A Christ-follower with a limp: October 2022

Sunday, October 30, 2022

Now this is really frightening

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” H. P. Lovecraft

Recently, something very odd yet noteworthy came out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Unless you’re a student of world religions, you’re probably not familiar with the name – Patriarch Kirill. As the Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Patriarch Kirill, is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Archbishop Kirill is a very close friend of Vladimir Putin and his close political ally. This relationship has had serious theological ramifications.

Recently, Patriarch Kirill said: “The church realizes that if somebody, driven by a sense of duty and the need to fulfill their oath, goes to do what their duty calls of them, and if a person dies in the performance of this duty, then they have undoubtedly committed an act equivalent to sacrifice. They will have sacrificed themselves for others and, therefore, we believe that this sacrifice washes away all the sins that a person has committed.”

Wow! The head of the Russian Church said that. Basically, he promises the total forgiveness of sins for any soldier if the soldier dies on the battlefield in support of Mother Russia. According to Patriarch Kirill, if a soldier dies for Russia, he’s forgiven all of his sins and goes to heaven. It’s not just a frightening promise. It’s a life and absolutely unbiblical!

We need to be very clear on this. There is no such message of salvation found anywhere in the Bible. It’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, it’s a repudiation of the gospel. It’s actually a perverse form of work’s righteousness, suggesting that these soldiers can earn salvation by the way they die on the battlefield. In other words, dying for Russia is a “good deed” and guarantees heaven for the one who died fighting for Russia.

Tragically, this isn’t far from what many believe about going to heaven. They believe that you go to heaven because you’re a good person or that you obeyed the Ten Commandments or that you’re moral.

But is being good a guarantee of heaven? It’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible clearly says that it’s God’s grace because of Jesus' death and payment for sin on the cross that guarantees entry into heaven. It’s not anything we have done or can do. You can’t “do” anything to merit heaven.

In spite of the obvious evidence to the contrary, most of us want to believe man is basically good. That’s hauntingly illustrated in the words of Anne Frank that she penned in her diary in 1944: “It's really a wonder I haven't dropped all my ideals because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” While young Anne wanted to believe people were basically good, she and her family were hiding from the Nazis, who ultimately discovered them, sentencing them to the Death Camps. Being good enough to go to heaven has some major problems.

Good deeds are arbitrary. First, who determines what the standard of goodness is? Me, you, the Dali Llama, the Pope? Is it the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, or the Five Pillars of Islam we must adhere to? What’s good enough for God to let us into heaven?

Then, how many really keep them? In one religious discussion group, someone asked, “What’s good enough to get someone into heaven?" Some responded, "You have to keep the Ten Commandments and follow the Golden Rule." That was followed up by another question, "So how many keep those two things (the Ten Commandments & the Golden Rule)?" The answer: "Even though we don't keep them perfectly, we should all do our best." A third question followed: "Do any of you do your best all the time?"

No one could respond with anything near a resounding "Yes," so the group lowered the standard again. They felt if you tried to do your best most of the time, you’d make it. But what does most of the time mean? Does it mean 51% or 90%? In the end, they admitted they were unable to determine the level of commitment that was necessary for salvation.

Good deeds offer no assurance of salvation. Those who believe being good gets you into heaven live in the realm of “I hope so.” If you talk to someone trusting in their goodness to get them into heaven and ask them, "Are you going to go to heaven?" They’ll nearly always say, "I hope so."

A standard of good deeds ultimately asks God to approve of evil. Any system which demands less than perfection must allow some evil, and then must also ask God to approve of this evil. But if God allowed imperfect people into heaven, heaven would no longer be perfect. Heaven is a place without any suffering or sin, not just a place where there is minimal suffering and sin (Rev. 21-22). If you had a pitcher of 100% pure water and added just a little bit of poison, would you still want to drink it?

The Bible teaches the impossibility of being good. Going to Heaven is only possible through Jesus Christ. We’ll never be good enough. It’s why Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

God in His justice demands payment for our sins and God in His love offers the substitute. Jesus Christ is our substitute. He paid our debt on the cross of Calvary. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus Christ, God's perfect Son, died and paid the total price for our sins so that we could be forgiven and go to heaven to live for all eternity. It’s what John 3:16 is all about. Salvation is a free gift from God.

