“For when they
rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like
the angels in heaven. And as for the
dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about
the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob?’ He is God not of the dead, but of the living…” --- Mark 12:25-27
She was looking for help. She suffered from physical pain, emotional
trauma from the suicides of both her husband and son, spiritual distress at
being abandoned by other family members, and social anxiety at being judged by
people who couldn’t understand her.
After multiple suicide attempts of her own, she was reaching out in
search of someone to listen, understand, and encourage her. “How is it you’ve gotten through all that?” I
asked. “How have you made it this far
without a support system?” “I believe in
Jesus. He’s my support system,” she told
me. “Without Him in my life, I wouldn’t
be here.”
When people wonder why they should
pay attention to a 2000 year old religion, or what difference the teachings of
an ancient rabbi make in this modern world, here is an answer. Jesus makes all the difference. Not just the difference between getting up
and going to church on Sunday or sleeping in – no, we’re talking ALL the
difference – the difference between life and death. All the arguments about the failures of
churches and the hypocrisies of Christians fall away in the light of the fact
that Jesus came to love the world from death to life. Jesus is Lord and he loves you, and that
makes all the difference.
It is said that when the Turkish
hordes were threatening Constantinople, their armies beating at the gates about
to take that great city, the Christians inside were holding debates about how
many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
Even today we are guilty of squabbling and complaining about
inconveniences and arguing over insubstantial issues in the midst of people’s
life and death struggles with doubt and sin.
Somehow, despite the ways we distort his message and incompletely
imitate his service to the world, in spite of our warped witnessing and
inadequate ambassadorship to the Lord, Jesus still makes all the difference. Those who know him know the one who “came not
to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark
10:45). For this above all, we are
thankful.
Being the month of the Thanksgiving
holiday, we are highlighting the theme of Thanksgiving during our 5pm Saturday Godify services in November. We will start off with our thankfulness for
God’s creation on Nov. 3 and explore different reasons and opportunities for
responding in thankfulness for what God gives us. On Thanksgiving weekend, I’ll be talking
about thankfulness for one of my favorite things – food! – on Nov. 24. Please remember also that our annual “Home
for Thanksgiving” service is Sunday, Nov. 25 – and we will be taking our 2018
“Family Photo” of everybody who joins us after worship that day. The following Sunday, December 2, is the
first Sunday of Advent and start of a new church calendar year. We begin the 8:30am “Rise and Shine” services
that day, and hold our annual congregational meeting at 11:30am.
November is also the month of All
Saints’ – a holiday we celebrate on the first Sunday of each November, but it
actually falls on November 1. All Saints
’ Day is when we remember that “great cloud of witnesses” who are the spiritual
support group for all Christians, the communion of all people of faith alive or
dead. As Jesus points out, even those
who are dead are alive in Christ, for God is the God of the living. The Pharisees’ question to him about a picky
technical point (in heaven, who will be the spouse of a woman married 7 times?)
gives him the chance to cut to the heart of the matter – the dead will rise
again in a new creation. We can count on
eternal life with God through our faith in Jesus Christ. All Saints’ Day is our reminder of this –
that all our loved ones who have died in Christ are not lost to us, but they
surround us as an invisible community of encouragement and love.
This All Saints’ Day, Thursday Nov.
1 at 2:30pm, you are invited to join us in a special worship service as we
remember all the saints, particularly the loved ones in our own lives who have
gone on to heaven. You are encouraged to
bring pictures or mementos that remind you of those special saints in your
life. We will sing together, light candles
and pray together, remember their life on earth and celebrate their eternal
life with Jesus. All are welcome.
I encourage you to make use of these
special November worship opportunities we are offering this month. Bring your thankfulness for the One who made
you, blesses and keeps you now and in the world to come!
Peace,
Pastor Scott
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