#jesus is risen sticker

[tinav73]

[dragimal]

look at this fucking bumper sticker I saw at work

[image ID: beat-up bumper sticker that reads, "Jesus is risen, NOT 'woke'! All the 'woke' awake in HELL!" end ID]

can you believe I nearly walked by without taking a photo

[utahraptorfun]

They were added by churches and kings

In reality there is no reason to repent. When Jesus died he forgave every single committed and every sin that would be committed

Sadly a lot of Christians don’t get that and think that they have to be perfect or they won’t go to heaven and they also think that if people don’t repent they will go to hell which just isn’t true

So the next time you see a person on the sidewalk yelling repent or a billboard asking if you have accepted Jesus or a car sticker asking if you are going to heaven or hell

Remember that they are just misinformed and don’t know any better and try to have patience with them for they don’t realize that it doesn’t matter what we do. We have already been forgiven.

And to the original question, I don’t know why there isn’t such thing as a risen demon but I personally think there are no fallen angels left to rise for all their sins were also forgiven

If you want a short version of what I said the Catholics are a bunch of hypocritical idiots who represent most of Christianity and are also probably the most wrong about what Christianity is

“What would Jesus do? He would love first” - Revolutionary by Josh Wilson

hey uhhh but fr the concept of fallen angels existing but risen demons being an impossibility is kind of a great summary of sin in christianity

[nothing-but-dreams]

“I just don’t understand what coloring eggs has to do with Jesus.”

Cas dips one of the hardboiled eggs into a cup of yellow coloring. Like most things in their relationship, Cas has yet again found himself begrudgingly partaking in one of Dean’s ideas, despite his lack of understanding.

“It’s not about that,” Dean says, pulling a bright orange egg from one of the cups, setting it on some newspaper to dry. “It’s about the novelty. It’s about the candy. It’s about having fun as a family.”

“Yeah,” Jack interjects, pouring half a pack of glitter on top of his egg. “It’s about having fun.”

“Well, I for one think this is awesome.” Sam smiles, carefully gluing two felt antlers onto his egg which reads, “Moose.”

Eileen signs to him that his egg is cute, just like him.

Dean places the orange egg in front of Cas. “This one is for you.”

Cas reads the little message written on the egg, raising his eyebrows. “He is risen?”

Dean nods, “Yeah. You were gone in the empty and now you’re back! Easter is like, the perfect holiday for you.”

“For all of us. Death doesn’t take in this family,” Eileen says, thinking about how many times all of them have collectively died, and somehow found their way back to each other.

Sam chuckles and Jack pays the comment no mind, choosing instead to focus on getting the perfect tie dye look on his next egg.

Cas places little bumble bee stickers on his bright yellow egg, and a couple of flowers. Maybe Dean has a point, it is fun to sit around and do something normal without the impending doom of the apocalypse hanging over their heads.

Dean works on writing something on an egg, but he doesn’t want anyone to see. He feels stupid because it’s something so simple, but it’s something he hasn’t gotten to do before.

“Done!” Jack holds up a messy little egg with colors splashed all over, but the smile on his face was so bright, and so innocent, all his dads and Eileen could do was smile and tell him that he did a good job.

“I know this is going to seem extra corny, but whatever. I fought my whole life to have moments like this, so here you go.” Dean sets another egg down in front of Cas. It’s half blue and half green, with blue and green egg stickers placed on each side, and in marker Dean wrote “Dean <3 Cas”

Cas picks it up and smiles. “That’s very sweet of you, Dean. I heart you too.”

Dean leans over and gives Cas a quick kiss.

“Gross.” Jack says, turning his focus back to the sparkly egg that he created, because that’s so much better than watching his dads make out.

“Really?” Dean asks, turning to look at Jack.

“Yeah, I’m with the kid. Y’all gotta cool it with the PDA,” Sam says, taking a swig of beer.

“Whatever, Bitch.”

“Jerk.”

“Hey,” Eileen interrupts, “Be nice or I’ll make sure the Easter bunny brings you vegetables for Easter.”

The rest of the evening is spent sharing laughs, and enjoying each other’s company. It was their first Easter as a family, and hopefully there would be many more to come.

[autumnhobbit]

for instance:

today while I was wandering around the vendor booths set up in the yard like twenty feet from the wall of my building, this older gentleman falls over right next to me. I’m kinda like ‘uhh what do i do’ internally, but he asks for help getting up so I take one hand and another older gentleman comes over and takes the other and we pull him back to his feet. I hand him his hat back—it’s a Pope Francis hat. He thanks me and asks if I’m interested in a really good dinner this evening.

I know what he’s talking about because a few weeks ago, when my brother was in an appliance shop down here trying to find a piece for my washing machine, he said a ‘slightly weird older guy’ told him all about the big dinner they had as part of the festival at St. Elizabeth for $10 a person, with fried chicken or barbecue and a dessert of your choice.

The booth is just these three older gentlemen giving away free rosaries, free booklets on how to pray the rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet, little pins of the footprints of 2 week gestation infants, and pray to end abortion bumper stickers. And little bracelets that say ‘God is good’ and ‘Jesus is risen.’

I took a bracelet and told the gentleman sitting there that I already had most of the booklets and thanked him for being there. He nodded and said, ‘well, we’re trying. We’re trying.’

And yeah I walked away blinking back tears for no good reason.

[peachamiibo]

ugh i just wanna rant here a second

not to be an edgy atheist (bc im not atheist but i digress) but im tired of seeing people share the "he is risen" stuff and advertising for easter mass etc etc. its not because i have a problem w christianity but i feel like a lot of the people who worship arent real christians. like how can you support turning away refugees and be christian? how can you hate gay people and be christian? how can you support programs that hurt people and be christian? you cant! you arent christian! youre selfish! youre hoping going to church is going to save your hateful ass but im pretty sure jesus would rather save a starving child in yemen then pam from accounting with a fish emblem and trump bumper sticker on her car. ik thats not all christians! my bf is an amazing christian who is right that the bible teaches love and tolerance! but the evangelicals in this country just make me uncomfortable with religion and i dont like that because im NOT anti religion. idk thats just my rant for the night inspired by some dumb shit my aunt sent me lol

[theragamuffininitiative]

Christian Films and Misc Rambling Thoughts on the Subject that Might or Might Not be Actually Connected

@cogentranting​ At some point, years from now, when all else is turned to dust and the sun has set for the last time, a post for this reply, stating I will reply in a longer fashion later (which would actually be now) shall appear. I will likely delete it out of pure spite. Stupid mobile app uploads.

I haven’t seen God’s Not Dead. Or God’s Not Dead 2. I should. Not because I just want to, or because It Is The Inspired Word Of Our Lord™ (hahahah it’s not guys, ok), but because of my overall interest an involvement in the world of film. I should be informed.

Also, I appreciate the sarcasm. XD I hope that was sarcasm or now I look really stupid but you’re going to get an earful either way, so it works out.

So let’s get to it:

I hate the Christian Film Industry™

Whew. There. I said it. Pray for my salvation.

Why? So, soooo many reasons.

1. The Sacrifice of Art in the Name of ‘Message.’

I, for one, want to know why the Christian church is constantly smashing down on the creative outputs of their members for not being enough about God, or published by Thomas Nelson, or advocated by Willie Roberts. Why. We would rather squelch the heartfelt, beautiful, God-given art produced by our brothers and sisters for not showing a clear Conversion Experience rather than be amazed at the ability God has allowed us to have to make such fantastic, whimsical, thought-provoking, emotionally-resonant things.

This is point number one because it. is. my. biggest. issue.

“Message films are rarely exciting. So by their very nature, most Christian films aren’t going to be very good because they have to fall within certain message-based parameters. And because the Christian audience is so glad to get a “safe, redeeming, faith-based message,” even at the expense of great art, they don’t demand higher artistic standards.” ~ Dallas Jenkins, movie reviewer and director of The Resurrection of Gavin Stone??? (Imma have to check back with you later on this, but the quote still stands on its own.)

“We have the makings of a movement that can change this culture. I honestly believe this. But I also believe the first step toward establishing the groundwork for a vibrant, relevant cultural movement based on scriptural thought is to stop producing “Christian films” or “Christian music” or “Christian art” and simply have Christ-followers who create great Art.” ~ Scott Nehring, in his book You Are What You See: Watching Movies Through a Christian Lens.

“If we are trying to evangelize, the fact that most Christian-themed movies are torn to shreds by non-Christian critics becomes an issue. If, however, we just really want to see our fantasies validated on screen, then we will write-off these poor reviews as “persecution.”” ~ Andrew Barber, in his article “The Problem with Christian Films.”

On a similar note, I want to know what the Mormon church is doing that the Christian church is not. Every time I turn around, I discover that another of my favorite artists, whether it be in film or elsewhere, is a professing Mormon:

musicians Imagine Dragons, the Killers, and Lindsey Stirling

authors Brandon Sanderson, Shannon Hale, Heather Dixon, and Brandon Mull

animator Don Bluth

actress Amy Adams and actor Will Swenson (both formerly)

etc, the list goes on

Hi, my Mormon friends. What is your secret. What ways of encouraging art and artists do you employ that my Baptist upbringing, and the Conservative Christian community in general, is so sorely lacking in?

2. The Christian Culture’s Subsequent Villainization of Hollywood.

This past Christmas, my sister gifted me a book titled Behind the Screen, “Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film, and Culture.”

