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