I preach...

I preach as though Christ was crucified yesterday, rose from the dead today and was coming back tomorrow. —Martin Luther

Do all the good you can...

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.” 
~John Wesley~

Church as the Bride of Christ

There are many caricatures of Church in the world today.  I live in Europe where one might call it, Church as Museum, or Church as Tourist Attraction.  Others might call it Church as Old Folks Home.  Many in the States see it as Church as Political Party or church as Special Interest Group.  I recently visited a church in the States that upon leaving I thought of it as Church as Variety Show.  I seen many where I can only call it, Church as Rock Concert.  Sadly where it has lost the life it was meant to have, it is called Church as Institution.  Church as Building is perhaps the commonest and most empty notion, that it can have. 

Perhaps more positive names are Church as Family, or Church as Support Group.  In ages, past it was seen as Church as a Place of Higher Learning.  But now sadly it is seen as Church as the Temple of the Simplistic. 

I think the church gets such names when it stops being all that it should be and all that it was meant to be, namely, Church as the Bride of Christ.  When we forget that we are not our own and make church into something of our own making, then it can become, Church as Country Club, or Church as Comedy Show, or Church  as Haven for Saints. 

But it is  more than a haven for saints, it is a hospital for sinners.  But even that is short of what Jesus builds his church to be.

But, church as the Bride of Christ, yes, that’s a title to be strived for.

Easter in the King James Version (KJV)

Did you know that the word "Easter" appears in the KJV.  Surprisingly yes.  A friend, who questions the validity of the Churches celebration of Easter, called this a "sick theological mistranslation."  While "sick" is probably not the best word to describe it, mistranslated in this case is probably true.

However, it is interesting because given the erudition of the translators of the KJV, which is still praised for its style and accuracy, their choice of the word "Easter" reflects that the word communicated something to the readers of the time.

Here's an entry from the The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia the the Bible, Zondervan, Grand Rapids: 1980 by J.C. Connell who, questions that usage, but also says the "Easter" (festival celebrating the Lord's resurrection) might have been held in Apostolic times:

Easter (KJV) rendering of "to pascha" in Acts 24:4; correctly tr. "the Passover" in the other Eng. VSS. KJV trs. all the other twenty-eight instances of "to pascha" as "the Passover." "See Passover."

The derivation of the name "Easter" is uncertain, but according to Bede (De Ratione Temporum, XV) it is derived from "Eastre", a Teutonic spring goddess, to whom sacrifices were offered in April. The pagan festival prob. gave way to the Christian celebration of Christ's resurrection.

It is held by some that the annual celebration of the Lord's resurrection was observed in apostolic times. They see an intimation of Easter in 1 Corinthians 5:7, 8 which is very doubtful. The earlier written evidence for an Easter Festival appears in "the paschal controversy" over the correct date for Easter, which began with the correspondence in A.D. 154 between Polycarp , bishop of Smyna, and Anticetus, bishop of Rome (Euseb. Hist. V 23-25). By this date, therefore this festival must have been generally observed throughout the Christian Church.

He also questions the KJV translation when he says "...correctly tr.[anslated] "the Passover in the other Eng.[lish] VSS [versions]. Probably, because at that time Acts, the church at large at not yet started celebrating the Lord's resurrection. But he also calls into the question the derivation of the word "Easter" from the pagan goddess...something which other scholars today are doing.

Connell also says that, with good reason, that 1 Corinthians 5:6,7 probably does not refer to the celebration of the Lord's resurrection.

However, he does not question that "Easter" or the Lord's resurrection, was celebrated by the church at large by A.D. 154.  I suspect that this is because Paul instructed Timothy to "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead..." (2 Tim. 2:8) was being taken literally by the church and that they did this "remembrance" or celebration early on, certainly by A.D. 154.

Easter Info

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  •  Here is an article that gives how many Christians celebrate Easter
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter

    April 4 at 7:54pm · 
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    Paul Luedtke And here's a blog showing how Pastor John Piper celebrates Easter.
    
    http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/holy-week-at-the-pipers

    April 4 at 7:54pm · 
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    Paul Luedtke And how about the way Linda Schab
    
    http://on-the-write-track.blogspot.com/2010/04/easter-blessings.html

    April 4 at 8:03pm · 
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    Paul Luedtke and then how the Christian Research Institute describes it.
    http://www.cresourcei.org/cyeaster.html

    April 4 at 8:11pm · 
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    Paul Luedtke http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&biw=1154&bih=754&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=christian+easter+pictures&aq=1&aqi=g10&aql&oq=christian+easter

    April 4 at 8:13pm · 
  • 

    Paul Luedtke Heh, Easter is like God, you will find him if you seek him.

Do Christians Need to Slaughter Lambs or Celebrate Passover?

At Eastertide, Christians  celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  During the week leading up to it, they celebrate Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered Jerusalem in the back of a foal.  They celebrate "Holy Thursday" when Jesus celebrated Passover and had is "last supper" with his disciples and asked them to remember his death through eating bread and drinking wine.   On "Good Friday," they remember the Crucifixion of Jesus.  Finally on Easter Sunday, they celebrate Jesus resurrection.   All are deeply meaningful and important to their faith in Jesus.  