When someone gives you a gift, they paid for it. Your responsibility is to simply accept it. Patriarch Kirill is wrong and so is anyone else who believes “good deeds” can earn heaven. Only trusting that Jesus died for your sins brings God’s forgiveness and the promise of eternal life.

Wonderfully, this means there is hope for everyone. Anyone can be saved no matter how good or bad they’ve been. Becoming a Christian means trusting in Christ so much that you risk your eternity on what the Bible says and what the Lord Jesus did for you in His life and in His death.

My friend, are you a Christian? First, you must admit that you’re not a good person. Then, come to Jesus, run to the Cross, and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior? Will you do that? That’s what the Bible says. That’s true forgiveness and it’s how we know that we’re going to heaven.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.

Sunday, October 23, 2022

Seeing the Beauty

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus

There are times that I wish that I was either a gifted painter or at least a talented photographer. That’s because autumn is my favorite time of year and I’d love to be able to capture its beauty. While I love it when the grass begins popping out and the flowers begin to bloom, I just love the fall.

It’s been a late fall this year, but to me, it’s been particularly beautiful. As I drive home, my route makes a path through a splendor of changing leaves. It nearly breathtaking, it’s so captivating.

Our Heavenly Father is truly the master artist! Yet, sadly, there is so much ugliness in our world that I’m frequently guilty of missing out on His masterpieces. If I’m not working to control my mental diet, I focus on what’s wrong, what’s hideous in our world rather than all of the beauty.

It lines up with the old saying, “you are what you eat.” God’s Word teaches that you are what you think. Philippians 4:8 challenges us to, “fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.” So here are some beautiful things that I like to think about.

The colors of fall. Autumn is nearly breathtakingly beautiful during those few weeks when the leaves still remain on the trees and are turning from green to vibrant reds, pinks and yellows. My commute takes me along country roads where I’m overwhelmed with a myriad of colors. I have to remind myself to praise God for it. And I’m thankful for the beauty of fall even though it precedes the chill of winter.

Smiles. There’s a young man who is apparently mentally challenged, yet he has the most wonderful smile at a local store. Every time I see him that smile gives me such a warm feeling.

There are many things that I love about church on Sundays. Yet, as I prepare to come to our services there is one thing that I probably look forward to more than anything else, the smiling faces. The joy filled faces of my spiritual family so encourages me.

My experience is that when I’m out and about, I don’t see very many smiling faces. Most are sober. Some even look annoyed or irritated. Because of the cultural plague of misery, I seek to follow Dolly Parton’s advice, “If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.”

Smiles are so attractive and they’re free. I hope I’m sharing mine so others can experience the wonderful beauty of a smile. Something about a smile can change your outlook. It lightens your load a bit and can even put a spring in your step.

Friends. Oprah was right, “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” I’ve got so many friends like that. They’re with me when I’m on the mountaintop and they’re with me as I walk through the valley. Thankfully most of them are so much more than friends, they’re brothers and sisters in Christ. We’re not just traveling this world’s road together. We’re headed to the same Home. God has blessed me with them and they’re a continual source of joy for me!

Smells. My wife has taught me to love the smell (and feel) of clean sheets. Jane finds joy in the seemingly little things, things like “clean sheets.” Her enjoyment about the seemingly insignificant is contagious. And she’s taught me – there is something beautiful about the freshness of clean sheets and so many other things that I can overlook.

For example, I love walking into a home where they’re baking bread. It smells so delicious, I can nearly taste it. And I’d be remiss to fail to share that one of the things that I absolutely love about our community is that on certain days you can smell the chocolate from Nestle’s. It’s like a cup of hot cocoa for your nose.

Reading my Bible. Every morning before I start my day, I check an app on my phone that has five psalms that correspond with the date. It’s helped me become more familiar with the psalms. I usually read two or three before I launch my day.

Then, later in the morning I’ll spend a longer period reading my Bible. It’s such a comfort to me. I’m sure that some of the preciousness comes from having an estranged relationship with my own Dad. Reading my Heavenly Father’s love letter to me and mediating on His promises brings a sense of peace and calm in my soul. It is truly beautiful.

