Sermon for April 14th, 2013
Zechariah 6:1-8
1And again I looked up and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. 2The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot black horses, 3the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled grey horses. 4Then I said to the angel who talked with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ 5The angel answered me, ‘These are the four winds of heaven going out, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6The chariot with the black horses goes towards the north country, the white ones go towards the west country, and the dappled ones go towards the south country.’ 7When the steeds came out, they were impatient to get off and patrol the earth. And he said, ‘Go, patrol the earth.’ So they patrolled the earth. 8Then he cried out to me, ‘Lo, those who go towards the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country.’
Revelation 6:1-8
6Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures call out, as with a voice of thunder, ‘Come!’ 2I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer. 3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, ‘Come!’ 4And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword. 5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand, 6and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a day’s pay, and three quarts of barley for a day’s pay, but do not damage the olive oil and the wine!’ 7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature call out, ‘Come!’ 8I looked and there was a pale green horse! Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed with him; they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and pestilence, and by the wild animals of the earth.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
A man from the East Coast was on a business trip here in Texas. During the course of his trip, the Texans he encountered never failed to point out how things are "bigger here in Texas." The sky is bigger, houses are bigger, cars are bigger, businesses are bigger, and so on... Well, after a hard days work he went back to his hotel (which was bigger). Before going up to his room, he stopped at the hotel bar for a couple of drinks..they were "Texas sized" drinks, too, so after awhile he asked the bartender where the nearest restroom was. "All the way down that hall, the last door on your right." So he set off down the Texas-sized hall toward the restroom. But he'd had a couple of Texas-sized drinks already, so when he got to the end of the hall, he was confused and took a left instead of a right. That door led to the swimming pool. It was an ordinary-sized swimming pool, but he didn't realize his mistake, and when he stumbled through the door, he fell into the water with a loud splash. In that moment, in his panic and confusion, with all the Texas-sized this and that floating around his head, the businessman yelled out in desperate fear to anyone who could hear him: PLEASE DON'T FLUSH!