But must Christians celebrate Passover.  Must they slaughter Lambs to keep the festival?

Christians no longer need to kill lambs to celebrate Passover. Equally, Christians no longer need to celebrate Passover at all. In the New Covenant, where Jesus fulfills the Passover, Christ is ourPassover. But Jesus asked us to remember his death by breaking bread and drinking the cup. That was his institution of the practice of "The Lord's Supper." However, if Christians wish to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus by recalling how the Passover prefigured Christ's sacrifice of sin as our Passover lamb by recalling the original Passover, that is certainly within "Christian Liberty." We are free do to what ever is not contrary to God's word or God's will. But Jesus' church is not legally bound to do so.

Were Christians commanded by God in the scriptures to celebrate Jesus' Death or His Resurrection? Which one?

Good question. Actually, neither. The Bible never gives a command to celebrate Jesus' death or resurrection.  However, the Jesus commands his disciples to celebrate the Passover supper using bread and wine in remembrance of his death.(Luke 22:19) This we do at Easter.   Paul says the Lord's supper commemorates his death until his return (1 Cor 11:26).  This we do "as often as..."    

As for his resurrection, Paul said to Timothy "Remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead...  (2 Tim 2:8).   This is as close as we get to a command.  But the early Christians began to worship on "the Lord's Day" or the day of his resurrection which is effectively our Sunday.  Here we find an application of the freedom of the Christian.  Christians now worship on Sunday and not the the Sabbath.  Likewise. Christians are not required to celebrate Easter or Christmas for that matter.  But Christians began celebrating both, possibly because of the prompting of the Holy Spirit and because of Paul's command to Timothy. 

If we are to "test the spirits" we ask , is the celebration of the birth of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus anti-biblical.  Well, both stories are contained in the Scriptures.  And there is no command against it.   So Christians are free to remember Jesus in these Biblically described ways.

If the Gospel is Good News, then we have reason to celebrate.  We can celebrate every day!  But the birth of Jesus and the Death and Resurrection of Jesus are so important in this Good News, what better reason do have than to celebrate them!

Jesus or Squirrel

One Sunday a pastor was using squirrels for an object lesson for the children. He started, "I'm going to describe something, and I want you to raise your hand when you know what it is." The children nodded eagerly.

"This thing lives in trees (pause) and eats nuts (pause)..." No hands went up. "And it is gray (pause) and has a long bushy tail (pause)..." The children were looking at each other nervously, but still no hands raised. "It jumps from branch to branch (pause) and chatters and flips its tail when it's excited (pause)..."

Finally one little boy tentatively raised his hand. The pastor quickly called on him. "Well," said the boy, "I know the answer must be 'Jesus' ... but it sure sounds like a squirrel!"

Forgiving God

Forgiving God

Forgiveness is something that Jesus told us is of supreme value.  God forgives us so we are to forgive others.  Jesus even says that if we don't forgive others, God doesn't forgive us.  We forgive when we have been wronged.  We forgive when we have been hurt by someone.  Is there ever a time when we need to forgive God?

At first thought the very idea of forgiving God is something that goes against our spiritual sensibilities.  God doesn't wrong us, so why should we forgive him.  Who are we to think that we can forgive God? 

Forgiving God needs to happen when we feel hurt by God.  Even though the Lord never wrongs us, he does allow painful experiences to happen in our lives.  He, in effect, hurts us.  This hurt can cause resentment in our feelings toward God which of course blocks our friendship relationship with him.  "Forgiving God" means coming to grips with the fact that God "leads us into temptation" (but does not tempt us, as God does not tempt man to sin) so that we might be strengthened in our faith.  It has to do more with resolving our feelings of resentment through overlooking God's actions, than actually "forgiving" God.  We accept God for doing what we do not accept in other people because he is God.  I do not accept when others bring pain into my life.  I hold them guilty.  But God is able to use these painful episodes, to cause growth in me. 

There are times when my father allowed me to go through things that caused me to learn lessons.  At the time I resented my father for allowing these things to happen tome.  But in hindsight, I see that he needed to let me experience the consequences of my actions so I would learn.  It is this realization that my father did something valuable for me that allows me to excuse him or overlook his actions toward me. 

It is the same with my heavenly father.  When I realize that all of the pain I am suffering here on earth will be over when I experience the fullness of salvation when I am glorified in heaven, helps me to overlook, "to forgive", God for what he must lead me through to help me to grow. 

All relationships must be kept free of bitterness and resentment through forgiving our those who hurt us.  Our relationship with God is similar in that we too must deal with and resolve the bitterness, anger, resentment and other hard feelings that we have toward God so that our relationship through faith, will grow richer and more intimate.  We do "forgive" God for allowing painful experiences in our lives.  But we do not forgive him for having wronged us for the Lord never wrongs us.  But just as Job resolved his bitter and angry feelings toward God through gazing anew at his wonders, so we can "forgive" God when we realize our own ignorance in comparison with God's surpassing knowledge.  Then we can once again enjoy and rejoice in our God who loves us and cares for us enough to disciple us through pain. 

Paul Luedtke

Nyon, Switzerland