I sat down after all the gift-giving was done and read the first three sections before the holiday meal was served. But let me quote from the introduction which had me “Amen!”-ing and punching my fist to the sky every third word:

“We obsess about “the culture” endlessly; we analyze and criticize. But we can’t figure out anything to do but point an accusatory finger at Hollywood... Blaming Hollywood for our cultural woes has become a habit... Casting Hollywood as the enemy has only pushed Hollywood farther away. And the farther Hollywood is from us, the less influence we have on our culture. We’ve left the business of defining human experience via the mass media to people with a secular worldview.... In pushing away secular Hollywood, haven’t we turned our backs on the very people Christ called us to minister to - the searching and the desperate, those without the gospel’s saving grace and truth?”

Btw, if this subject is something you are interested in, I highly recommend this book. Written by creatives and executives in the film world (including one of the writers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the producer of Home Improvement, and even the multi-credited Ralph Winters, among others), it’s a frank, beautiful, and challenging read for artists, Christians, and film buffs.

The point here is that the church culture says if it doesn’t come from Sherwood, or have Kirk Cameron or Ducky Dynasty in it, or have a conversion sequence, it isn’t Christian and therefore Christians should not view or encourage it in any way. This. Is. Crap. Pardon my French.

Beauty can come from imperfection.  Even unregenerate hearts still bear the image of the Divine and are capable of producing so much worthwhile and significant art. Which leads to...

3. Guess What? Secular Film Companies Make Quality Faith Films Too??!

Idk what I should even say here, but I’m just going to go with the one shining example I always think of: Dreamworks’ Prince of Egypt. It is purely a work of art from any standard, and that is the epitome of what Christians should be looking for in their endeavors to create good film. PoE is gorgeously animated, seamlessly directed, well-scripted, morally driven, more Biblically and historically accurate than you would believe (and where it falls down on direct representation, it remains true to theme and character), etc. etc. etc.

I could go on for ages about how much I adore this film. (Joseph, King of Dreams, is also noteworthy, but nearly up to par with the craftsmanship of its predecessor.

I mean

just look at

the art

4. I Do Like Some Films Made By ‘Christian’ Companies

Idk, I might step on people’s toes or surprise you by which of these I actually approve of, but here we go:

I like Fireproof. I have many issues with it, but overall it is a fairly well-made, Hallmark-style emotional flick. The acting leaves much to be desired, but it’s a decent bit of showmanship, story, and truth.

I do not like Facing the Giants. Give me Blind Side any day of the week, except don’t because... sports.

However, both Courageous (some actual real life dialogue and not a completely happily ever after, whaaaat???! Oh, but token conversion experience, of course), and the early-and-forgotten Flywheel (which, although low in camera quality and acting, is actually an enjoyable story), come in as films I would sit down and watch at least a second time.

Risen is well-made and acted and has some establishment of genuine Craft. However, as far as story plots go, a lot was sacrificed. The mountain-top encounter with Christ was, while perhaps the most generally cliche piece of story, to me the most heartfelt and provocative. After that...the film kind of ended in mediocrity. Like...what did the characters do after the credits rolled.

I actually really enjoy Mom’s Night Out. The manic theme almost kills me, but the quiet and the reveal at the end is worth sitting through to see.

And I appreciate Luther. I don’t watch it often, because I personally can’t stomach the more violent aspects (the reason I haven’t/don’t watch The Passion or End of the Spear.) But Luther is a great biographical film, and I would encourage anyone studying Catholic and/or Protestant history, especially Martin Luther, to watch it. This is a Film in both art, message, and class.

Tbh, I’ve been avoiding most of the other Christian films, which is why I won’t talk about them there.

5. You Don’t Have To Slap A Jesus Fish Bumper Sticker On It To Be Christ-Honoring

Walden Media is a prime example, I believe, of what Christians in the film industry should be doing. I mean, they’re not perfect at all, but they are not sacrificing art for message - or vice versa for that matter. While not strictly a Christian Film group, Walden is founded and run by a majority of Christian Conservatives who are actively seeking to make quality and wholesome films for people of all diversities. They’ve had a few flops and several more that just didn’t quite live up to their potential, but they also brought us

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, as well as

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, and the one I will never stop talking about:

Amazing Grace.

Well-crafted films, put out by *gasp* an assortment of believers and non-believers. Art. Good films. Not Messages dressed up in makeup with a classy Instagram filter and a 30-day challange booklet to get your revival outfit on.

In looking through this stuff, I just found this article, which is a superb read and really gets at the heart of what I feel, and am very badly trying to communicate:

Why Faith-Based Films Hurt Religion

So.

When Christian Films start being an actual representation of creative community and the artistic talents God has given to us as personal and spiritual gifts, rather than a cheap way to try to force morality on Hollywood and on our neighbors without ever leaving the confines of our Bible Boxes in case we might get soiled, I may start appreciating the Christian Film Industry™. Until then??? I’ll stand behind my fellow creatives and my fellow believers and hope and work for the best.

Lastly, two things:

Christians Can Enjoy Secular Film Productions.

I would even argue that they should. We were created by a Creator God, who takes pride and joy in making beautiful things, in making each of us. And we are made in His image. We are creators as well, we make art all the time. Scripture tells us to worship God in everything we do. The movement of making “Christian Films for Christian Audiences because of Christian Reasons” is missing the point entirely. We as creatives are not here to make God Art, we are here to make art that glorifies God

Christ Does Not Need Hollywood. However, Hollywood Does Need Christ.

“While many missionaries travel to remote villages in Africa or South America to spread Christianity, [Karen] Covell believes her calling—her mission field, if you will—is right here in Los Angeles, in an industry that many of her fellow Christians find immoral or even downright sinful, both for its on-screen depictions of sex and drugs and the real-life sex, drugs, and other temptations that exist behind the scenes. Covell, who was a film producer in the early 1980s, says "the church did not get how I could justify being a Christian in Hollywood, and Hollywood did not get how I would follow God. It was a divide." It was nearly impossible to meet other Christians working in the industry, let alone ones who would express their faith openly. "I said, 'The church hates Hollywood, Hollywood hates the church. There's got to be some way to bridge that divide.'" - in an article by Jennifer Swan.

As I said in my original little “about me” tag response, I have felt called to ministry in this world. Whether it be film or live theater, that world is calling to me, both in its creative endeavors, and in its desperate need for the hope, truth, life, and light of Christ. Actors and directors in Hollywood and on Broadway are in as much need of the grace of our Lord as the starving orphans in the unreached people groups on the other side of the planet - same as your next door neighbor.

If Christians continue to tie themselves down, and group themselves together, cutting themselves off from the culture and the culture off from them, then we are doing absolutely no heavenly or earthly good to anyone.

So, you see, it’s not just the artistry (or, so often, lack thereof) in the Christian Film Industry™ that gets to me.

It’s the fact that the film media culture is a people group that the church as a whole is ignoring. We are ignoring the impact Hollywood has on the world around us and still trying to be relevant to that world, which is counter-productive and just plain silly.

It’s the fact that I see actors, actresses, producers, writers, who are obviously searching for the Something that will fill the void in their souls, and their primary exposure to Christianity and Christ - the only One who can satisfy them - is the Christian Film Industry™, which is largely full of broad and meaningless substance because heaven help us we should talk about something real, and then just plain bad art.

I believe God has called us to higher things than this.

Higher art, loving to create as he lovingly created us.

High impact, going deeper into the issues of our culture and our nature to address and satisfy problems and needs felt be every human, not just the church-goers who will show up for Sherwood’s next big thing.

So, yes, my pet peeve cracked from its proverbial nutshell:

I have issues with the Christian Film Industry

[brehaaorgana]

I suspect this is a SUPER U.S. Problem (but I can picture it happening in the British isles bc honestly American wasps got this shit from somewhere), but like: DO PEOPLE KNOW HOW INESCAPABLE CHRISTIANITY AND XTIAN KITSCH IS?????? If I won the lottery I would open stationary stores or craft stores that WEREN'T filled with 3,000 ominous as fuck "He Has Risen!" Cards or secretly (or not secretly) supporting gross hyper conservative Christian-only lobbies/homophobic or misogynist crap. It's nearly impossible to go anywhere in America that doesn't have this, especially any kind of chain store. Michael's craft store is only barely not the hyper evangelical monstrosity that is Hobby Lobby, okay? You can't GO to a Hallmark without having millions of dead eyed Precious Moments angels staring at you!! But Des, you say, you don't need to go to hallmark for cards! You can go to-- -- nope. Everywhere. Walmart? Target? That Papyrus stationary store? Inescapable. Crosses on everything just looming at you and the Protestant/evangelical faction of xtianity made it a fashion accessory because you know Catholics always show the guy NAILED TO THE THING, but no, evangelicals would rather have their weird "godly" notebook sets only mention Jesus and skip all the scary gore. You want stickers? WASHI TAPE EVEN?? They're all going to be "GOD IS GOOD!" With crosses. Easter doesn't even have a consistent date every year but everyone in America knows when zombie Jesus is making a comeback because all of this stuff intensifies. You can't go to a single pharmacy - not Duane reed or cvs or walgreens without dyed pastel lumps of marshmallow fluff or Jesus Easter banners or shredded plastic grass. And this stuff all extends beyond like craft supplies and stationary and drug stores. Of course. Tuesday morning? TJ MAXX? Marshall's Homegoods? Any department store you want has like fifty tacky necklaces and bracelets with spangly cheap crosses and rhinestone cross tshirts. Every time I visit a Best Buy I'm about ready to give thanks that no one's made an animated "he has risen" Jesus animatronic that works like that terrifying singing carp but instead blasts "Jesus loves me this I know," nonstop, or preprogrammed all the computers to give us a Lent countdown free of charge. When you go into a Barnes and Noble or any chain bookstore really, there's usually a full WALL of just Christian books. Lifestyle. Amish romances. A whole case is JUST 50 different bible options. You will be lucky to find 2-3 choices for the Torah or Qur'an respectively, and half the "eastern religions" will be white people talking about how they feel Buddhism is just like some other hobby they have. Another case is dedicated to new age plastic shamanism garbage and terrible "aliens built the pyramids" theories and HALF of that is all "communicate with your Christian guardian angel!!" And then if you have any hobby ever like half the bloggers are going to be white Christian mommies. Really like planners and organizing? There's a massive contingent of white xtian women who have 30 different kinds of bible study or church stickers. Fashion? Endless parades of blonde blue eyed women quoting like Matthew or Luke and then showing off their old sorority letters and their Vera Bradley bags with their study King James! Drawing? Watercolor? Embroidery? Everything's a Jesus quote. Then white people paint in their actual bibles!! You cannot escape this. Gardening? Everything is a about figs or grapes or Jesus and olive trees. People will genuinely be talking about finding Christ with their model trains hobby or fighting the devil with interior decorating. Free me from this please I can't face another Christian furry. Nothing is safe from Christianity here. Don't even get me started on the months of October through December.

