ACTS OF GOD

[DWIGHT R. WASHINGTON]

I HAVE A TALK COMING UP ENTITLED "ACTS OF GOD." IT DEALS WITH NATURAL DISASTERS,

HOWEVER I AM HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME FINDING AN APPROPRIATE OPENING SONG.

PLEASE HELP.

[Melinda Mills]

2 hours ago, DWIGHT R. WASHINGTON said:

I HAVE A TALK COMING UP ENTITLED "ACTS OF GOD." IT DEALS WITH NATURAL DISASTERS,

HOWEVER I AM HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME FINDING AN APPROPRIATE OPENING SONG.

PLEASE HELP.

 

 

Agree there is not a neat fit.  Some food for thought in these excerpts. Of course I am a sister and have never seen a manuscript but I would still like to help.

 

*** w15 6/15 pp. 6-7 pars. 15-16 Christ—The Power of God ***

15 The Source of Christ’s power is Jehovah himself, so we have reason to believe that Almighty God is fully capable of controlling the forces of nature. Consider a few examples. Before the Flood, Jehovah stated: “In just seven days, I will make it rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.” (Gen. 7:4) Similarly, at Exodus 14:21, we read: “Jehovah drove the sea back with a strong east wind.” And we read at Jonah 1:4: “Jehovah hurled a strong wind at the sea, and there was such a violent storm on the sea that the ship was about to be wrecked.” It is encouraging to know that Jehovah can control the elements. Clearly, planet Earth’s future is in good hands.

16 How reassuring it is to contemplate the awesome power of our Creator and his “master worker.” When their full attention is directed toward the earth for the 1,000 years, all people will dwell in security. Terrifying natural disasters will be a thing of the past. There will be no reason to fear being harmed by typhoons, tsunamis, volcanoes, or earthquakes in the new world. How wonderful it is to think of the time when no natural forces will kill or maim, for “the tent of God [will be] with mankind”! (Rev. 21:3, 4) We can be assured that the power of God exercised through Christ will control the forces of nature during the Millennium.   End quote

If in the Talk you use the scripture at Revelation 21:3,4 you can use the Song, “All Things New” No.14 to stress they will be no more dying (due to natural disasters among other things).

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Alternatively, if you approach it from the standpoint of the use of Jehovah’s power you can use Song No.1 speaks of Jehovah’s “power so great; More your great day will still relate”.

If you think of Job 38 and the use of the storehouses of snow and hail you can stress destructive forces which Jehovah will use in the future.

 

*** w05 11/15 p. 14 Wonders of Creation Exalt Jehovah ***

Who Has Storehouses of Snow and Hail?

No man has escorted either light or darkness to its home or has entered the storehouses of snow and hail that God keeps back for “the day of fight and war.” (Job 38:19-23) When Jehovah used hail against his foes at Gibeon, “there were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.” (Joshua 10:11) He may use hailstones of undisclosed size to destroy wicked humans led by Gog, or Satan.—Ezekiel 38:18, 22.

Egg-size hailstones killed 25 people and injured 200 others in central Henan Province, China, in July 2002. Regarding a hailstorm in 1545, Italian sculptor Benvenuto Cellini wrote: “We were one day distant from Lyons . . . when the heavens began to thunder with sharp rattling claps. . . . After the thunder the heavens made a noise so great and horrible that I thought the last day had come; so I reined in for a moment, while a shower of hail began to fall without a drop of water. . . . The hail now grew to the size of big lemons. . . . The storm raged for some while, but at last it stopped . . . We showed our scratches and bruises to each other; but about a mile farther on we came upon a scene of devastation which surpassed what we had suffered, and defies description. All the trees were stripped of their leaves and shattered; the beasts in the field lay dead; many of the herdsmen had also been killed; we observed large quantities of hailstones which could not have been grasped with two hands.”—Autobiography (Book II, 50), Harvard Classics, Volume 31, pages 352-3.

What will happen when Jehovah opens his storehouses of snow and hail against his enemies? They cannot possibly survive when snow or hail is used to carry out his will.  End quote

 

Of course Jehovah and his son Christ Jesus can harness all of the natural elements and use them to suit his purpose. Why they become unruly at times we don’t exactly know, as Jesus himself was in danger once in a boat on the sea of Galilee. But he showed power over these forces and saved himself and the disciples.

Power in nature and in wild creatures also bring glory to Jehovah as they are his creation and reflect his power.

See also Song No. 131 –“ Provider of Escape”;  Song No. 15 - Creation Reveals Jehovah’s Glory”

[JW Insider]

Melinda Mills gave excellent choices. For the same reasons she gave I would consider 134 "See Yourself When All Is New" and 121 "Encourage One Another."

Some ideas that can be worked into the outline might include Pliny's report on Vesuvius and a reminder that this happened during the very time that people were first reading Hebrews 10:24,25 about meeting together to encourage one another (which is the basis for song 121). Also up until the time of Christ's message so many people thought that all natural disasters were "acts of God." Imagine how many people would have thought that the explosion/volcano/earthquake of Vesuvius was Armageddon. It obliterated the summer homes of the elite from Rome. The sky darkened over much of Italy including Rome. Surely Rome would be next because this would have been considered a judgment by God. Jerusalem had just been destroyed in the same decade, SURELY this act of God was not the judgment on Rome! Yet Jesus had said that you will hear of earthquakes and wars, but NOT to get overly excited about the idea that it meant the end.

(Matthew 24:6-8) . . .for these things must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. 8 All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress.

(Matthew 24:29) 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Imagine how this event would have become fodder for false prophets, who might teach that this was the end, that this was the sky darkening and the moon not giving its light. Imagine how it might have been used as a way to mislead the chosen ones to stay in hiding or fear, rather than preach the good news. Yet Jesus said the end is NOT yet, these things were just a beginning.

It's a way to help an audience imagine the words of the Scriptures in a more personal way when we also can imagine what was going through the minds of the people in the first century. Besides Vesuvius, the way that the first century audience of Jesus thought about these things as judgments is interesting. Jesus gave the example of Pilate's political terrorism, and the Tower at Siloam, and said that such things were not directly brought about by sin or judgements on the specific people killed, but were merely 'time and unforeseen occurrence,' yet we can still use them to take account of our lives knowing that the end can come for any of us at any time.

(Luke 13:1-5) 13 At that time some who were present reported to him about the Gal·i·leʹans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 In reply he said to them: “Do you think that those Gal·i·leʹans were worse sinners than all other Gal·i·leʹans because they have suffered these things? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise be destroyed. 4 Or those 18 on whom the tower in Si·loʹam fell, killing them—do you think that they had greater guilt than all other men who live in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all be destroyed, as they were.”

(Luke 12:18-21) 18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my storehouses and build bigger ones, and there I will gather all my grain and all my goods, 19 and I will say to myself: “You have many good things stored up for many years; take it easy, eat, drink, enjoy yourself.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Unreasonable one, this night they are demanding your life from you. Who, then, is to have the things you stored up?’ 21 So it goes with the man who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”