Let me say right off the bat that the two men I am about to discuss with you, are, in my opinion, good Christian men who do a lot of valuable work for the Church and God's kingdom in this world. It just so happens they are both in the middle of a controversy because of a position they took with regard to our nation's tragedy. I am talking about Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. On Thursday the 13th, two days after the attack, Pat Robertson said that because of America's pursuit of financial gain, health, wealth, material pleasures, sexuality, rampant pornography on the Internet, secularism and the occult, 35-40 million abortions, and a few other things, God Almighty is lifting His protection from us. Once that protection is gone, he said, we are vulnerable.

A little later in his broadcast he recognized that there are evil people in this world who do evil things but went on to say, and I quote, "It happened because God is lifting His protection from this nation and we must pray and ask Him for revival so that once again we will be His people, the planting of His righteousness, so that He will come to our defense and protect us as a nation." That's what Pat Robertson said. Jerry Falwell, that same night, jumped in a little deeper blaming the devastation on pagans, abortionists, feminists, homosexuals, the American Civil Liberties Union and the People for the American Way.

Now, let me give you a little piece of advice. If you think this, don't announce it on national TV for all to hear two days after a national tragedy. You won't like the response. The next morning a White House representative called Falwell as he was driving to the National Cathedral memorial service in Washington, and told him the President disapproved. I never want to say something so egregious that I get a call from the office of the president. Falwell has since apologized. He even posted his apology on his Liberty University web site, "In the midst of the shock and mourning of a dark week for America, I made," he confessed, "a statement that I should not have made and which I sincerely regret. I want to apologize to every American, including those I named."

I think Falwell did the right thing in apologizing and I accept it as sincere. But, he and Robertson raise an important question. It is a question all of us have struggled with from time-to-time at the death of a loved one or during a particular life crises. We second guess ourselves and wonder if our sins have brought upon us God's judgment and life's misfortunes.

I suppose it is only natural then for us to pose the question at this critical time. So, let's go ahead and ask the question. Is this God's judgment? To answer that question let's first look at Jeremiah.

1. God's relationship to Israel (Jeremiah text).

2. The Church's (and God's changed) relationship to the State--Jesus the new Balm.

3. The Church's responsibility to pray for leadership (cf. 1 Tim 2:1-7).