40. They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.

41. And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.

42. So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

43. Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.

44. Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

45. Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

46. And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

47. Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.

48. As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.

49. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

50. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. (Ezekiel 16:40-50)

11. God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

12. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.

13. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.

14. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.

15. He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.

16. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate. (Psalms 7:11-16)

The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. (Psalms 9:15)

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. (Psalms 9:17)

INTRODUCTION

Columnist Peggy Noonan, writing in the Wall Street Journal, said, "What walked into the Columbine High School last Thursday was the culture of death. This time it wore black trench coats. Last time, it was children's hunting gear. Next time, it will be some other costume, but it will still be the culture of death."

What happened in Littleton, Colorado, last year at Columbine High School sent shock waves across America. Fifteen people were dead after an eighteen-year-old and a seventeen-year-old went on a killing rampage. And, it could have been much worse. It was later revealed that they had planned to kill 500 then get a plane and crash it in New York City, killing even more.

Now, on all the news shows on TV, we kept hearing, "Why did this happen?" But the truth is the so called experts that were being asked, did not have a clue. Asking an unsaved pagan why we are having such moral problems is like asking a plumber how to do brain surgery.

MSNBC talk host, John Gibson, said that the answer to "Why?" may be, "Because we don't have enough psychologists in our schools." But that is absurd. The fact is that these young men had been arrested the year before for burglary.

After their arrest, they had been seeing a counselor Ä a psychologist. Apparently, this psychologist did not have a clue that these young men, Dylan Kebold and Eric Harris, had such serious problems.

So, the question as to "why" this tragedy took place is still being asked and debated. Nancy Gibbs in People Magazine wrote, "The story of the slaughter at Columbine High School opened a sad national conversation about what turned two boy's souls into poison. It promises to be a long hard talk, in public and private, about why smart, privileged kids rot inside."

Since the Columbine shootings, there has been several more. One of the latest being the school shooting of six year old Kayla Rolland at Mount Morris Township, near Flint, Michigan. Kayla was shot and killed by a six-year-old classmate!

Kayla was walking ahead of the boy, up the school stairs. He called out, "I don't like you." She replied, "So?" The boy then fired a single bullet that entered Kayla's right arm and traveled through her vital organs. She died at 10:29 a.m. at Hurley Medical Center.

Time Magazine said, "A child shoots a child stirring debate on gun control, social safety nets, good and evil." But are guns the problem? I don't think so. Now, let me share with you why I believe this tragedy took place and why more will follow in our culture of death

1. SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Sodom, before she was destroyed, was a city with "fulness of bread." The economy was great and so, they were self-sufficient with no need for God. Sounds like America. Then, in Psalm 7, we see here man going about his business as though God did not exist. And, this is exactly what most Americans do daily. He indulges his lusts and God is angry with him.

As a society, we have asked God to leave us alone. With all our education and technology, we feel that we are self-sufficient and no longer need God. We don't want God in our government. We don't want Him in our entertainment. We don't want Him in our homes, and we don't even want Him in some of our churches!

Our attitude as a nation seems to be like that of the demon possessed man in Mark 5 who said in verse 7, ". . . what have I to do with Thee, Jesus . . .". As a nation, we have shut the door in God's face and said, "Stay out, we don't need you, we are self-sufficient."

We are like the church at Laodicia in Rev.3 who said, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing . . ." But, in verse 17, Jesus said, ". . . thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."

Why the tragedy in Colorado? It's because we feel self-sufficient with no need for God.

2. SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

The Supreme Court, beginning in 1962, began to hand down decisions that were the first legal jackhammers to penetrate our almost two hundred-year-old biblical foundation. Since 1962, the high court has ruled the following:

Prayer in public schools is unconstitutional.

The posting of the Ten Commandments is prohibited in public schools.

Prayers of any type at graduation ceremonies are not allowed.

Abortion, without consent of parents or husbands is a woman's right to privacy under the constitution.

Bible reading in public school was also ruled unconstitutional.

One of the Ten Commandments says, "Thou shalt not kill," but it could not hang on the wall at Columbine High School because the Supreme Court decided it was not constitutional! I'm reminded of Romans 1:22, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools . . ."

A man called into a Christian radio station and said, "Those kids were sick and sad, and if a teacher had talked to them and said, "Listen, there's a way out, there really is love out there that will never stop loving you, there's a real God and I want to talk to you about Him." If a teacher had intervened that way, he or she would have been hauled into court."

What walked into Columbine High School, April 22, 1999, was the culture of death dressed in black.

Why the tragedy in Colorado? It is partly because of Supreme Court decisions.

3. SOCIAL STUPIDITY

Fools are directing our nation toward Hell (Psalm 9:17). Notice in our text in Psalm 7:15, "He (the wicked) made a pit, digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made."