Prayer. Every day I pray for my family. Every day as a pastor, I have the privilege of praying for those in our church family. Yet often I feel so heavy hearted for some in church. I love our church. I love you! Sometimes watching those in our church family struggle weighs heavily on my heart.

If you’ve been around Grace very long, then you know that we break the church family up into Care Groups for our Deacons. I use those groups as a guide for part of my prayer time. It helps me pray for everyone in our church family at least once on a weekly basis.
There are some with struggles that I wish I was a genie and could pop in and solve them. There are burdens that some carry that I don’t understand and don’t have a solution. There are some who attend that it seems that they haven’t yet met Jesus as their Savior. There are others that are struggling to make Him Lord of their lives. Then, I pray for the children in our church and try to remember the names and pray for the adult children of our families. Prayer is beautiful to me because though I have so few solutions, I entrust the burdens to my Father who’s got it all under control.

We’re never without beauty in this world, never without displays of splendor. We’re never without beauty because God’s divine fingerprints are all over all that He has made. Our problem is not a lack of beauty, it’s a lack of our seeing the beauty that our Heavenly Father has given us!

I love this reality – if heaven is so beautiful on this side, how beyond words beautiful it must be on the other side.

Sunday, October 16, 2022

Preaching: What's on the Menu?

“The first mark of a healthy church is expositional preaching. It is not only the first mark; it is far and away the most important of them all, because if you get this one right, all of the others should follow…If you get the priority of the Word established, then you have in place the single most important aspect of the church’s life…The congregation’s commitment to the centrality of the Word coming from the front, from the preacher, the one specially gifted by God and called to that ministry, is the most important thing you can look for in a church.” Mark Dever

If you’re new to Grace you may wonder about our commitment to Scripture and what’s the “pulpit menu.” At Grace we’re committed to what’s known as “expository preaching.” Rather than interpreting the Bible, we want to understand Scripture and what God has written for us. That’s why it’s exciting to return to our study of 1 Samuel: God of Reversals. Today we’re picking up our study in chapter 11 with the commencement of the reign of Israel’s first monarch, King Saul.

Why are we so committed to this kind of study? Let me share a story about a guy who happened to notice one day as he was looking out his window that somebody was building something near his home. He watched each day as construction workers cleared the land and moved dirt and trucks rolled in and out. The guy said that the first thing he saw them do was to pour a big concrete slab and then they put a big steel looking box on top of the slab. There was just this big box on the slab, so he figured that this must be some kind of storage shed or something the workers kept their tools in. But then he noticed that after a day or two that the workers began to build a concrete wall all around the big box. Then, they added drywall and now he’s really wondering, “What in the world they are building?”

Finally, his curiosity gets the best of him and he goes over and says, “I’ve been watching you guys each day. I saw you pour a foundation and put this box in the middle and then build a wall around it. I’m curious, what in the world you’re building?” The construction worker replied, “Oh, we’re building a bank. That box you’re talking about with the wall all around it is the vault.” He then explained that when you build a bank, you build the central and most important part of the bank first, then you build everything else around it. Because of the large size of the vault and its weight, they had to start with it or later they wouldn’t be able to fit it through the door.

Because of the importance of the vault, that it would contain all manner of riches, treasures and wealth, it was the key part of the building. They wanted to be sure they got it right, and then built everything else around the centrality of the vault.

The same is true when you want to build up God’s people and build a local church. When you build a family, when you build a relationship, and when you build a life, you first make sure that the most important part is in place—the Bible. Then, you build everything else around it.

Because the Bible contains all the riches and treasures and wealth of the Gospel, it’s the foundation of our lives. Everything else must be built around the centrality of the Bible. When we do this our lives are built to last, not just for this temporal world but for all eternity.

From the world of real estate, you’ve probably heard the repeated refrain that identifies the most important consideration in a transaction as “location, location, location.” That’s true when it comes to expository preaching. The most important consideration for preaching a sermon is “the text, the text, the text.” Our goal is to simply show or “expose” what God wrote in His Word. That’s because…

Expository preaching proceeds from the authority of the text. We don’t invent the sermon. Ours is a derived ministry in that we’re charged to share the message found in God’s Word. Without a word from God, we have nothing meaningful to say. We believe that the Spirit has authorized and inspired the words of Scripture in a manner with which He has not inspired our words. Our authority in preaching hinges at every point on the uniquely authorized nature of the biblical text. It’s why we stay as close to the text as possible. As J. I. Packer put it, “Preaching is letting texts talk.”

