NEW ORLEANS (BP)–Encouragement and explanation have been the focus of Fred Luter’s sermons since Hurricane Katrina.
The devastation from the hurricane and subsequent flooding have left people looking for encouragement to carry on and for an explanation from God’s viewpoint of what happened, said Luter, pastor of New Orleans’ Franklin Avenue Baptist Church.
Luter said he realizes he is preaching on trust and confidence in God to people who lost their homes, their belongings and, in too many cases, their loved ones.
“I try to answer the ‘why’ and encourage them that this too will pass,” Luter said.
In one of his January sermons to remnants of his congregation in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Houston, Luter preached from Job 23 on “The test called Katrina.”
“None of us have faced a test like Katrina,” he said, “except maybe Job.”
Luter told the audiences that:
— God pre-approves every test. “Katrina surprised us, but it didn’t surprise God.”
— God prepares every believer for every test. “From the time we were born, everything we’ve been through God has used to prepare us for Katrina.”
— God preserves us through every test. “I know it’s hard; I know you cried,” Luter said. “I know it’s difficult, but you’ve made it.”
–30–