The ditch of permissiveness, immorality, humanism, hedonism, violence, greed, pornography, drug use, and satanic music has resulted in a culture of death; this ditch is a ditch of death and we are rapidly falling into it daily.

On the one hand, our society, led by the ACLU says that God, the Bible, prayer, and even, the Cross and the Ten Commandments will have a negative influence on our children in school. But, at the same time, a steady diet of violence, drugs, sex, perverted sex, Satanism, humanism, satanic, demonic rock music is OK and none of it will hurt our kids like religion will and none of it should ever be censored!

Our society is stupid. Notice Romans 1:22. "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."

Witchcraft, according to Girl Power Magazine, is the number one interest of teenage girls in America. Suzanne Fields writes in the Washington Times, "Music, movies, videos all push the envelope of death, and unsentimental, ruthless, and vicious numbers game."

Our social experiment of taking the Bible and prayer out of our schools has only resulted in them being replaced by armed guards, metal detectors, lack of discipline, lack of learning, and general chaos.

Notice Romans 1:21. "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."

In Minnesota the head librarian defended convicted sex offenders drawing up porno on the computers in the library. She said, "They have a right to privacy."

We live in a stupid society!

We allow Marylin Manson to sing songs encouraging children to kill their parents. A group called Dead Kennedys have a song titled, "I Kill Children." The song goes, "I kill children, I love to see them die. I kill children to make their mothers cry. I crush them under my car and I love to hear them scream, I kill children, I bang their head in doors. I kill children, I can hardly wait for yours."

By the way, Marilyn Manson's music has been described as "death rock." Recently, a young boy committed suicide by hanging himself while listening to Marilyn Manson music. His T-shirts he sells at his concerts read, "Kill God, kill your mother and dad, Kill yourself." In the name of free speech, we allow this kind of insanity over radio and TV. We are a stupid society. We have slid into a pit of our own making, the pit of death.

In York, Pennsylvania, after ax murderer, Karl Chambers, had been found guilty of robbing, beating, and killing a 72 year-old woman, his sentence was voided and a new hearing ordered because the District Attorney quoted from the Bible. He said, "The murderer shall be put to death." For that reason, the judge ordered the ax murderer to be resentenced! This is absolute stupidity.

We allow porno on the newsstands and in movies and on TV. MTV, VHI and BET, all have vile, filthy, trashy music that encourages young people to live like the animals of the field. Then, we give out birth control devices in our schools and can't seem to understand why the rate of unwed mothers continues to rise!

Then, there is the lack of value for human life. We kill over one and a half million babies a year by abortion. We are a bloody society Ä a culture of death. Listen to Ezekiel 9:9-10.

"Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head."

Our problem is that today we say there are no moral absolutes. Our society now preaches that each person is free to determine what is true for himself. This belief is destroying America. Our society is sick because we are drinking from a polluted water supply of truth. As we drink from this supply, we are becoming morally sick. When we abandoned God as a society, we fell in a pit of death and became a culture of death.

4. SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS

George Barna, when conducting a poll found that 71% of the responders do not believe in absolute truth! And, as we have abandoned the Bible, we have sunk into a pit of chaos and confusion. In Isaiah 5:20 we read.

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

Even many who claim to be Christian are spiritually blind!

Dr. John Phillips writes, "The man who has dethroned God from his intellect becomes conceited and stupid or foolish." In Romans 1:25, we see that wicked men have "changed the truth of God into a lie . . ."

We see this with the truth of God as Creator changed into the lie of evolution. And, when people believe this lie that we are only a higher form of animals without a soul, they begin to act like animals as these young men in Colorado did.

This spiritual blindness which led to this lie has corrupted all of society! So, in our schools we teach lies but refuse to teach truth! You see, truth is what God says it is, regardless of what we believe or what we feel. In John 17:17, the Lord Jesus said of God's Word, ". . . Thy Word is truth."

When we know the truth Ä Jesus Ä we are set free. We need to stand up for the truth. Cassie Bernell was involved in drugs and witchcraft. Her parents took action, took her to church and Cassie was saved. When one of the gunmen said, "If anyone believes in God, stand up." Cassie stood up and was shot to death. She is gone Ä but she left a great testimony. She saw the truth and it set her free.

5. SERIOUS SITUATION

We have sunk into a pit Ä it's a deep pit Ä a pit of depravity and death. As a nation, we have forsaken and forgotten God. The so-called wise men of our day don't know what to do. We're in darkness, morally, spiritually, and intellectually. Notice Romans 1:22 again. "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."

We worried about terrorists from other countries but now we find the terrorists are our young people right here in America Ä in our schools. There have already been reports at other schools of students having hit lists of students they want to kill.

Former President Ronald Reagan said, "We don't expect children to discover principles of calculus on their own, but some would give them no guidance when it comes to ethics, morality, and values."

What is the answer? God. He alone can return us to a place of healing and holiness. "If my people, which are called by name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)