So today this is not going to be like a regular sermon. I want to share a testimony with you,

a testimony of what God did and is doing in my life and in the life of our church as a result of a very tragic occurrence at New Life on December the night.

So is that okay with you if I just share the testimony today?

I ask for permission to do that today.

But turning to your Bible to James Chapter 1 and also to John 16.

We are going to look at the Bible and look at some passages today in

scripture.

But I want to share the story, the testimony of what God did.

And as I said in our church on December the 9th. On December the 9th as you recall a

gunman came on our campus killing two young girls injuring three other people and then

took his own life in the hallway of our church and a very

tragic thing a very devastating an event at our church but God is doing something

God in the midst of that terrible crisis, I cannot

imagine learning more about God than I have in the last five months. It's been the single

greatest influence to me toward God of anything that's ever happened

to me in my life.

And so I want to look at James Chapter 1, verse 2.

It says, consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

Now, I don't want to argue with God about how he wrote the Bible, but I think these three

or four passages that I'm going to read should be written in opposite order.

Because I don't think any of us, when we have trials of many kind, go, yay, joy, another trial of many kind coming my way so I should have joy. But it says consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Well that's not even good news yet.

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