Sermon:
In life we are faced with battles on every hand. Some people believe that the only battles that we are faced with, is the battles of war between countries, nations, and people. the biggest battle that we are faced with in this life, is ourselves. What is our purpose of being here? There was a young man who grew up in the urban area of Chicago, it seemed as if his community was dying and he was searching to find the meaning of life. After various failures in successes through life’s journey, he found himself at the tender age of 16 wanting to end it all. One day he decided to take a gun that one of his relatives kept in their homes and figure out what would be his fate. He stood in the middle of the floor deciding would he continue on or end his life.What makes a young man come to this point in his life, where he contemplates upon killing himself? What brings a person to the point where he or she wants to quit? The psalmist tells us in the third verse that the sorrows of death compassed me. Or for better words, the sorrows of death were all around me.
Just like this young man who was contemplating on giving up on life, the sorrows of death are all around us. We live in a time where the bible quoted, in the last days perilous times shall come. This is a time where children have to grow up more than likely, without their father. This is a time where men are not the leaders of the home, but men have almost lost their place. This is prevalent in the urban home, where most of our fathers are in prison and the ones that are not, seem to be landing as vulchers only to eat and moving on never cultivating a home to raise a family. The sorrows of death are all around us. Men are no longer called fathers but sperm donors, no longer called men of honor, but baby daddies. It was a time when America was based on a patriarch society, where men took care of the home, raised their kids and provided, but now it has turned into a matriarch society where women are having to play multiple roles. Instead of the women nurturing the children, she now has the responsibility of nurturing, financing, and rearing the family. This breakdown of the family is grabbing a hold on our youth, and our society is losing the battle. The man at one time represented the vision, the man represented the sight or the spiritual direction of the family and the bible says in Proverbs 29:18, where there is no vision, the people perish, but it wasn’t long ago, where we all had a vision. we all remember when a man stood in front of thousands and said those famous words, I have a dream that one day. That man dreamed a changed society, a nation that was better, a community that was better, a people that was better, but today that dream has drowned and that young man contemplating suicide felt as the Psalmist says, the sorrows of death were all around him, and he stood as most of us stand, wondering what is the value of life and he found himself losing the battle.
The sorrows of death are all around us. Our communities are drug infested, music molested, and people disrespected. It seems as if no one can make it out. How can we get through this life where every other block, men are on corners selling poison to their own people, not respecting themselves or could care less about the value of human life. How can we live brothers and sisters when the music we cator