What a quick transaction we are making this weekend, folks. No, I'm not talking about the time change, I'm talking about moving from goblins and ghouls to saints in a twenty-four hour period. All Hallow's Eve, Halloween in our current vernacular, is a night when children conjure up scary and weird on the date when medieval Europe was trying to rid itself of evil spirits and superstitious ideas which living in an age of darkness can bring. After all, the Fallen Angel who was given free reign to wreak his evil on humanity after being banished from heaven, has always impacted humanity with fear and dread. And some say that because of that Halloween should be banished.
Yet I see Halloween in a much different light and I think it's because I was raised to see it as a time to relish our ability to overcome those fears. Letting children have some fun and expand their imagination is good provided that they do so with parental oversight and supervision, always explaining the why and how such celebrations have come about. And if it is immediately followed by the awareness of what All Saint's Day means in worship and prayer, it brings the fear of darkness to a close with the goodness and light that the saints represent. And by saints, my friends, I am talking about all of those devoted believers in Jesus Christ who are no longer with us, recent as well as all the way back to the early Christian church. In my denomination we use this day to remember and bless the souls of all of our loved ones, both family and good friends who lived as the Lord asked us to do.
On this weekend's edition of Sunday Morning Coming Down we will celebrate All Saint's Day while also acknowledging that Halloween, if used to explain why evil must be conquered, can also be a good learning experience for children while having some fun. It's the materialization and the lack of oversight by adults who should know better which allows the wrong message to be received and that, of course, is always a potential problem for we mortal humans.
I hope you'll take time to listen to a message, a short scriptural verse, some good Christian music and a prayer. Hopefully, it will all be offered with the blessing of His Spirit which is given to keep us on track to our heavenly home.
Here's the link which will be available late Saturday night. As always, it will be available 24/7 once the live program is completed:
tobtr.com/s/8038969
All Saints Day. Remember all of those Christian saints that have impacted your life. If they helped place you on the road to redemption, they indeed fulfilled their job. God bless you all.
Yet I see Halloween in a much different light and I think it's because I was raised to see it as a time to relish our ability to overcome those fears. Letting children have some fun and expand their imagination is good provided that they do so with parental oversight and supervision, always explaining the why and how such celebrations have come about. And if it is immediately followed by the awareness of what All Saint's Day means in worship and prayer, it brings the fear of darkness to a close with the goodness and light that the saints represent. And by saints, my friends, I am talking about all of those devoted believers in Jesus Christ who are no longer with us, recent as well as all the way back to the early Christian church. In my denomination we use this day to remember and bless the souls of all of our loved ones, both family and good friends who lived as the Lord asked us to do.
On this weekend's edition of Sunday Morning Coming Down we will celebrate All Saint's Day while also acknowledging that Halloween, if used to explain why evil must be conquered, can also be a good learning experience for children while having some fun. It's the materialization and the lack of oversight by adults who should know better which allows the wrong message to be received and that, of course, is always a potential problem for we mortal humans.
I hope you'll take time to listen to a message, a short scriptural verse, some good Christian music and a prayer. Hopefully, it will all be offered with the blessing of His Spirit which is given to keep us on track to our heavenly home.
Here's the link which will be available late Saturday night. As always, it will be available 24/7 once the live program is completed:
tobtr.com/s/8038969
All Saints Day. Remember all of those Christian saints that have impacted your life. If they helped place you on the road to redemption, they indeed fulfilled their job. God bless you all.
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