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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 2020)
Spiritual Life 5A Thursday, April 9, 2020 HIGHLIGHTS Holy Week: Easter remains Easter even with social distancing UNION COUNTY — Easter Sunday and the preceding Holy Week are traditionally a time of gatherings for believers to recog- nize and celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The ongoing threat of the coro- navirus is preventing in-person worship this Easter, but thanks to technology and the dedication of church members and leaders locally and across the world, com- munal worship is possible — and thriving. In Union County, there are several opportunities to virtually gather with other believers to cel- ebrate Christ’s resurrection. Pas- tors from the area will have wor- ship at 10 a.m. Easter Sunday on Super Talk Radio KLBM 1450AM and KBKR 1490AM. Churches also will stream services. La Grande •Calvary Chapel will wor- ship online Easter Sunday at 10:30 a.m. See the church’s Face- book page and website, www. cclagrande.com. •Christ Church will meet via Zoom at 10 a.m. on Easter Sunday. To join, go to the Christ Submissions Churches and faith-based groups are encouraged to submit Highlights for the Spiritual Life page by 4 p.m. Wednesday for publication Friday. Submit by email to news@lagrandeobserver.com (with Highlights in the subject line), by fax to 541-963-7804, or by hand to the offi ce. Church LG Facebook page. •Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- ter-day Saints invites all to fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10, to control the pandemic, pro- tect caregivers, strengthen the economy and normalize life. At home study continues with the Easter lesson for the week of based on Mosiah 1-3. •Church of the Nazarene offers a live resurrection celebration on Easter Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Access the livestream on the church’s Facebook page or You- Tube channel. More details are available on the “watch live” page at www.lagrandenazarene.com/ live. •Faith Center’s Easter sermon will be posted on www.lg4square. com/sermons and on YouTube. •Faith Lutheran’s Church has posted Holy Week readings and sermons at www.lgfaithlcms.org. •First Christian Church is posting Holy Week prayers and services on the Friends of First Christian Church-DOC Facebook page. •First Baptist Church will gather virtually at 10 a.m. Easter Sunday for a live streamed service on www.lagrandefbc.org. •First Presbyterian Church is posting music, scripture readings and services on their Facebook page during Holy Week. •Foundry Church will have a podcast posted on its Facebook page on Good Friday and another one on Easter morning. •Grace Lutheran Church will celebrate Holy Week online at gracelutheran-lg.org. •Our Lady of the Valley Cath- olic Church’s Facebook page includes links to videos, guides and podcasts relating to Holy Week as well as messages from Cove the Pope. •St. Peter’s Episcopal Church is posting a video of a song every day during Holy Week on its Facebook page as well as an ecumenical online Good Friday service. Links to an online Easter worship will be available Saturday. •United Methodist Church’s website, www.lagrandeumc.org, has links to view YouTube videos of its services. The Easter Sunday service will be followed by a Zoom meeting at 10:30 a.m. •Zion Lutheran Church’s Pastor Roberta Smythe will post a song every day of Holy Week on the church’s Facebook page. An ecumenical Good Friday Service video will be avail- able Friday and Easter Sunday Service will be available on Saturday. Also, the National Cathedral will have live streaming services for Maundy Thursday (4 p.m.), Good Friday (9 a.m.) and Easter Sunday (8:15 a.m.). These ser- vices will be available later as recordings. The Oregon Synod staff will have an online service via Zoom at 10 a.m. on Easter Sunday. •Calvary Baptist Church will live stream its Easter Sunday ser- vice at 11 a.m. on Facebook. Elgin •Agape Christian Fellow- ship will be live on Facebook at 11 a.m. on Easter Sunday. •Christian Life Center will stream its Easter service on Face- book at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. •Harvesters Nazarene Church’s Facebook page has article links, sermons and ideas for celebrating Holy Week. Imbler •Imbler Christian Church will have a 10 a.m. Easter service on Zoom. For an invitation to join, email hargrob@eou.edu. Summerville •Summerville Baptist is posting videos of its Holy Week services on the church’s Facebook page and other content at www. summervillebaptistchurch.com. Union •Union Baptist Church is offering a drive-in Easter service at 10:30 a.m. The service also will be streamed on Facebook Live. Looking