I find it ironic that our first Sunday in April is also April 1, April Fool's day. It is a common custom to tell someone a fib on this day and then, once they believe you, tell them, "April Fools". Why is this ironic? Because, today is the beginning of the Truth on which all Christianity is based. The Truth that Jesus willingly went up to Jerusalem and offered Himself as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His death was no joke; it was brutal, ugly, and unjust. Likewise, His resurrection is no April Fools. It is real and it is why we come to worship every Sunday. Each Sunday is a commemoration of this wonderful event.
It must grieve God to see people using this time to do other things. He watched His Son die on our behalf and the response of the majority of Americans is to sleep in or get up early to go and pursue their hobbies. Why is this happening? I think the answer is found in Colossians 2:8 which says, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."
Our society has been taken captive by the hollow and deceptive beliefs of this world. It is a belief that can be summed up with the phrase, "it's all about me." People are deceived if they think that God wants them to spend time that could be spent in church on the ski slopes, at a sporting event or even on a family vacation. The truth is, we should be in church every Sunday to celebrate Easter, to observe our own Sabbath - a time to rest and remember what God has done. He has created the world, He has delivered His people, He has made and kept His promises, He has sent His Son, He has gone to prepare a place for us and He is coming back. This is the Truth.
I am excited about the Truth. I am looking forward to this implementation of the "Truth Project." I am hoping that with this Easter, we will all join together and say, "Today, I will begin to faithfully observe Easter with my church family each and every Sunday without fail."
In our Sunday morning Bible class we have completed a study of the books 2 Peter and Jude. It is interesting that both Peter and Jude warn the believers that "scoffers" and "false teachers" will come who will deny Jesus Christ. I think that the...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
We probably think of romance when Valentine's Day comes. That's fine, but there's more to the story than that... St. Valentine was a Christian priest and martyr who lived about AD 270. The Roman emperor at the time was Claudius II. Claudius had...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
It is hard to believe that the first month of 2007 is already behind us. But I look forward with great excitement to the months ahead and especially the month of February. During this month we will have a congregational breakfast, followed by...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
