5 Christian reactions to murder of celebrated singer Jubilant Sykes

3. Mike Riccardi, pastor of local outreach ministries at Grace Community Church

Mike Riccardi, pastor of local outreach ministries at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where Sykes ministered and worshiped before his untimely passing on Monday, said he was blessed by the singer’s gifts.

“While I didn’t have the privilege of knowing Jubilant well, I was blessed to be able several times to shake his hand and thank him sincerely for serving us so well at Grace Church. It is truly a lovely thing to see someone, whom the Lord has gifted so abundantly, use their gifts for their proper end: to honor and glorify Him,” he wrote on Facebook. “Jubilant’s remarkable, unique gift of a voice — along with a heart to match — was a genuine blessing from heaven, straight from the Lord to our congregation and beyond. He was a visible and audible display of how full of goodness God is to be able to bestow such immense talents upon sinful creatures.”