[johnhardinsawyer]

Still Speaking - The Word the World is Longing to Hear

John Sawyer

Bedford Presbyterian Church

10 / 7 / 18 – World Communion Sunday

Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

Psalm 8

“Still Speaking”

(The Word the World is Longing to Hear)

The past few weeks have been very momentous and contentious in the life of our nation.  People have chosen sides and have spoken their minds.  Historians will likely look back on all that has transpired in these last days with some broader perspectives, explaining the why’s and the how’s of it all. The rest of us, though, will likely look back on the events of the past few weeks and will tell our children and our grandchildren that we remember when Dunkin’ used to be called Dunkin’ Donuts. Yes, Dunkin’ Donuts is dropping the word “Donuts” from its name.  Apparently, a lot of people had already dropped the word “Donuts,” anyway, calling it, simply, “Dunkin’,” “Dunks,” “Dunkies,” or “DD.”[1]  Now, Dunkin’ Donuts – umm. . . excuse me, “Dunkin’” – is not the only purveyor of breakfast-type food to do this.  Recently, IHOP, which used to be called “The International House of Pancakes,” changed it’s name to “IHOB,” which was supposed to stand for “The International House of Burgers.”  Incidentally, my brother and I have jokingly referred to our parents’ house as the IHOB – “The International House of Boredom” – for years.  But our views on this have changed over time.  Their house isn’t nearly as boring as it used to be.

It is inevitable that over time, things change, names change, nicknames stick, and pretty soon, you’re calling a favorite restaurant by a different name, or using different words to describe something familiar.  Times change, words change, meanings change.  Is there anything that stays the same?  Well, it has been said that the only constant in this life is change.

In today’s reading, we find the author of the Letter to the Hebrews describing how God’s way of speaking has changed.  

Long ago, God used to speak to our ancestors in many and various ways through the prophets – human beings who would hear God’s word and interpret it for the people – but in these recent days, God has spoken to us by a Son – God’s Son – whom we know as Jesus Christ.  (Hebrews 1:1-2)[2]

Long ago, God used to speak – to communicate – one way, but now God is speaking – God communicates – in a different way.  As John Calvin puts it, and I’m paraphrasing here, “God spoke formerly by the prophets, but now by the Son, [God spoke back] then to the [ancestors], but now to us, [God spoke back] then at various times, but now as at the end of the times.”[3]  Not that God’s way of speaking used to be bad and now it is good, just that God is speaking now to us through Jesus Christ.  Things have changed because Jesus is now speaking.

We do not know who wrote the Letter to the Hebrews, or to whom the letter was written.  In fact, it really doesn’t come across as much of a letter at all – at least not a personal letter written to address a specific group of people.  It’s more of a theological explanation of who Jesus is and how it came to be that God sent Jesus into the world.  At the time the letter to the Hebrews was written, there was no such thing as the “New Testament.”  All that people had were the ancient Hebrew scriptures that we now call the “Old Testament,” plus some of the letters of Paul, and some the stories of Jesus. It’s kind of like someone felt that some of the basic concepts of this whole Christian thing needed to be fleshed out, and the Letter to the Hebrews was their way of trying to do this.

Today’s passage starts the whole letter and sets up the theological argument that follows.  Things have changed from how they used to be.  God, who created all worlds just by speaking them into being, is speaking to this world through Jesus Christ in some very specific ways. In verse 3, we read that Jesus is the “reflection of God’s glory.”  (1:3)  In the original language, Jesus reflects the tremendous brightness of God[4]and is the exact imprint and representation of God’s extraordinarily beautiful character.[5]  In Jesus, we see the very essence of God’s nature.[6]  In other words, if you want to know who God is, look to Jesus and listen to him.  Jesus is how God is speaking to us, right now.

The question might be asked, though, “Which Jesus is speaking?” or, rather, “WhoseJesus is speaking?”  Because, the person of Jesus “speaks” differently to different people.  Let me try to explain. . .  If I asked you to imagine who Jesus is for you, some of you would imagine a beautiful baby, laid in a manger.  Some of you would imagine Jesus as teaching, or healing, or standing up for the oppressed, or forgiving our sins, or wounded and dying on a cross, or risen from the dead.  Some of you would imagine Jesus sitting at the right hand of God in heaven, or coming as a great judge at the end of time to establish God’s kingdom on earth.  To those of us who read the Bible, Jesus is all of the above.  Jesus does not fit into one category or another, but for some reason, the version of Jesus who speaks most to us is the Jesus who lines up with our way of seeing the world.  And this can be a tricky thing, because if how you see and hear Jesus doesn’t match up with how I see and hear Jesus, then, chances are, there are other things that won’t match up between the two of us.  And it’s hard to not think that our own version of Jesus – whether he is a humble servant or a powerful Lord – is the best, and all others are inferior.  This is one of the reasons why there are so many different Christian denominations.  People want to hear and see their version of whoever Jesus is – and have that image and ethos be the thing that informs and supports their worldview.

Just because we have a particular view of who Jesus is, though, doesn’t mean that this view will never change.  For example, some of you grew up in churches where someone’s version of Jesus made you feel guilty for not going to Mass or Confession, or because you were gay or divorced, and you have come here because you don’t want to believe in thatJesus anymore.  You used to hear things one way, but Jesus – the real Jesus – is now speaking another way.

So, what is Jesus saying to us?  How is Jesus speaking?  In today’s reading, the author of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is speaking to us through God’s grace.  God cares for us and is so mindful of human beings that we have been made a little lower than the angels.  In other words, as God sees it, you and I – and all other human beings – are special. We have been crowned with glory and honor.  (2:6-8) These are ancient words – old words that come from the book of Psalms.  Long ago, and in various ways, God spoke.  God’s people have always been told that they were special.  But Jesus Christ – speaking through his life and death – has proven this to be true in a new and powerful way.  Because the One who spoke the worlds into being, and sustains all things with a word, and who now sits at the right hand of God in heaven humbled himself, becoming lower than the angels.  He knew the suffering of death for you and for me.

Depending upon which Jesus speaks most for you, the suffering and death of Jesus can be interpreted in different ways.  One of the ways that I find most helpful, though – at least for me – comes from the Celtic Christian writer John Philip Newell, who wrote that in the Celtic tradition,

. . . the cross is the greatest showing of God. It discloses the first and deepest impulse of God, self-giving.  It reveals that everything God does is a pouring out of love, a sharing of lifeblood. . .  the cross, in addition to being a revelation of the nature of God, is a revelation of our true nature, made in the image of God.  It reveals that we come closest to our true self when we pour ourselves out in love for one another, when we give our heart, and thus the whole of our being.[7]

I believe, with Newell, that the first and deepest impulse of God is self-giving.  God gives God’s self away – always has and always will.  This is how God speaks:  God brought all things into being, God spoke through the prophets in many and various ways, and now God has given us Jesus, who gave himself away for the life of the world. We experience this great gift when we come to this Table – to eat and drink and remember and to be strengthened by the One who has given himself to us.  And, strengthened by this meal, we come closest to our truest selves – as God made us to be – when we give ourselves away.  That’s the thing about this meal we call the Lord’s Supper:  we should not walk away from this Table unchanged. God is at work in us and through us, making us more like Jesus.  It would be good for us to pay attention to this, because God has a deep desire to speak the word the world is longing to hear, through us.

Our sisters and brothers in the United Church of Christ have a slogan that they have printed on bumper stickers and posted on the internet.  Their slogan is “God is still speaking,” and they have embraced this four word mission statement because they believe that Godisstill speaking in a way that is reshaping their understanding of the Christian faith and proclamation.[8]  God still has something to say to the world, through the church – the Body of Christ. A core belief within our own Presbyterian, Reformed Tradition, is that the church of Jesus Christ is always in need of some kind of reformation.  God is still speaking in a way that challenges us, reforms us, and transforms us more and more into the church that God intends.

