The Breaking of the Dawn - Dr Carla Sunberg
I hope you've enjoyed these Nazarene preachers, friends, powerful stuff.
The Church of the Nazarene was founded by a man named Phineas Bresee. He ran the first General Assembly at a place called Pilot Point. Now, listen to what today's General Superintendent, Carla Sundberg, said about Bresee. I loved this.
Bresee’s “Good Morning”
“The 1908 Pilot Point General Assembly marked the dawn of the Church of the Nazarene. We can only imagine that at Pilot Point. Dr Bresee stood and addressed the crowd with his usual. “Good morning!” It did not matter the time of day, but Dr. Bresee would proclaim “Good morning!” for as he went on to explain, “the sun never goes down in the morning. Thus, the sun of the Church of the Nazarene is just above the horizon.”
Bresee saw the holiness message as being filled with such hope of transformation that it was as if the dawn was always on the horizon, breaking into the dark places of our world. Therefore, he greeted people both in the morning and at night with the phrase, “Good morning!”
The Light that Keeps Shining
Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would come with great light: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them, light has shined.” Later, when John the Baptist was born, his father, Zachariah, proclaimed “By the tender mercy of our God the dawn from on high will break upon us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadows of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Bresee knew that it was always the hope of the morning, of the dawn, of the light of the Messiah, breaking into our dark world that would bring transformation.”
So cool. I love how Bresee would say good morning no matter what time of day it was, because he believed that the light of Jesus Christ was always dawning. Isn't that an amazing thought?
The Greater Church
And I know she was talking about the Church of the Nazarene, but it's not about denominations. It's about the Church of Jesus Christ, always bearing Christ's light. Thus no matter what darkness we face that sun is always rising, that light of Christ is always there to expel the darkness.
And so “good morning!” and may it always be a good morning, when you remember, the light of Christ is shining.
Full talk: https://www.youtube.com/live/vtIvPji5DuA?feature=share&t=1508