to the eternal hope found in the risen Lord or a little more than a year heard about Jesus being raised now, I’ve been involved from those who went to the tomb with the local chapter of but were part of a group that Youth for Christ. We have had “would not believe them” (Luke to change how we meet with and 24:11). As they were approaching interact with the kids — doing so Emmaus, the resurrected Christ on Zoom, a approached digital plat- them on the form — in road, but they SAVED BY recent weeks didn’t realize GRACE due to the it was him. RONALD BOND coronavirus. A discussion But in that, took place, a handful of us leaders also have and they told him about Jesus been getting together almost being delivered up and cruci- nightly on Zoom for a devotional fi ed. They went on to say, “But and time of prayer. This has been we were hoping that it was he one of the blessings that has come who was going to redeem Israel” out of the time of confi nement for (Luke 24:21). They noted that it me, as it adds yet another oppor- was the third day after the cru- tunity to be with others in the cifi xion — the day Jesus himself body of Christ, be in the word and had prophesied that he would gain refreshment. rise. One of the devotions shared As the discussion plays out, last week is one I want to share Christ goes on to show them here. It’s appropriate not only for everything in the Old Testament this time as we approach Easter, that pointed to him, and even- the remembrance of Jesus’ death, tually their eyes are opened to burial and resurrection, but also the fact that not only was Jesus in this time of needing hope with alive, but they had indeed met the coronavirus invading our with the risen Lord. lives. There are a ton of elements Luke 24 tells the story of two in this section one could dive disciples (one named Cleopas into. But what really jumped out — the other’s name isn’t given to me when we discussed this a in this account) walking to week ago was the lost hope — Emmaus, a town outside Jeru- and later, the restored hope — of salem, on the day Christ rose these two disciples. They were from the grave. They just had hoping, as it says in verse 21, F that Jesus was coming to redeem Israel. And I think it’s safe to say they thought, since he had been crucifi ed and three days had passed, that hope was gone. True, Israel will be one day redeemed, but not until Christ’s second coming, which is rap- idly approaching. These two dis- ciples — and, no doubt, count- less thousands of others at the time and even more today — missed the point of Christ’s fi rst coming, which was to save the world from sin by forgiving all who believe in his death, burial and resurrection. They had their hope set in the wrong place. Hence the reason the Bible notes they were “looking sad” (Luke 24:17). This, however, is not an indictment on these two individ- uals, for everyone alive could say they at one point or another have put their hope in a place they shouldn’t have. Maybe it was in the stock market. Maybe in a friend who betrayed you. Maybe in a job. Maybe in a sports team. Maybe in a spouse. Maybe in a false god. This list could be endless, but that’s not the point. The point is this: When we put our hope in the wrong places, and what we were hoping for doesn’t pan out, we lose hope. These two disci- ples had lost hope in what they were looking for. They thought their hope was dead, and it sad- dened them. Many of us may be feeling a sense of hopelessness right now. There have been some promising reports this week that we could be reaching the peak of the coro- navirus and that soon we may have succeeded in “fl attening the curve.” But what if that proves wrong, and this goes on for another month or two and the death toll rises? That could cause many to lose hope. Many of us have, or know someone who has, lost a job, lost hours, been furloughed, or may face one of these fates in the coming weeks. If those jobs or hours don’t return, or more of us fall into the growing number of unemployed, that could cause many to lose hope. These two disciples weren’t the only ones who lost hope. Mark 16:14 says that when Jesus appeared to the apostles after his resurrection, he “reproached them for their unbelief.” They too appeared to have been distraught by the cruci- fi xion and thought all hope was gone. But Jesus repeatedly told the disciples that he had to suffer and die and that he would be raised on the third day (Matthew 16:21 and 20:18 are just two of the verses). And it is this very event — the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to forgive the sins of all who believe in him — that gives us the hope we cel- ebrate this Easter Sunday. God, being perfect, holy and just, has to judge