Theology of Church Announcement Time

This past Sunday (June 11), I was reminded that Sunday morning announcement time can provide a time to teach theology and priorities.  People are more important than events and activities (priorities).  God is sovereign over all creation.

Some Sunday-specific facts to help explain this lesson and this post.

1. This Sunday was the second Sunday of Trinity's Theology Matters summer study.  The specific lesson was "What is the Bible?"
2. The Fighter Verses for last week and this week are James 4:13 - 14 and James 4:15 - 17.
3. On Wednesday, I asked to switch the announcement schedule to announce VBS and share a missionary update.

With these facts in mind, I was reminded of the truth found in the Bible, specifically James 4:13 - 17, as I prepared for and made the announcements.

Friday, I had my prepared list of announcements of Vacation Bible School, a ladies' get-together, a men's Bible study, and a senior luncheon.

Now get ready because the excellent list of scheduled announcements changes going forward.

Later that Friday, I was reminded I needed to announce the birth of a precious baby boy, who was born healthy but two weeks early, to the surprise of the proud, blessed parents.  What a joyful blessing to this young family and to our church.

On Saturday, a long-time member of Trinity passed away.  This family, filled with servants of the Lord, has a lot of connections with the church because this woman, her husband, their adult daughters, and their son-in-law are all part of our church family and served and serve in different ways.

Then, before the Sunday service, I was informed that another excellent servant from TBC, and a blessing to me and my family, was struggling in the ICU.  

There is no way I could read a list of events and information to our church family with such a joyful birth of a baby announcement and two difficult announcements related to these godly women.  

I know the ministry events are in the Lord's hand because I am reminded of that in James 4:13-19 and the circumstances of life.  

Arrogance is telling God what is going to happen. 
We don't know when a baby will be born.
We don't know when we will get sick.
We don't know when we will die.
We are still determining whether the planned events, such as luncheons, wedding rehearsals, or graduation parties, will go as planned.

But we know that God is sovereign, and we ought to say, "If the Lord wills..."