This is a reformation that goes way deeper than simply dropping the word “Donuts” or abbreviating something about ourselves to make us more snappy or catchy or relevant.  No, God is at work forming us more and more into the image of Christ – the One who was, and is – the exact imprint of God’s very being.  God is the agent of true change in our lives and in the life of the world.  Will we allow this change to take place within us?

I’ll close with this. . .

A friend of mine, Tom Goodwin, died the other day.  He was in his eighties.  He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and faithful Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church.  Tom loved the church.  Had things been different when he was younger, he would have become a pastor. One of the things that I always admired about Tom is that he really appreciated and celebrated some of the traditional things in the church that were beautiful and “spoke” to him.  But he was always open to whatever new thing God was doing in his life – always open to learn something new, to grow spiritually, and to have fun while doing it.  He never wanted to be a stick in the mud when it came to how God was reforming the church and transforming his own life.  Tom wanted God to use him, and so God did.  And now, God has made a great change in Tom’s life - the greatest transformation and reformation.  I trust that he is adding his voice, this very day, to the tenor section in heaven.

How will God use you for good, for transformation, for reformation?  God has ways of creating us and re-creating us for good, making us more and more into the image of Christ – speaking God’s Word of hope, and faith, and love, and reconciliation, and reformation.  May we live life with open hearts and minds to what God is doing and saying.  God is still speaking – through you and through me. May we speak the Word the world is longing to hear.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

---------- 

[1]https://www.theodysseyonline.com/things-didnt-realize-until-left-boston.

[2]Paraphrased, JHS.

[3]John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries – Vol. XXII (Grand Rapids:  Baker Books, 2009) 31.

[4]Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament(Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1979) 82.

[5]Walter Bauer, 876.

[6]Walter Bauer, 847.

[7]John Philip Newell, Christ of the Celts(San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass, 2008) 84-85.

[8]http://www.ucc.org/god-is-still-speaking.

[writingcommons-blog1]

“Major Defect” by Nicole D.

NICOLE I could never, in the six months I had worked for Menards, understand why it was necessary to roll the entire defective product bin all the way to the back of the store when there were only three or four items sitting in the bottom. I mean, honestly, what’s the harm in letting them chill in there overnight so we can fill it up the next day? It would make way more sense to roll it back when it was full, but I digress. It wasn’t my job to dictate these kinds of things; only to move the damn things.  

Two people, each from different alternating departments, were assigned to take the two large bins back to the trash compactor. On the day this story began, the plumbing department and the cashiers fell victim to the rotation. After [not] much deliberation amongst the front-end managers, yours truly was selected to take one for the cashiers. Along with me was a young man, about my age, named Tyler. He was your typical guy who could invoke a ‘holy shit, he’s hot’ reaction from a number of women, myself included. Nothing like a tall, slender man with reddish brown hair and just enough facial hair to call a goatee to get you motivated. Come on, if that wasn’t going to motivate me to take one of those huge defect bins across the entire store, nothing was.  

“Are there really only a couple things in this frickin’ bin?” he groaned. 

“Yea, but sadly we still have to take them back,” I shrugged. I could feel my face was on fire and yet, no matter how much I tried to look down or avoid direct eye contact, somehow I still felt like it was obvious. 

“Oh, I am not taking that back with just that shit in it. Wait here.” 

“Um - ok,” I muttered as he walked away. Those cowboy boots made his ass look great, not that it was important, but damn was it a good view to pass the time while I waited. As I stood there I could hear footsteps approaching behind me. Since everyone was hustling around the store trying to get closing duties done, I didn't think anything of it until someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turn around to find the assistant manager of the cashiers, Nathan. 

"Hey, who did they send from plumbing to take the defect bins back with you?" he asked.

"Tyler, why?"

"Oh, I was just curious. Are you two friends?"

"We just met, so I wouldn't quite say that."

"Ok, well I just wanna let you know that he's gay."

Gay? Well fuck. Skip to the third strike guys, because I'm already out. At the same time, however, I was really curious as to why Nathan was telling me this. 

"Wow, ok. Is there a reason that is important to this conversation?" I asked.

"Everyone knows. Just wanted to keep you in the loop," he replied before walking away. Hearing his explanation really didn't provide any kind of closure to my question, but it did get me thinking. If Nathan is telling me that Tyler is gay the first time I ever get to interact with him, then how many other people talk about his sexuality behind his back? Nathan met his girlfriend down the entryway and I could see them talking and looking back at me. I guess that answers my own question; it must be everyone.

Minutes later he returned with a car full of dirty and broken parts that had pink defect stickers all over them.  

“What the hell is this, Tyler?” I laughed. 

“If there is actually shit to take back, I’ll take it back. There wasn’t any, so I found some. Just call me Major Defect!” 

“How did you get all of this?” I asked through the laughter at his new nickname. 

“I have my ways, Boo,” he said with a wink. I got all giddy inside because now I had a pet name. I guess we are friends. 

“You are a lifesaver, Babe.”  I could get away with saying that, right? 

“Babe?” he asked with a confused look in his eyes. Damn, I guess not. 

“I call all my friends that, male and female.” 

“Oh, cool then. I have never known anyone who actually does that!” 

“Really? I’m from a small town, so we call everyone Babe and Honey. Baby is for significant others only.”  

“Believe me, I had never heard of anything like that until I met my boyfriend, Casey. He calls everyone ‘Dear’.” 

Boyfriend? Nathan wasn't kidding, I guess. 

“Wow!” I exclaimed with a super fake smile. “I use that one too.”  

At this point I was pretty bummed. Not because I had realized that I was talking about the insane hotness of a gay guy, but at the fact that I now knew everyone in the entire store knew and was talking about it. At least, on the bright side, a hilarious friendship blossomed from the fun, albeit embarrassing, experience.  

TYLER "Hey Boo!" I shouted from my desk in plumbing. Nicole was bringing some returns back from the service desk. Her arms were full of PVC pipe. I was on my way out to have lunch with Casey, so I went over to her to have a quick chat.

"Hey Babe," she said, "what's up?"

"What are you doing tonight? I know you procrastinate just as bad as I do, so you won't judge me for this. Christmas is only a week away and I need some help getting my tree home and getting ready. You in?"

"I am into it, around it, and all up in it! I'll follow you home after work."

She was smiling at the idea, her smile almost as bright as the single diamond in the center of her cross necklace. Suddenly I began to think about last Christmas. Casey tried to call his mother about coming home for the holidays. She simply told him that it’s Jesus’ birthday and Jesus doesn’t approve of homosexuals. Apparently being gay means you can’t celebrate Christmas now. 

"That sounds great, but there is something I need to ask you."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Are you religious?"

"Well that's a bit random, but yes, I'm Christian."

"Shit," I muttered. Casey is going to hate me for being friends with her. Now what?

"Don't tell me you're going to lump me in with all the gay shaming sign holders."

"No, it's just my boyfriend Casey. He's going to be home tonight and he is very anti religious."

"What led to that?"

"Let's just say he had a really rough transition when he first started college here."

"Oh, that's too bad. I just won't mention anything about God around him. Not my lover, not my life," she said. I have always loved how non judgemental she is. That's probably why we are such good friends.

"Ok, and don't say anything about being Christian or going to church either. He hasn't ever met a Christian who doesn't immediately tell him he's going to hell," I explained.

"Well then we will just leave that out when you introduce us. If we decide to tell him, maybe then we just shouldn't lead with that information. Save it for later on after he likes me." 

I like the way she thinks.

"Awesome, well I have to get going, Casey is actually coming by to pick me up for lunch.”

"Alright, have a good time!" she waved and carried on with her PVC pipe stocking. Not even a few moments later I noticed Casey coming in the front entrance. He jogged over to me and gave me a hug. 

"You ready to go?" he asked me. 

"Of course! Shall we make our way to our extravagant McDonald's lunch?" He chuckled and put his arm around me as we started walking out the door and towards the car. 

As we were in line at the restaurant making our order, a woman stood by her husband staring daggers at me and Casey. She looked like the typical soccer mom. The type who would immediately pull the "my husband is a cop" card, or something of that nature. Her hubby was pretty buff looking, so I wouldn't have been surprised. They were both wearing shirts that were from a church of some kind and covered in scripture and crosses. I turned around to see Case with our bag of food ready to go. We made our way out the door and started walking across the parking lot to our car. He put the bag on the roof while he dug through his bag to find his keys. It seemed like it was taking forever. 

Suddenly we heard tires screeching directly behind us. Lo and behold it was that same couple from inside pulling out of their spot and headed right past us. Next thing I know I felt a sudden bomb of freezing cold substance all over my torso. I looked up at the car and see the husband sticking his middle finger out of the window.

"Fuckin' faggots!" he shouted at us, his wife cackling in the passenger seat. As they drove off into the distance, I noticed a plethora of "I love Jesus" and "He is risen" bumper stickers. That explains the shirts, I guess.

Casey nearly charged after their car, but I threw an arm in front of him before he could gain too much momentum. He slapped me upside the head and scolded me for getting in his way. He always does things like that, so I try not to get on his nerves, but sometimes you do what you have to do. I looked down at myself, covered in what I believed to be a chocolate milkshake of some kind. Most people would think this would have been hard to explain to their coworkers, but they gossiped about me enough. I'm sure they could put two and two together. 

