Our hymnal contains many songs that gave hope to enslaved people. One of the most well known ones is Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. It is a song that people forced to pick cotton in the heavy heat of the deep south day in and day out would sing to give themselves hope. One day God would send his chariot down to take their burden away.
I imagine the Apostle Paul might have been singing a song such as this as he sat in his jail cell with his companion, Silas. Why were they in jail, you ask? For removing a curse that caused a woman to be enslaved. But their work of liberation didn’t end there. Their witness to their faith led to the baptism of many of their cell mates and even the jailer and his family.
In a world where so many are yearning for freedom – freedom from overdemanding jobs, overwhelming bills, burdens from our past, and worries about our future – how might God be calling us to be partners in the work of liberation? Join us for worship this Sunday morning at 10a as Mike Tironi explores the Uprising in Partnership.
