b. King Saul tried to blame the people for not killing all the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 15.15. 2. Today people think they can blame others for their evil deeds: friends, spouse, society, the brethren, etc. 3. Facts: a. We all face temptations that are external and internal, James 1.2,3, 14. b. None of us are perfect, all of us have sinned, Romans 3.23. c. All of us are in need of God's grace, Romans 6.23b. d. All of us will be judged individually for what we have or have not done, 2 Corinthians 10.5 4. Our obedience to God is individual in that we must hear, believe, repent, confess, be baptized; no one can do those things for us. 5. We will be judged individually and not collectively, Revelation 3.1b, 4. 6. As Harry Truman said, "The buck stops here." II) The Impact of One Person or One Event A) The lives of those involved have been forever changed. 1. Wives lost their husbands, husbands lost their wives, couple lost their child, etc. 2. In just a few short minutes evil showed its ugly face. That cannot be undone. B) Our lives can and will be similarly impacted by strangers and unknown events. 1. This can be for good or bad. a. A young person does not know how or when they may meet their future spouse. b. The stranger at the grocery store may be a future friend or killer. c. Solomon spoke of time and chance in Ecclesiastes 9.11. d. We cannot hide from the world and live totally isolated from it, we are to use good judgment, but even then the unexpected happens. 2. It is what we do with the unexpected that matters. a. David unexpectedly saw a woman bathing, 2 Samuel 11.2. b. Those on the Day of Pentecost unexpectedly heard the Gospel and obeyed. C) We may be the unexpected in someone else's life. 1. Those in Corinth, Berea, Athens, etc. did not expect to meet a man named Paul and come in contact with the Gospel. 2. We are the salt and light of the world, Matthew 5.13-16. a. Let us make sure we are the blessing in the lives of other people. b. No one knows the long term effects they can or will have on others. III) Sacrificial Love Demonstrated A) Dorwan Stoddard 1. He gave his life protecting his wife Mary. 2. Dorwan was a member of the church of Christ in Tucson. Without a doubt he had heard lessons from Ephesians 5.25. He demonstrated that love as he dove on top of his wife. a. There were others who helped and risked their lives. b. Those who over powered the gun man before he could reload his gun. B) What would we do in that situation? 1. Would we be willing to die for someone else? 2. Story of a man who was invited to speak before a group of young people at a church. As he spoke there were two young men who were really not paying attention. He spoke of a man taking his son and another young man out on a boat. They fishing when storm appeared and caused the boat to capsize. The father of the boy had to make a decision. To save his own son or to save the other boy. He knew his son was a Christian, while the other was not. He choose to save the other boy and allow his son to drown. This was an example in sacrificial love. The room was silent as they dismissed and the two young boys approached the older man and said, "That's a pretty good story but not very practical." To which the preacher who had invited the old man spoke up, "I guess not but you see, I was the other boy. He gave his son for me." 3. Do we have that sacrificial love in us? Do we have the love of Christ in us? Conclusion: Perhaps today you need to change your life. It may take some sacrifices, Jesus talks about taking up His cross and that cross can be heavy. But He is there to help us along the way. If you need to obey the Gospel of Christ let us know.
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