"Let's go. I should get back to work," I muttered quietly. Casey shook his head and walked over to the driver side. 

"I saw those stickers on their car," he said. "Those damn Christians will never accept us, you know that."

"I only stopped you because I don't want either of us to go to jail," I said. "And you don't think they should go to jail for half the shit they do to people like us? They are all the same, Tyler, and that's just the truth. They don't want to accept us or befriend us. They want to change us, hurt us, or even kill us," he said as he started to tear up. At that time I could only assume he was having flashbacks of his mother. 

We made our way back to Menards and once we arrived, I let out a big sigh before heading to the entrance. I turned to wave goodbye to Casey. Before I even get to the door I saw Nicole pushing carts from outside. She took one look at me and gasped in horror as she ran over and began asking me what happened.

"Just more faggot haters," I sighed. 

CASEY I waved as Tyler got out of the car and made his way inside with who I could only assume was Nicole. He talks about his friend at work named Nicole who has a collection of western boots. This girl had a very nice pair of American flag pattern boots, so I was sure it was a safe bet to assume it was her. I knew I should get out and introduce myself or at least wave as I drive by, but it wasn't a good time. I couldn't stop thinking about those stupid Jesus freaks in their stupid car with their stupid bumper stickers. Man, the whole thing was so stupid! I couldn't help but wonder if they didn't consider us human beings. 

The seething anger I was feeling took me further back into my memories from when I first moved here. Starting community college and being bookchecked by anyone and everyone who knew I was gay. I thought bookchecking was just a middle school thing, but I guess not. At least it wasn't anything I wasn't already use to. Even growing up things were really tough. Coming out to my parents was probably the worst. I'll never forget when my mother looked me in the eye and said "I will not have a gay son". At that point, I wasn't her son anymore and I went to Tylers. We lived together from that point on. 

Upon pulling into the driveway and getting parked, I sat back and just closed my eyes. I tried with everything I had to get out of this headspace and into a more positive mood. I was going to meet Tyler's best friend and then we would all decorate the house for Christmas. We both always had a hard time making friends, for obvious reasons, so this was actually a pretty big night. With that in mind, I went inside and began to make plans for dinner. 

NICOLE That evening, after we both finished our shifts for the day, I followed him home with his Christmas tree strapped on his roof and through the windows. As we pulled into his driveway, I caught a glimpse of who I thought to be Casey in the living room. He looked through the window and started jumping and clapping when he saw Tyler’s car. They waved to one another before he caught a glimpse of my car parking behind his and let out a big smile. Let the fun begin. 

We walked in and headed straight for the kitchen where we found Casey standing. He was dancing circles around the hardwood floors grabbing various pots, pans, and utensils to get ready for dinner. When he stopped and saw me, he glanced down at my Menards vest and realized I was Tyler’s coworker.  

“Oh my gosh, you must be Nicole!” he exclaimed as he threw his arms around me.  

“I’m guessing you must be Casey,” I chuckled awkwardly.  

“I’m so sorry Honey, we’re huggers here. I didn’t mean to catch you off guard."

“No, I love it! That means I’ll fit right in,” I giggled along with them. I was so excited because things were going great and I was really hitting it off with Casey. That's when my phone rang. It displayed "Pastor Larry" on the screen with a big picture of him during his Easter Sermon from earlier that year. I could feel Casey's stare before I even looked up to see it. 

"You’re a Christian?" he asked in a sinister demeanor. 

"Yes," I choked.

CASEY Without so much as a second thought, I grabbed a frying pan with my right hand and held it high in the air over my head. Then, with my left hand, I grabbed a spatula and pointed it at Tyler. From that point on it became an extension of my arm as I continued to use it in my gesturing.  

“You brought a Christian into this house?!” I shouted, pointing the spatula towards Nicole while staring angrily at Tyler with red, watery eyes. Honestly, for a hot minute, I felt scared for my life. These are the people who have attacked and ridiculed me all my life, and she was one of them? How dare Tyler bring her into our home!

“Whoa whoa whoa! Calm down, Casey, she’s cool! She’s one of the good ones!” Tyler shouted.

“Casey stop!” Nicole screamed. Tyler and I stopped in our tracks and turned our eyes directly to hers.  

“Yes, I’m Christian," she stated "but no, I don’t give a flying fuck if you like men or women. It doesn’t matter what I think, or what anyone thinks, whether they are Christian or not. Do what and who you want, I’m not going to tell you any different.” 

I lowered my kitchen utensil weapons and looked at her. I wondered if she could feel the inquisitive look I was giving her through the tears I could feel building in my waterline. Could she feel all the years of pain and suffering people like us have endured? I was still shaking with tears rolling down my face.

“It says in your precious Bible that people like us are an abomination,” I sniffled, “I just don’t understand how you can defend something like that and consider yourself chill enough to have gay friends.” At this point I was on a whole new level of anger.

“It also says in that same Bible that a woman who is not a virgin on her wedding night is to be taken to her father’s house and stoned to death. Do you think that nearly as many people would be married today if we still enforced that rule? There is a verse that says only the person who is without sin may cast the first stone. I’m not perfect either.” 

“You’re not an abomination like you people think we are. You’re not lesbian.” 

“Alright,” she snapped, “first off, I am not a part of some cult that you refer to as you people. I understand why you’re on guard, I do, but you’re overgeneralizing. Second, no I’m not homosexual, but I have sinned plenty according to that book. I’ve had relations out of wedlock, I’ve consumed alcohol underage, and I’ve certainly gone through times when I did not honor my mother and father. I’ve been  jealous and lusted after things I shouldn’t. Those are all sins according to the Bible, so if you want to have a stone throwing match, who goes first?” 

I stared her down through my angry tears.  

“There is nothing wrong with the way we are! We aren’t defective because we’re gay!” I shouted in intense agony. 

Suddenly, like breaking the tension in a depressing romance movie, I grabbed my coat and left the house after slamming the door behind me. I don't know who to blame right now, Tyler for bringing someone like her into our home or Nicole and the rest of her kind for everything they had ever done to us. My seething anger continued to grow and grow. I'll figure something out. 

TYLER Eventually Nicole and I found ourselves on my living room floor watching football and making decorations for the tree we had just set up. I let out a small sniffling sound, but it sounded more saddening than it did like a cold. I'm not a very good actor, apparently, because she clearly noticed. 

"Tyler, are you ok?" she asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I'm scared and I don't know what to do," I confessed to her. "I have no idea if Casey is ever going to get past this, but at the same time I know I didn't do anything wrong. We couldn't plan for that! He's had such a rough life and this kind of thing really gets to him. What should I do?"

"Stop blaming yourself, for starters," she demanded, "and after that just live your life. He has every right to be on guard, you both do. After everything you guys have been through and still put up with every single day, there is nothing wrong with that. Personally, even as a Christian, I don't care what other people do because my choices are what determine my life. Why should I make a big deal about what other people are doing that I can't control?"

I began to cry with my face in my hands.

"Do you think he'll come back?" I choked. 

“I'm sure he will."

Later that night, after Nicole was gone for the night, I began to pick up our little arts and crafts mess. The place was quiet, which was not something I had ever planned on having to get use to. As I was walking through the living room cleaning up, I stopped by the Christmas tree to look at the ornaments. Right at my eye level there was a photo ornament with a picture of me and Casey on our first date. I felt a tear fall down my cheek, but I quickly wiped it away and continued working. 

All of a sudden the door flies open and I hear someone stomping up the stairs. It's Casey. Before I could open my mouth to welcome him home or ask if he was ok, I feel his hand on my throat.  

"Why would you do this to me?!" he screams in my face. 

"What are you talking about?" I choked out despite his hand on my neck. He releases me.

"Don't play dumb, Tyler. You knew she was religious yet you still invited her here. To a house with two gay men living in it."

"You heard for yourself, she doesn't care what we do!"

"That's what they all say! They say that 'only God can judge' and that it isn't their place to criticize your decisions, but that really doesn't apply to us. Everyone has already judge us and made it abundantly clear. We are going to hell and that's that, obviously."

"Would you stop it, Casey?" I pleaded. "She isn't like that, and had you not acted like a complete psycho and got to know her you would know that." 

"Don't call me a fucking psycho!" he shouted. After having barely finished his sentence he pulled back his right arm and launched his fist directly into my face. My right eye suffered the most. He continues his assault by pushing me down on the floor and pointing his finger in my face as he continues to yell about Nicole. I struggle underneath him, but manage to slip a leg inward and push it into his stomach, triggering his release of me. 

As he laid back on the floor, one hand on his pained midsection, I tried to reason with him. Before I could get more than half of a word out, he is storming into the kitchen. I troll behind but stay on the opposite side of the room, hoping he will calm down. He stood over the sink with his arms on the counter and his head down. I could hear him gasping for air between sobs, so I assumed he was collecting himself, but I was wrong.

Next thing I know he has one of the empty pickle jars I use for planting in his hand and he is charging after me with it held high over his head. I barely blinked before he smashed it into my head. Shattered glass was now strewn all over the kitchen and small red drops fell to the floor beneath my head as I tried to rise. I put my hand up to him.

"No more!"

Casey yanked me off the floor by my elbow and pinned me against the wall, his free hand on my throat. At one point I could almost feel my face turning blue. He leaned in real close to me and whispered something awful.

"When they come for you, do you really think she'll stay on our side?"