sin, and the annual slaughter of lambs at Passover to temporarily withhold that judg- ment pointed to the time when Jesus took our judgment for sin once and for all as “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Yes, we hope this corona- virus passes quickly. We hope those who are ill recover quickly. We hope jobs return. But should these not happen, we have a greater hope in him who later in the Bible said, “I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore” (Revelation 1:18). Those two disciples by the way, once they realized who Jesus was, and that he, indeed, was alive (Luke 24:31) imme- diately returned to Jerusalem to the rest of the disciples with a simple yet profound message that gave them — and still today gives us — eternal hope: “The Lord really has risen” (Luke 24:34). Ronald Bond is a sinner saved by grace and the sports editor of The Observer. Northeast Oregon Directory of Churches Services This Week First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 901 Penn Avenue 963-2623 lgdisciples@gmail.com 109 18th Street • 963-3402 Sunday School 9:15 a.m. Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m. C ove u nIted m ethodIst C hurCh 1708 Jasper St., Cove, OR n orth P owder u nIted m ethodIst C hurCh 390 E. St., North Powder, OR JOIN US... Catch the Spirit! Worship: 9:00 a.m. Cove Worship: 10:00 a.m. N. Powder La Grande Seventh-day Adventist Church A Place where hope is found in Jesus Join us in Fellowship & Worship Every Saturday 9:30 a.m. - Bible Study/Fellowship 10:45 a.m. - Worship Service 2702 Adams Avenue, La Grande • 963-4018 Pastor: Mike Armayor www.lagrandeor.adventistchurch.org Learning for Today and Eternity Little Friends Christian Preschool/Childcare 963-6390 La Grande Adventist Christian School Christian Education K-8th Grade 963-6203 Worship 10:00 a.m. SUMMERVILLE BAPTIST CHURCH Sunday Services: Sunday School & Adult Bible Classes 9:45AM Children's Church & Worship Service 11:00AM Family Worship Service 6:00PM Wednesday: Prayer Mtg, Children's Bible Club, Youth Group 7:00PM A church for your whole family ~Join us at The Lord’s Table~ St. Katherine’s Catholic Church Fr. Thomas Puduppulliparamban 301 E Garfield Enterprise Mass Schedule Sundays: St Pius X, Wallowa – 8:00 am St Katherine of Siena, Enterprise – 10:30 am Saturdays St Katherine of Siena, Enterprise – 5:30 pm Weekdays St Katherine of Siena, Enterprise – 8:00 am (Monday – Thursday and First Friday) All are welcome FIRST LANDMARK MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH 1812 1st St. La Grande Pastor Dave Tierce • 541-605-0215 We use the King James Version Bible Sunday School - 10:00 am Worship 11:00 am Sunday Evening Bible Study - 3:00 pm (Effective June 10) Wednesday Evening - 6:30 pm “Where you can find TRUTH according to the scriptures” www.flmbclagrande.com Visit us at summervillebaptistchurch.org I mbler C hrIstIan C hurCh 440 R uckman , I mbleR 534-2201 www.imblerchristianchurch.org Sunday Services 9:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. Sunday School Worship Service LA GRANDE UNITED GRACE COMMUNITY METHODIST CHURCH LUTHERAN CHURCH “OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN DOORS” The Place 1612 4th Street – 963-2498 62848 Philynda Loop in Island City Pastor Taylor Gould lgumc@eoni.com www.lagrandeumc.org Office Hours: Mon-Thur 9am-Noon Worship 10:00 am Fellowship Coffee Hour 11:00 am - Nursery provided - Zion Lutheran Church (an ELCA church) 902 Fourth Street, La Grande, OR (541) 963-5998 “We are called to Serve” Sunday School for all ages - 9:00 am Sunday Worship 10:00 am Pastor Carl Seelhoff Phone: 541-786-0447 grace.lutherancove@gmail.com 1531 S. Main Street, Union 541-562-5531 1531 S. Main Street, Union www.UnionBaptistOregon.org 541-562-5531 Sunday School 9:45 am www.UnionBaptistOregon.org 9:00 am - Worship Morning Worship 11:00 am 10:00 am - Fellowship & Refreshments Sunday School 9:45 am Worship Service AWANA 11:00 am Thursday 6:30 pm 10:30 am - Classes Thursday AWANA 6:30 pm Birthing, Building and Being Pastor: Roberta Smythe Birthing, Building and Being the the Body Body of Christ of Christ www.zionlagrande.org CALVARY CHAPEL 1433 Jefferson Ave. 963-5884 Contemporary Worship Expositional Teaching Sunday Service - 10:30 a.m. Studying The Book of Galatians Wednesday Service - 7:00 p.m. Studying The Book of Joshua Wednesday Night Youth - 6:00 p.m. Tune in to Calvary Radio 88.1 CSN Amazing Grace Fellowship 1316 T St., La Grande, OR 541-568-4567 Sunday 10:30 a.m. 2 Cor 12:9 My Grace is sufficient for you. IS 40:31 First Baptist Church SIXTH & SPRING, LA GRANDE 541-963-3911 All services have been temporarily can- celled. Live-streaming Sunday morn- ings at 10:00 am. People can watch at: lagrandefbc.org