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“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Luke 20:38
Many years ago I was teaching a Confirmation class where I had my ninth graders write a “faith statement”, an essay where they would describe their core beliefs. When completed, they would read it in front of the congregation on Confirmation Sunday. This was to be a powerful moment for everyone as they publicly confess their faith – something you want to get right. Parents were also encouraged to work together with them, a wonderful family faith building experience!
I was surprised then, when one of the parents, Bonnie, called me concerned about the content we were teaching in class. In her son Matt’s essay, she found one word very troubling. Matt had clearly written about his faith in Jesus, which was great. But in echoing words from the Apostles’ Creed, he said he believed in things like Virgin Mary, the communion of saints, forgiveness of sins, and the reincarnation. Reincarnation? What? Were we teaching Buddhism in our class? You can see why his mother was very upset!
I quickly replied, No! He must have confused the words. Both of these religious words look and sound a little bit alike, easy for a 14-year-old boy to mix up. Reincarnation is an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that is determined by your actions – common belief in eastern religions. Resurrection is the act of being brought back to life after death, which we confess in our Christian creeds. Matt had mixed up the words.
This conversation reminds me how our religious sounding words can be confusing to people not accustomed to them. In our pluralistic culture and with so many sources of information, people are bombarded with theologies and words that are often not Christian at all. It’s easy to be misled or mistaken.
For example, have you ever used the phrase: “that’s bad karma”? Have you heard someone wonder what they were in a previous life, having been “reincarnated”? Or have you heard people say that after you die, you become an angel? None of these concepts are Christian, yet they are part of culture all around us. Even Christians can be easily confused or misinformed.
To be blunt – as Christians, we do NOT believe in reincarnation, we DO believe in the resurrection of the dead. These words are very different! I believe that our resurrection is the best, and it is important for us to know the difference.
This Sunday our gospel story has a group of Sadducees—the ultra-liberals of Jesus’ day—approach Jesus with a question about resurrection and marriage, even though they didn’t believe in the resurrection. Jesus corrects them – and helps explain a little bit about our life in heaven will be like, and why it is important how we live our lives now. Join us this Sunday to find out more!
In Christ;
Pastor Dan
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Remember to join us this Sunday for worship and stay for a delicious lunch.
- First Evangelical Church Council will meet following worship.
- Join us for a special Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner following worship on November 23rd. Sign-up sheets are in the back of the church to let us know if you are coming (RSVP with the number of people). Please sign-up if you can bring a dish to pass (not required to attend).
- We are looking for actors, speakers of all ages, to be in our Christmas Program during worship on Sunday, December 21st. A sign-up by November 16th at the back of the church. Rehearsals on two prior Sundays after worship.
- The Church Choir will sing on December 14th, rehearsing on November 23rd & 30th.
- Christmas is coming! Join us for our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 7:00 pm on December 24th for an evening with a Christmas message, beautiful music, decorations and candles. Bring family and friends to celebrate.
- Would you like a name tag for church? We will be ordering some new ones. Open to everyone. Please put your name on the sign-up sheet by the offering plates or call or email the office.
