| About 30 years ago my husband and I were being driven around by another minister in a city in Southern California. We passed by a church that was closed and for sale. I asked the minister we were with, “Did the congregation out grow that church?” He replied, “No, the church just closed”. That bothered me a great deal and so I started praying, “Lord, how can a church close down? How can Satan win?” After much prayer I wrote the following poem. |
There was a church where people came to worship God and share,
And many souls were saved in answer to much prayer.
This made the devil very mad and so he sought to end
The church and all it’s work by sending his best demon friend.
The demon laughed and said to him, “This church will be destroyed,
Do not worry any longer,” Satan was overjoyed.
The demon left, his work to start and he looked all around
For one who always came to church but was not heaven bound.
This one was filled with lots of pride, so easy to offend,
And so this one’s pride was hurt with no chance for it to mend.
Tears flowed freely down the face of this one with so much pride
‘tll all had heard this sad, sad tale, some stuck to this one’s side.
Others joined this one with pride in voicing their discontent.
And now the whole church was stirred up, a split seemed imminent.
Person against person and not a word between them spoke.
Love was gone and hatred spread like wild fire and smoke.
“How can they love the Lord when they can not love each other?”,
The Lord kept asking those who had ought against their brother.
But no one listened, no one cared to what the Lord would say.
They kept on fighting and complaining each in their own way.
The Spirit could not work where people could not get along.
The services were dry with people asking, “What went wrong?”.
Attendance dropped, many left, searching a new church to find.
They had been hurt, they needed love and people who were kind.
That church died, the doors were closed never to open again.
Most people found new churches but some fell back into sin.
New converts were hurt the most as they fell away from Christ.
Satan had won a battle with his demon friend named “Strife”.
And many souls were saved in answer to much prayer.
This made the devil very mad and so he sought to end
The church and all it’s work by sending his best demon friend.
The demon laughed and said to him, “This church will be destroyed,
Do not worry any longer,” Satan was overjoyed.
The demon left, his work to start and he looked all around
For one who always came to church but was not heaven bound.
This one was filled with lots of pride, so easy to offend,
And so this one’s pride was hurt with no chance for it to mend.
Tears flowed freely down the face of this one with so much pride
‘tll all had heard this sad, sad tale, some stuck to this one’s side.
Others joined this one with pride in voicing their discontent.
And now the whole church was stirred up, a split seemed imminent.
Person against person and not a word between them spoke.
Love was gone and hatred spread like wild fire and smoke.
“How can they love the Lord when they can not love each other?”,
The Lord kept asking those who had ought against their brother.
But no one listened, no one cared to what the Lord would say.
They kept on fighting and complaining each in their own way.
The Spirit could not work where people could not get along.
The services were dry with people asking, “What went wrong?”.
Attendance dropped, many left, searching a new church to find.
They had been hurt, they needed love and people who were kind.
That church died, the doors were closed never to open again.
Most people found new churches but some fell back into sin.
New converts were hurt the most as they fell away from Christ.
Satan had won a battle with his demon friend named “Strife”.
| CHURCH PROPERTY |
@2007. Family Life Church. All Rights Reserved.
| For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Hebrews 3:4 (NIV) |
| FOR SALE |
| THAT CHURCH DIED by Julie Anne Hood |
| Proverbs 6: 16-19 reads: These six things does the LORD HATE: Yes, seven are an ABOMINATION to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, AND HE WHO SOWS DISCORD AMONG HIS BROTHEREN. |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |