While recovering from cancer, I understood very clearly what Christians who were active in their church felt like when they no longer could attend the services at their church. They feel lonely and abandoned. Even though I have a degree in Philosophy and a minor in Greek and loved to debate Theology – at that time, I didn’t want to hear sermons on the finer points of Theology. I didn’t want to hear sermons on the need to get out and witness – to Stand Up for Jesus. I wanted messages of comfort, of assurance, of hope, of promise, of God’s love. I wanted to hear music that was familiar – and not too loud. I didn’t want to hear about the need for supporting the church – I was just trying to survive, myself.
Obviously, what was available on TV and radio, wasn’t what I wanted at that time. It got me to thinking what could I do to meet that real need. What could be used by fellow Christians to minister to people like me – stuck at home or in the hospital or in a rest home.
At the same time I was studying what the Bible said about Worship. (You’ll find it at www.BiblicalWorship.org.) And two of the finest preachers in the world agreed to allow me to use recordings of their sermons. Dr Ray Ortland, former senior pastor of Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena and radio pastor of the Haven of Rest program, and Dr Lloyd Ogilvie, former senior pastor of Hollywood Presbyterian Church and Chaplain to the U.S. Senate offered me recordings of their messages – free. I will use their messages together with beautiful scenes of God’s creation and a couple of hymns done in the Mitch Miller fashion that will make them easy to sing or hum with, plus the reading of Scripture and Prayer. Several Worship services will be put together on a single DVD or other formats as they are developed and provided to churches and Christians at the very lowest price possible. We are hoping that Christians will use the messages for ministry and take them every week to visit and play the service for the sick, the shut-ins, and others who can’t make it to a church.
If you are interested in such a ministry, please feel free to contact me at roy@messagesofcomfort.com. Also, if you have any ideas or suggestions, we love to hear from you. And please pray for us as we start to assemble these services. May God Bless You.
Roy Williams