Expository preaching gives functional priority to the text in the passage of Scripture. Prioritizing the text in our preaching can’t be overstated. The passage of Scripture must govern what we say about it, when we say what we say about it, and even how we say what we say about it. A sermon’s affirmations and assertions should be linked to the text.

Structurally, an expository sermon is more than simply offering a running commentary on the passage. The sermon must be arranged as the text presents itself and have a concise main idea that reflects it clearly. The message should convey something of the “spirit” of the text. Delivery must reflect joy when the text focuses on rejoicing. Likewise, it should convey gravity and brokenness when the text focuses on sin and its consequences.

Expository preaching recognizes the life-changing potential and eternal impact of the text. Our commitment to expository preaching is rooted in the recognition of the timelessness of Scripture. As important as dynamic delivery and careful crafting of words are, what changes lives is not pulpit passion, great stories or cleverly timed phrases.

What changes lives is the word of God, inspired and energized by the Holy Spirit. That changes lives forever. God’s Word has an eternal impact in that, like no other source, it confronts hearers with ultimate realities like life and death, heaven and hell, and hope and hopelessness.

When we prioritize the text, we honor the Lord who inspired it and Scripture edifies those who hear it. Our handling of the text sets the tone for how our church will handle Scripture. Through faithful expository preaching, we have the opportunity to model an appropriate reverence and regard for God’s Word. We also have the wonderful privilege of assisting others in learning how to care for their own spiritual meals.

How we preach and teach reveals what we believe about the Bible. Anyone can sign an orthodox statement of faith, but that doesn’t prove what we really believe. Our true convictions about God and His Word are evidenced by what we preach and how we preach – that it’s God’s Word, not our opinion or perspective.

This is why we’re committed to working our way through 1 Samuel (and other books of the Bible). We want to hear what God has to say to us and apply His truth to our lives!

Monday, October 10, 2022

Pray for Cuba??? Really???

“How many of us have conflicts with someone else and how many of us pray for that person? We have individuals with whom we are competitive, or whom we dislike or have a quarrel with; but very few of us have true enemies. And yet if Lincoln could pray fervently and contemporary reports indicate he did, for the people who were opposing him, how much more can we do for someone

we just find a little irritating?” John Wooden

Have you been praying for friends and family in Florida? Most of us have. The devastation and loss have been terrible.

Yet, before Hurricane Ian struck Florida, it hit the island of Cuba, our country’s enemy. Three people were killed. The entire island lost power. And Cuba was already suffering from an economic crisis with shortages of food, fuel, and medicine. There have been blackouts across the island all summer, which has led to rare protests against the government. The life-threatening conditions Hurricane Ian inflicted on Cuba prompted officials to evacuate more than 38,000 residents from their homes in one province.

Yet, in spite of the suffering Ian brought to Cuba, I don’t recall a post or even hearing anyone say: “Pray for Cuba!” But if we’re going to be obedient to God’s Word, shouldn’t we? As I read my Bible a constant theme that’s repeated over and over again is that Christians are to love and pray for their enemies. Cuba under Communist oppression is an “enemy” of the U.S. Christians and churches there suffer persecution. It truly fits the “enemy” category.

This is what makes Christ-followers distinctly different. We love, pray for and show kindness to our enemies, even if they hurt us in return. Please understand, we can’t do this in our own strength. It must be Jesus living and loving through us. Our Savior who said from the Cross, “Father, forgive them” wants us to have that same love for our enemies. It’s through His power flowing through us that we have the strength to live as Jesus.

All of us have enemies. If you live for Jesus, not everyone is going to like you. In our humanness, we irritate and anger others. Yet, our response must be like our Lord, even if it means praying for places like Cuba or people who despise us.

How does the Bible tell us to respond to our enemies? Dr. Ray Pritchard, longtime pastor at Calvary Church in Oak Park, IL has several suggestions.

Greet your enemies. This may be the most difficult one because it’s very personal and risks ridicule or being snubbed. Yet, one part of loving our enemies is to greet them graciously when we see them. Sometimes, in order to not antagonize them, this may be unwise, yet as much as we can when we have an opportunity, we need to seek to be Jesus to them. That often begins with greeting them. If we only greet our friends, so what? Even pagans greet each other. One part of loving your enemies is to greet them instead of avoiding them or worse snubbing them.