I knew exactly what he meant. That eventually push will come to shove and things will be at their point of life or death based on my being gay. He thinks that the religious folks will all stick together, no matter what they think individually, because of the God they worship. That's what he thinks about Nicole too. 

I feel a falling sensation as he lets go of my neck and I am back on the ground, curled up in agony. I tried to crawl my way to the living room to get my phone, but alas, I only made it to the staircase railing. Casey stood over me and then, as he smirked and shook his head, took his foot and nudged me just far enough to where I helplessly fell down the stairs. Once I reached the bottom I appeared to be a limp, lifeless body with my hair damp from the dripping blood. 

"Don't go anywhere," he chuckled maniacally, "I have some things I need to get."

I laid there helpless, of course, and obeyed his command. Not because I was intimidated or because I wanted to, but because I couldn't move. A little while later he comes down the stairs with multiple bags in hand. He opens the door, slamming it right onto my head that he had already damaged with the pickle jar, and looks down at me.

"You'll understand someday, but by then it will be too late for you." Needless to say, after he finally finished with me and left with his things, we were over. 

NICOLE "Tyler, what happened?" I yelled as I dashed over to him. His right eye was black, he also had cuts across his hairline and one on his bottom lip. Don’t get me started on the various bruises, or at least the ones I could see.

"Casey happened."

"Wait, he did this to you? I swear, if I see that boy again I'm gonna - "

"Don't bother," he said. "He's long gone now. We're over."

"I'm so sorry this happened, Babe. I never should have gone over. How can I fix this?"

"Stop blaming yourself, for starters," he smiled, using my own words against me. We both started chuckling, but not for long. Nathan and his girlfriend were approaching from down the aisle. 

"Heeey Tyler," he said, mocking him in the stereotypical "gay" voice. "What happened to your eye? Infection from the money shot your boyfriend gave you?"

Tyler lunged at Nathan, but fell short after I threw myself in front of him to hold him back. 

"Fuck off, Nathan!" he screamed, tears beginning to fill his eyes. 

"Whoa, chill! I was just concerned for your eye is all. No need to get all pissy about it," he chuckled, his girlfriend laughing along with him as they walked away. Tyler covered his eye with one hand and held his left out. 

"Do you have any concealer or foundation I could use to cover this up?"

"Of course," I reached into my purse and gave my concealer and a mirror to him. As he begins to cover up his black eye, I feel horrible for what just happened, but even worse for it happening every day and not being able to do anything to stop it. He was my friend, and he was suffering, but I was powerless to end it. I knew this was a huge problem in the community and in the world, yet I never realized just how much it affects everyone involved. Even the heterosexual friends of those who are LGBTQ are hurt, and I can certainly feel that now. That pain for Tyler and that pain for Casey, despite what he did. "I didn't realize things were this bad just because you are gay," I said to him. He hands me back my things and looks me in the eye.

"Most people don't, that's why it's such a problem in this world."

I begin to tear up along with him. We hug each other tightly. 

"I hope you know that you're not alone in this. Seeing these things and hearing about everything you've been through hurts me to hear it," I said to him. "Just remember, being gay is not a defect. You're perfect the way you are." 

Suddenly we hear our names called over the PA to take defect bins to the back. "Not a defect, huh?" he chuckles as he races to the bins and jumps up to sit on the side of one of them and do a superhero pose. "Then why do they call me Major Defect?"

We both busted out laughing.

[gracewithducks]

Doers of the Word (James 1:17-27)

In our family, we are big fans of the TV show “The Amazing Race.” If you’ve never seen it, basically, it’s a reality show that follows several teams of two as they race around the world. At the beginning of each leg of the race, the team members open an envelope with a clue – which leads them to another clue, which gives them a task they must complete in order to receive their next clue, which then leads them to another clue, and on and on it goes. Every so often, the teams “check in” at what’s called a pit stop – a mandatory time to rest, eat, and record all those little interviews they pepper throughout the episode. And most of the time, the last team to check in is eliminated from the race. Eventually, after many legs, many countries, many clues and many challenges, one team is named the winners – and because it’s a reality TV show, they’re awarded a prize of one million dollars.

 One of the reasons I enjoy the show is because it gives me an opportunity to see the world – at least vicariously. Ask my family sometimes, and they’ll tell you that at least once during just about every episode, I’ll say, “We should go there.” Pristine beaches in Bora Bora. Moscow’s Red Square. Norway’s midnight sun. The hustle and bustle of downtown Shanghai. Bavarian fairy-tale castles and the timeless beauty of Botswana – the world is such a vast and diverse and beautiful place, and I know I’m never going to see it all in person, so I’m grateful for the glimpses I can get along the way. And it’s also lovely to see teams move from ignorance or even prejudice as they encounter people who are kind, and compassionate, and generous – in every country – and realize people are people, all the world over.

 Of course, that’s just a side effect of the race. The contestants aren’t there to be goodwill ambassadors or to make friends, and they certainly aren’t just sightseeing. Though they do find themselves in some of the most impressive places around the world, they’re always busy looking for a clue box or trying to get to their next task. They play Japanese game shows, try to identify bowls of tea, unroll haybales and build wooden toys and race on donkeys and learn traditional dances and jump out of airplanes – things they would never do in their normal lives, sometimes things they never thought they could do, overcoming fear and stepping outside their comfort zones along the way.

 And again and again, the teams get into trouble when they fail to read their clues. “Find the marked counter” – “wear your costume” – even the difference between “take a taxi” and “walk on foot” to your next destination, gets teams into trouble over and over again. Sometimes teams are so excited just to be on the race, so eager, so anxious, that they end up getting in their own way. They miss details. They forget to pick up their gear. They leave their bags, miss their trains, even lose their passports, as they run off enthusiastically in the very wrong direction.

 Pay attention, work together, keep going, and follow directions: those are the lessons of the Amazing Race.

 This week, as we were watching an episode of the Amazing Race, as I watched team after team tear into their clue envelopes and then take off running – I found myself thinking about the words we heard from James this morning: “Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”

 Can you imagine an episode of a show like “The Amazing Race” where a team stood at the starting line, full of excitement and anticipation – so delighted to be on the show at last – and then they opened their first clue, and it says – I don’t know, “Drive yourselves to the airport and fly to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and make your way to Copacabana beach, where you must search for your next clue.”

 And imagine a team that says, “Wow, it’s an actual Amazing Race clue! Oh, it’s so beautiful! Wow, wouldn’t it be incredible to go to Copacabana beach?” And then that team ran to their car, and drove home. And they framed their Amazing Race clue, and they hung it on the wall. And every day they’d read it again, until they’d memorized it. And maybe they looked on the internet for a lovely picture of Copacabana beach, and they used some photo editing software, and they put the words “Make your way to Copacabana Beach” across the top of the picture, and they framed it, and they hung it up on the wall next to their clue… and they made tee shirts that said “Copacabana beach” and put “Rio de Janeiro” bumper stickers on their cars, and everyone who met them just had to hear the story of the time they ripped open a clue and it said, “Fly to Rio de Janeiro and find Copacabana Beach.”

 Except they never actually went there. They never went to the airport, got a ticket, boarded a train, hailed a taxi – never actually saw or set foot on the beach. And they never found the next clue there, which told them to go parasailing, or to build a sandcastle, or to learn to mix cocktails, or to go tango in Argentina, or fly over Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, to learn a French song in Paris, to search windmills in the Netherlands or stand at the Schindler memorial in Poland, to receive a traditional blessing in India or learn a water dance in Hong King, or to run to the finish line at the end of the race.

 Imagine a team who was given this chance at a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, and they never even made it past the starting line. Imagine if they opened the first clue – and ignored it. Imagine if they loved the race – but when it came time to take off, they so completely missed the point.

 It’s a bizarre and unrealistic scenario, sure. And no, I’ve never seen it happen. I’ve seen teams freeze and panic many times, but they always find a way to keep going; they refuse to give up, even if they end up limping to the finish line.

 I don’t think any team would ever be so careless or so clueless to never even leave the ground. But it sure seems to me that we as Christians make that same mistake more times than we’d care to admit. We know what we are meant to do… we just fail to actually do it.

 Through the month of September, we are going to be spending time with the epistle of James.

 James is a tiny little book, shoved way in the back of the bible. Most of the New Testament is made up of either the gospels – the stories of Jesus – or the letters of Paul, who wrote to the early Christians trying to help them make sense of their faith now that Jesus had risen from the dead. Because he wrote so many letters, and because those letters hung around, Paul’s voice has pretty much dominated Christian theology since just about the very beginning. Which is ironic, because Paul himself was a second-generation Christian – which is to say, he never actually knew Jesus when Jesus was on earth. And while Paul did some amazing things to open the church to new people in new places, while Paul advocated for a good news that really was for all people, while Paul followed Jesus by breaking rules and crossing borders – Paul did some great things, but Paul wasn’t the only one.

 Way back in the end of the New Testament, there are a handful of tiny little letters: letters from Peter, and John, and from James, letters that may actually be from disciples who walked alongside Jesus, who were there at Pentecost and who went out into the world to share what they had seen and heard.

 Paul’s voice predominates – Peter, John, and James, whose voices reach back to the time of Christ directly, are shoved into the back. Peter warns against false teachers, and encourages perseverance in the face of persecution. John talks about love, love for one another, which is the mark of our discipleship. And James? Well, James is emphatic: how you live, what you do, matters.