Do Good to Them. Both times in Luke 6 when Jesus tells us to “love our enemies,” He follows it immediately by saying, “do good to them,” so that we won’t miss His point. Doing good to your enemies means seeing beyond your pain and their meanness to their humanity. It means seeing them as individuals made in the image of God and understanding that there is something broken inside that causes them to do what they do.

Think of someone who hates you. Now imagine doing something nice for them. It’s unnatural, yet must be done. It might mean shoveling their walks or taking over a dozen cookies. It’s not enough to refrain from getting even. Jesus says that we must proactively do good to the wrongdoer!
It was said of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, that the quickest way you could become his friend was to do him wrong. The minute you did him wrong, he’d work so hard to love you back that eventually he’d win you as a friend. What a great testimony to the Christ-like spirit of that godly man.

N.T. Wright puts it this way: “Think of the best thing you can do for the worst person, and then go ahead and do it…Think of the people to whom you are tempted to be nasty, and lavish generosity on them instead.”

Refuse to speak evil of them. That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “Bless those who curse you.” It means you refuse to think evil thoughts and refuse to speak or post evil words against those who’ve wronged you. Every time we open our mouths, life or death comes out. Forgiveness in many cases isn’t possible because we won’t stop talking. As long as we talk over and over again about how others hurt us, we’ll be unable to forgive. At some point, we must stop talking and start forgiving.

Thank God for them. If you believe in the sovereignty of God, that God is in control, you must believe that your enemy is part of God’s plan with His design and with His approval. Your enemy can’t hurt you apart from God’s permission, so behind your enemy stands the hand of God. Your Heavenly Father would never permit it if He didn’t intend to bring something good out of it. If we want to grow in faith, we must continually thank God for the blessing of our enemies.

Pray for them. When Martin Niemoller, a German pastor, was arrested by the Nazis in World War II, he prayed daily from his prison cell for his captors. Other prisoners asked why he prayed for those who were his enemies. To which Niemoller replied, “Do you know anyone who needs your prayers more than your enemies?”

It’s impossible to truly pray for someone and hate them. As we pray, we begin to recognize that our enemies need the same thing we all desperately need: God’s grace and forgiveness for sins. It means that we pray sincerely for their well-being, which may include their conversion to Christ.

Bless those who curse you. Picture someone in your face. They’re out of control. This means when someone is just mean to you, or cusses you out, gives you an obscene gesture, calls you names, or verbally attacks you, you respond with kind words. You respond graciously. I love Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath.” In a culture where anger is the first weapon of choice, responding in a Christlike manner shocks people so much they’re often willing to rationally discuss what’s going on.

Though it can be hard to see, your enemy is a gift from God to you. That’s not excusing evil or condoning mistreatment. It’s then that we echo what Joseph meant when he told his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). Our enemies humble us, keep us on our knees, reveal our weaknesses, and expose our total need for God.

It’s time to pray for Cuba and any and all who hate us and hurt us. That’s what it means to live for Jesus!

Sunday, October 2, 2022

Trunk 'N Treat -- Showing Kindness

"You are a Christian because somebody cared.

Now it’s your turn.” Warren Wiersbe

Do you remember trick or treating as a child? What was one of your favorite costumes? One of my favorite traditions as a child was buying a pumpkin and attempting to cut a face in it. Some have such great talent at that (I’m not one of them). To me, it’s a much better tradition than buying a plastic pre-made one at a store. There’s something fulfilling about a healthy “artistic” opportunity to come up with something creative.

This all reminds me of one of my favorite Christian Halloween stories. It seems that a woman had recently been baptized. One of her coworkers asked her what it was like to be a Christian. She was caught off guard and didn’t know how to answer. But, then she looked up, she saw a jack-o’-lantern on the desk and answered, “It’s like being a pumpkin.” Her co-worker asked her to explain that one.

“Well, God picks you from the patch and brings you in, and washes off all the dirt on the outside that you got from being around all the other pumpkins. Then He cuts off the top and takes all the yucky stuff out from inside the pumpkin. He removes all those seeds and slime of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then God carves you a new smiling face and puts his light inside of you to shine for all to see. It’s our choice to either stay outside and rot on the vine or come inside and be something new and bright.

I like that! One of my greatest memories from childhood was a friendship with a retired couple that lived across the road from our subdivision, the Jamesons. Like most kids at Halloween, we were looking for a few more houses to go Trick or Treating at. Someone had the idea of going across the road to the Jamesons. Now none of us knew the Jamesons but it was Halloween and we loved candy…and candy is a big motivator for a kid.

They had a long driveway with a fence and gate, and their house set back probably 50 yards from that gate. Back then, I didn’t know anyone with a fenced-in yard with a gate. Their drive was surrounded by trees, so it was a bit spooky – but it was one more house that might have candy, so we decided to take the risk. I’m so glad that we did.

Not only did they have treats for our gang of kids they welcomed us into their home…and a friendship with the neighborhood kids was born. They’d make special treats for the kids. Because they owned a huge parcel of property, Mr. Jameson would hook up his tractor to a wagon and load us all up for wagon rides, followed by ice cream floats back at their house. There never seemed to be a bad time to drop in at the Jameson’s. They were so kind and loving to children.

What a difference kindness makes! Kindness with no strings attached and expecting nothing in return. The Bible refers to kindness some 40 times. If anyone lived out kindness, it was the Lord Jesus. As believers, we are called to be Jesus in our world. That means that we’re commanded to be kind. It’s part of loving your neighbor as yourself.

My mentor, Dr. Dave Cummins (for me “Dad” Cummins) often said, “Scott, I have never regretted being too kind” and neither have I. In a cold, harsh, often cruel world Christ-followers should first be known for being kind. Isn’t that what we see from the Cross? “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”? Isn’t that what we see in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan – kindness? He was good because he was kind.

Our Trunk ‘N Treat is an opportunity for us to show kindness, often to complete strangers. We’re inviting our community to come to our place so that we can show Jesus’ kindness to them. We’re inviting them to come to our place so that we can demonstrate generosity just as God has shown to us. We’re inviting them to come to our place so that we can welcome them with a warm smile and a friendly face.

It’s an opportunity to be kind to their children and grandchildren. Most of us don’t pay nearly the amount of attention when someone is kind to us as we do when someone is kind to our children and/or grandchildren. When someone goes the extra mile to be generous to them, to encourage them, to notice and compliment them – it gets our attention.

We want this event to use it to show kindness to small businesses both within and outside of our church. It’s why we’ve invited Jacobs Smokehouse to bring their food truck. We want people to come get free treats from us and potentially buy food from them. Not only have they endured through Covid, but then the State closed the road to their business for repairs. It could have sunk them and resulted in them going out of business.

At Grace, we want to be part of lending them a hand. Even if folk don’t buy food from them, it helps Jacobs Smokehouse with free advertising.

Add to that, we have several small businesses both in and out of our church. We want to be kind to them by letting them decorate a vehicle that advertises their business as they give away candy.

One of the core teachings of our church is that we can take any seasonal celebration and use it as an opportunity to build bridges of kindness and be an opportunity to share the gospel. It might seem that one of the more challenging holidays to apply that teaching is Halloween, yet in reality, it’s one of the easiest ones.

First, it’s one of the few times that the neighbors and community are coming to us. Then, this is the one time of year when people are thinking about the afterlife, of life after death. Granted the secular view of this is distorted, yet it’s an opportunity to build a bridge to a discussion about the reality that we are eternally existing souls.

Most people believe they will live forever, but the question is, if we are going to live forever, what neighborhood will we live in? Halloween acknowledges that there is another life beyond the short one. Though people might make fun of it, they can’t help but wonder what truth there is to life beyond this one. Along with that is the almost universal belief or wish of an afterlife of light reunited with loved ones.

Halloween gives us the opportunity to share why we believe that Jesus is the only Savior who conquered death and who can give us eternal life and peace, and a home in the neighborhood of joy if we trust Him as Savior.

At a time when those outside the Church often think Christ-followers are against nearly everything, we want to share what we are for. We are for them! We are for God! We are for sharing the only hope this world has! We are for sharing that God loves them so much that He gave His very best for them, His only Son! And we want to be Jesus to them!