 Over the centuries, the little letter of James has been quite controversial. When it came time to set the canon, to decide which of the many early Christian writings would be considered authoritative scripture for the church for all time, James almost didn’t make the cut. The great reformer, Martin Luther, once dismissed James’ letter as an “epistle of straw” – that is to say, flimsy, unstable, and essentially worthless.

 James is controversial because he never talks about the death of Jesus, or the resurrection of Jesus, or the divinity and humanity of Jesus, or the Trinity, or any of the other themes we might expect from an early Christian preacher. And unlike Paul, who emphasizes again and again the primacy of grace – who writes one letter after another to combat the idea that, in order to be forgiven, we have to do good works, to earn our salvation, to be circumcised, and so on. Over and over again, Paul proclaims: God’s grace is enough. We are sinful, we are weak, we can’t help ourselves, but the very good news is, we don’t have to. That’s what Jesus came to do.

 James, on the other hand, James says: that may all be true, but it’s also true that how you live matters. James was writing to deal with a completely different set of problems: not to people who added rules and laws and burdens to the gospel, but to those who had so fully embraced this idea of grace that they believed they were free to do anything and everything they want. It’s as if they thought, God loves me, no matter what, and I’m in, no matter what – so why should I worry or care about anyone or anything else?

 And James says: no. That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works. Yes, God loves you freely; yes, God forgives your sin… but Jesus also said things like, “Be perfect” and “Go and sin no more” and “Love one another as I have loved you” and even “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.”

 We know those words. We’ve heard those words. Some of us even have them underlined in our bibles, we sing them, we repeat them, we nod our heads whenever the preacher comes back around to them… but James reminds us, Hearing the words – underlining them – memorizing them – agreeing with them, that’s not enough. Because what we are really supposed to do is to follow them, to obey them, to put them into action in our lives.

 “Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”

 It’s a theme we will hear again and again in James: how we live matters, because how we live reveals what we truly believe.

 It’s far too easy to look around these days and see people who profess to be Christian – with crosses around their necks and crosses on their cars and bible verses on their walls and on their shirts and rolling out of their mouths… people whose lives have all the “trappings” of Christianity, but who by their lives call into question whether they’ve ever gotten acquainted with Jesus at all – Jesus, who knew that hurting people are always more important than rules and tradition; Jesus, who said only the one without sin should cast a stone; Jesus, who didn’t stand apart from the hungry or the lonely, who welcomed strangers and identified with outcasts, who sought out the people everyone else had written off as untouchable, and invited them to share his bread and share his life; Jesus, who called out the comfortable and comforted the oppressed.

 James writes, “If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.” If you use the words of Christ to wound the very people he came to heal, if you use the words of scripture to justify excluding the very people God’s arms are open to receive, if you use the bible to try to argue that it’s God’s idea for the rich to get richer while everyone else hopes to scrape by, if your faith is lived out by dismantling education, by taking away opportunities, by propping up evil and unjust systems… well, you may have faith, friends, but it’s not faith in any Christ I’ve ever met.

 James writes, “But those who persevere, not as hearers who forget but doers who act – they will be blessed in their doing… Religion that is pure and undefiled before [God] is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

 And “unstained” doesn’t mean untouched; it doesn’t mean we lock ourselves away so we can keep our hands clean in order to satisfy some impossible ideal of purity. After all, Jesus was born in a stable, and he slept alongside dusty roads, and he bled on a criminal’s cross... this is not a God who is afraid to get dirty.

But “unstained’ means that, as we wade into the dirt and dust of a world full of sin and sorrow and suffering, that we don’t let it define us, and we don’t forget who we really are. We are made in God’s image; we bear the image of the God who so loved the world that he could not stay away – and we are called to do the same. The faith that God delights in, the faith that’s worth living, is the faith that leads us to care for the most vulnerable people around us, to help the powerless find their voice, to love the lonely, and to believe that when we do, God will meet us there.

 As we journey through the book of James, we will find that James has no time for casual disciples; and James is quite insistent that how we live matters… not because we’re so weak we need to protect ourselves from the world, but because we are so powerful, we have the power to reshape this world, to impact lives, to bring hope and work for justice and make the world around us look more like the world God longs for it to be.

 We know the words. We have met the Word in flesh. But let’s not just let the words be words, words we underline and scrawl across pretty pictures… let’s not let our faith be no more than slogans and bumper stickers…but may our faith be written on our hearts and lived out in our lives.

  O Lord, may our faith be more than words. May we not just hear, not just speak, but live with faith, with love and with grace. In Christ’s name; amen.

[woodworkingpastor]

We had hoped...  Luke 24:13-35

Call to Worship

Alleluia! The Lord is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Death is conquered! Sin’s power is broken.

Praise to you, Conquering God!

We have seen your glory.

And we are yours!

Risen Savior, you have called us, and we walk on with you.

In those times when our hopes and dreams seem to have died, open our eyes to new possibilities that we have not yet imagined or seen.

You invite us to tell the story of what we have seen and heard.

Give us minds to understand what we have been told, that we may bear witness to the Kingdom of God.

In our worship, enable us to see you, revealed among us.

Amen.

Ernest Hemingway was once asked to write a story that was both sad and short. He only needed six words: “For sale: baby shoes, never used.”  

It’s both brilliant and excruciating at the same time, capturing the pain of loss and unrealized dreams all at once.  

The Emmaus Road story from Luke’s gospel is also sad and short, one that requires three words in English—and only one in Greek—to capture the pain of loss and unrealized dreams: “We had hoped…”  For three Sundays now our focus has been on how the Gospel writers chose to end their accounts of Jesus’ life.  Mark’s, you may recall, simply ends, with no accounting of the implications of Jesus’ resurrection. John works towards a conclusion by telling us of Thomas, the fifth time in his Gospel that someone receives that little bit more than they need to believe. And today Luke does very much the same.  In a story where all seems lost, Luke speaks to the tragedy of hope that is lost and the promise of hope that is rediscovered.

We pick up the story just hours after the women come back with the angel’s tale that Jesus has been raised.  Peter has been to the tomb to inspect for himself but has no explanation as to what has happened. And now in the afternoon, we join two otherwise unknown disciples, Cleopas and another (perhaps his wife?) who seem to be returning home to Emmaus. These two are part of a larger group of unnamed disciples that is occasionally referred to in the Gospels. The fact that they have the ability to share their story with the other disciples suggest that they were at least second or third row witnesses to Jesus’ ministry.

As these two talk along the road they are doing what any of us do when a significant and shocking piece of news comes along—they are trying to make sense of it all; turning it over in their minds, remembering particular details, sharing bits of the story they’ve heard from others. “How did this particular series of events happen?” “How did we end up here?” “We had so expected things to turn out differently, but here we are.”

“We had hoped…”

Three words in English, one word in Greek that speaks volumes. People have a right to expect that their Messiah will change their circumstances. Cleopas and his companion shared that expectation. They had listened to Jesus’ teaching, and presumably participated in his teaching. They might even were among the 70 who had been sent out on a mission trip with “no purse, no bag, no sandals,” proclaiming the kingdom of God, benefitting from those who would extend the hospitality of home and table, and—for those places who would not welcome them—wiping the dust of the town off their feet in protest for missing the good news before they moved on to the next place. Cleopas and this other had good reason to think that things would turn out differently.

“We had hoped…”

But this story is—in significant ways—no different from the story of Thomas needing more evidence. Luke has also included a story about people who couldn’t quite get all the way there on their own.  And it’s ok that they’re not all the way there, because Jesus will help them get all the way there. Cleopas and his companion only think they are going to Emmaus. Jesus wants to take them somewhere entirely different.

The Gospel story speaks directly to people whose testimony of faith is, “We had hoped.”  It’s a measure of our own work as a congregation. If our telling of the good news is indeed good news, then it must be good news to people who say “we had hoped.” This is the test; people in our time also have an expectation that their Messiah will have an impact on their daily living.  But this basic progression of the Emmaus road story where people have been moving from a place of lost hope to a realization that there is so much more than what they had previously thought ought to be realized among us.  

The hymn How firm a foundation, talks about this, especially in a verse that doesn’t appear in many hymnals that we never sing: "In every condition, in sickness, in health, in poverty's vale, or abounding in wealth, at home and abroad, on the land, on the sea, as days may demand, shall thy strength ever be."

Thankfully, the Bible speaks to this exact circumstance much more than we might realize.  It might even be the predominant voice of the Scripture: answering the questions of the ones who say “We had hoped…” It is not just hope for a future world, not (as another hymn says) “in the dark of buildings confining, not in some heaven, light years away; but here in this place, new light is shining, now is the kingdom, now is the day.”

Richard Beck is a professor of psychology at Abilene Christian University.  He speaks to the Bible’s focus on restoring lost hopes in his book The Authenticity of Faith, by grouping people into categories based on “Communion” (how actively they practice their faith) and “Complaint” (how well they think their faith addresses the challenges of life). From this, he sees four broad categories of people, people that I believe we will recognize.

The disengaged believer.  Those who have no real complaint with their faith and who also don’t practice their faith. They may “believe in God,” but you likely wouldn’t notice if you watched them. They’ve simply moved on.

The religious critic. Those who find lots to find fault with the church—from the comfort of their living room.

Those of summer faith.  Active participants for whom their faith is deeply satisfying, with little to complain about.

Those of winter faith. These are the ones to whom the Bible has much to say; those for whom regular participation has brought great satisfaction, even as the complaints and challenges of life are beginning to add up. What answers do we have to their challenges? What will keep them from drifting into becoming hardened critics or disinterested former believers?

That’s the conversation Jesus has with these two on the road to Emmaus. As Cleopas and his wife take their leave of the disciples and head back home, will they leave their faith behind? And in answering that question, we may need the courage to ask ourselves a different one: “Where or what is our Emmaus?”  In Luke’s gospel, it is the place where Cleopas and his traveling companion head after their hopes in Jesus are dashed.  But in another sense, Emmaus is that place we any of us go—or that thing we do—when we are ready to give up hope.  When we are the ones who say “We had hoped…” we are likely headed to our own Emmaus.

For some (and this might be predominately a challenge for men) it leads to over-investment in career or even an affair and a divorce, hoping that the chance to feel young and significant again will awaken something deep inside.

For others it involves walking away from church involvement into something—anything—that feels like it contributes something of value. “I still believe” people say, yet there is no outward evidence, no real engagement with the emptiness or dissatisfaction or even perceived inadequacy of faith to answer the big problems of life.

But when we are headed to Emmaus, Jesus shows up and if we will listen; if we will engage with him and the depth of Scripture and the deep complexity of our living, then we will have an opportunity to have him interpret to us the things about himself in all the scriptures.

Some of the things Jesus will tell us about the gospel are deeply personal and will touch the sinful things that you have done, and the sinful things that have been done to you. Because Jesus is the Messiah, because Jesus has conquered sin and death and hell, then the things we have done—and the things done to us—need not define your future.

Some of those things that Jesus will say will be quite social and will speak to the circumstances that many find themselves in—with much in the way of hope due to the loss of jobs or the fact that our society remains challenged by the ways we treat people who are minorities or are immigrants, or different in other ways.  

“We had hoped…” is the complaint of many in our world today. It is a frustration to which the Bible has much to offer if we are willing to dig down beneath religious platitude and bumper sticker theology. Much of the social context of the Scripture is made up of people whose expectations of a Messiah were different from their actual experience. But when they look their eyes are opened to a kingdom where the last will be first, the least will be the greatest, the lost will be found, while those who claim to have all their needs satisfied by the options of today’s living might actually be on the outside looking in without even realizing it.  

Cleopas and his traveling companion thought their hopes had been dashed. But when they invited a stranger to dinner, they found they’d been in the presence of Jesus all along and hadn’t even realized it. In the breaking of bread, the frustration of “we had hoped” turned into the realization “were not our hearts burning within us?” 

Is your heart burning this morning?

[stephenaltrogge-blog]

Republicanism, Homeschooling, and the Inner Rings

I have Republican leanings and was homeschooled for 12 years. Don’t throw Molotov cocktails at my house until you at least read this post.

Every church has things that are assumed to be godly. Or at least godly-ish. These things aren’t explicitly in the Bible but have still been infused with a sense or feel of godliness.

You know what I’m talking about. Maybe there’s an underlying assumption that homeschooling families (and their giant vans) are more spiritually mature than those that send their kids to public school.

Maybe Republicanism is next to godliness, and all true God-fearing families display their patriotic/Jesus allegiance through their bumper stickers and guns racks.

Maybe everyone is into essential oils or eating organic or not watching television or a certain method of evangelism. Really, it could be anything. Sometimes this zeal is found throughout the entire church and sometimes it’s found in certain circles.

And while none of these things are wrong, per se, they all have the potential to create one, massive problem…

…IN GROUPS 

I’m not talking in groups like you had in high school. This isn’t about wearing a puffy Starter jacket or the newest pair of JNCO jeans.

I’m talking spiritual in groups.

C.S Lewis called these groups “inner rings”. He said:

A thing may be morally neutral and yet the desire for that thing may be dangerous. . . . Unless you take measures to prevent it, this desire is going to be one of the chief motives of your life, from the moment you enter your profession until you are too old to care. . . . If you do nothing about it, if you drift with the stream, you will in fact be an “inner ringer.”

There is nothing wrong with any of the things mentioned above. In fact, many of them have really good elements.

But few things kill gospel freedom and godliness in a church like spiritual inner rings.

The Appearance of Godliness

The church in Colossae found itself being overrun by inner rings. False teachers were insisting that true, mature Christians had to be circumcised or observe certain festivals or refrain from eating and sex or have grand spiritual visions.

If you didn’t do these things, you were on the outside. An immature Christian. Less godly. Maybe not a Christian at all. There were those who were in and those who were out, and you really didn’t want to be left out.

Paul would have none of this. He knew that inner rings were in direct opposition to the gospel and were directly from Satan, which is why he wrote:

If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. (Colossians 3:20-23)

Every inner ring – education, diet, patriotism, politics, worship style – is a sham. They have the appearance of wisdom but do absolutely nothing to promote true godliness. They can’t help people put sin to death. They don’t promote an atmosphere of gospel freedom. They are nothing more than human precepts and teachings that become millstones around the neck.

When a good thing becomes a moral thing it becomes a demonic thing.

I know this seems extreme, but it’s true. When inner rings form, we are acting as we are still alive to the world. As if we haven’t died with Christ and risen to a new glorious life. As if we are still ruled by human regulations and the old law.

I’ve been guilty of turning good things into moral things and I deeply regret it. It always creates heartache and suffocation. It never truly helps people grow in grace.

The Gospel Obliterates Inner Rings

The beauty of the gospel is that it obliterates inner rings. In Christ, we are all forgiven, adopted, and heirs with Christ. We are all priests to God, being built together into the church.

We are feet, eyes, hands, and ears, all totally dependent on each other to grow in Christ-likeness. The Holy Spirit is given liberally to all, and every one of us has spiritual gifts which must be shared with other believers.

When we create inner rings, we trample the gospel. We smear legalism all over it. We exclude those God has welcomed.

The gospel is beautifully broad and beautifully narrow: when we are in Christ, we are welcomed by God. That’s it.

Let’s not make the gospel narrower than God makes it.

The post Republicanism, Homeschooling, and the Inner Rings appeared first on The Blazing Center.

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[mrlylerouse]

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

Calling all Concordia Staff kids, ages 0-8! We have a fun Easter tradition and YOU are invited!! Saturday, April 15, from 9-10am, we will enjoy our Annual Easter Egg Hunt right here on our ES playground! We will have designated areas for children 0-2, 3-5, and 6-8 years old. If you have an older-than-eight child who would like to assist in the hiding of eggs, we'd love the extra help. In case of rain, we will reschedule. What to bring:

12 filled plastic eggs (per child you bring) for hiding. For example, if you bring 2 children, please prepare 24 eggs. 3 children? 36 eggs. Filled eggs means "Safe-for-everyone" items placed inside eggs, which may might include stickers, small toys, erasers, etc. Candies are allowed, but please do consider that very young children might not be ready for certain types of candy.

A small basket or bag, per child, for collecting eggs

A happy heart! Jesus is risen and we are excited to celebrate the empty tomb!! J

Please plan to arrive by 9am, so the children can play field games while the eggs are being hidden. Thanks for sending an RSVP to Jamie Halula if you plan to attend

from Concordia International School News http://ift.tt/2mUv6h2

[mrrolandtfranco]

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

Calling all Concordia Staff kids, ages 0-8! We have a fun Easter tradition and YOU are invited!! Saturday, April 15, from 9-10am, we will enjoy our Annual Easter Egg Hunt right here on our ES playground! We will have designated areas for children 0-2, 3-5, and 6-8 years old. If you have an older-than-eight child who would like to assist in the hiding of eggs, we'd love the extra help. In case of rain, we will reschedule. What to bring:

12 filled plastic eggs (per child you bring) for hiding. For example, if you bring 2 children, please prepare 24 eggs. 3 children? 36 eggs. Filled eggs means "Safe-for-everyone" items placed inside eggs, which may might include stickers, small toys, erasers, etc. Candies are allowed, but please do consider that very young children might not be ready for certain types of candy.

A small basket or bag, per child, for collecting eggs

A happy heart! Jesus is risen and we are excited to celebrate the empty tomb!! J

Please plan to arrive by 9am, so the children can play field games while the eggs are being hidden. Thanks for sending an RSVP to Jamie Halula if you plan to attend

from Concordia International School News http://ift.tt/2mUv6h2

[mrmarknewman]

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

Calling all Concordia Staff kids, ages 0-8! We have a fun Easter tradition and YOU are invited!! Saturday, April 15, from 9-10am, we will enjoy our Annual Easter Egg Hunt right here on our ES playground! We will have designated areas for children 0-2, 3-5, and 6-8 years old. If you have an older-than-eight child who would like to assist in the hiding of eggs, we'd love the extra help. In case of rain, we will reschedule. What to bring:

12 filled plastic eggs (per child you bring) for hiding. For example, if you bring 2 children, please prepare 24 eggs. 3 children? 36 eggs. Filled eggs means "Safe-for-everyone" items placed inside eggs, which may might include stickers, small toys, erasers, etc. Candies are allowed, but please do consider that very young children might not be ready for certain types of candy.

A small basket or bag, per child, for collecting eggs

A happy heart! Jesus is risen and we are excited to celebrate the empty tomb!! J

Please plan to arrive by 9am, so the children can play field games while the eggs are being hidden. Thanks for sending an RSVP to Jamie Halula if you plan to attend

from Concordia International School News http://ift.tt/2mUv6h2