Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2006)
EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 12,2006 The Easter Messages The Shared Ministries of All Saints Episcopal, Hope Lutheran and Valby Lutheran An Easter Story The assumption of biological evolution is that life came from non-living matter. The assumption of macro evolution is that one form of life changed into another form of life. These assumptions are so contradicted by known laws of biology that even Richard Dawkins admits to the lack of evidence when pressed with specific questions. The final assumption is that biological variation, which is misnamed “microevolution," proves the other five assumptions. (This only makes sense if you have enough faith.) Christians believe in miracles and a miracle worker. Evolutionists believe in singularities and no singularity worker. Both belief systems are faith based religions. The media and Hollywood are now coming out with “new knowledge” that shows Jesus was not what the Bible claims. The assumption here is that documents known to be historical fiction are more accurate than eye witness accounts. Many people have researched Jesus’ resurrection with the idea of disproving it. Two examples of this are Josh McDowell who ended up writing Evidence That Demands a Verdict, and Frank Morrison who ended up writing Who Moved the Stone. Frank M orrison’s first chapter was entitled "The Book That Refused To Be Written.” Christians celebrate Easter with a faith that Jesus will return. It is comforting to know that this faith is based on multiple forms of evidence. Little Alice wanted to know where chickens came from. Dad stammered a bit and then thought that it was time for the birds and bees lecture. Twenty minutes later, he asked, "Does that answer your question?” “No,” said Alice, "Janie got their chicks from their grandma and I wondered where ours came from.” Easter is one of those holidays that has many answers. There are the bunnies, lilies and chocolate egg. More than that, Easter is a celebration of nature coming alive again. Just look at the fields and trees. For Christian neighbors new life is focused on the resurrection of Jesus as the source of their hope for fullest life, here on earth and hereafter in heaven. Christians are an Easter people. In their communities they provide a spark that encourages service to others. To illustrate how important that spark is, think what your com m unity would be like without any churches and Christians. A presence of spiritual people would be lost and the selfish expressions of individuals would have free reign. Law, instead of love, would have to inspire, guide and fulfill people. Easter has important truths to offer. If you are curious, check with your Christian neighbors about -Dick Temple, DVM their ‘Easter secret.’ Here’s a hint: People can hope to have their burdens shared, sins forgiven and life fulfilled. These lone Community Church blessings inspire new life. All can be a part of life’s beauty. The Easter story is your story What beauty of new life will you add to this Easter? -Pastor Dan Swanson “Teacher told us a story about God. Everybody was real mad at God. They put him in a cave. And then he was St. Patrick’s and St. William’s gone. Everybody was real happy.” (The Easter Story as Catholic church told by Jeffrey W.) This story, scribbled on a piece of notepaper by Living Faith Jeffrey’s mother, was given to me when I was a kindergarten There are some people who think that if you have teacher and I have kept it in my Easter file. What is your Easter story? What facts about the enough faith, that life will be plain sailing, that you will be resurrection have you absorbed into your knowledge and free from all difficulties and problems. It is not true that understanding? If your child, grandchild or co-worker asks you will be immune to difficulties. However, faith will enable you to explain Easter, what do you say? a person to cope effectively with the difficulties that come The Easter Story is God’s story, recorded in the into their lives. The fact is that people of faith experience difficulties just like anyone else. By comparison, we could four Gospels of the Bible. God generously includes us in say that the fact that we can swim does not prevent us this story, so it is also our story, your story, so get it right. It begins with life at creation, beautiful, morally from being tossed about by the waves. So also, faith does perfect and reminding us of a newborn baby, a work of art not shield us from the hard knocks of life. So what does faith do for a person? It gives a by God. But things took a turn for the worse, bad choices stability that enables the person to live in this topsy-turvy led to destructive behavior, and death. Ouch. Death entered world without losing their way or giving in to despair. Just our world. Not just physical death and disease, but moral as if the swimmer does not panic, he or she, will find that depravity and the terminal illness of spiritual death. Then the power of the ocean will uphold them. So it is that Jesus Christ, the ultimate Super-Hero, came to our world believers entrust their lives to a power that is greater than to vanquish death and rescue us. This meant he had to themselves. That power is the power of God. It is the power relinquish his own place in heaven with God and personal of which St. Paul said, “I can do all things in Him who power and allow himself to be executed through crucifixion as a sacrifice, after which he was buried, as any dead person strengthens me.” For those who face uncertainty, or are concerned would be. But three days later he arose from Jhe grave, about the future, or feeling depressed, this is a time to look never to die again. (Jesus said, “I am the Living One. 1 was upon and meditate on the risen Savior, Jesus Christ. Our dead and, look, I am alive forever.” Revelation 1:18) He world is in turmoil, so all the more reason to put our faith conquered death so we could live. (“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10) That is in Jesus. Once the apostles became convinced that Jesus had how our story and God’s story became one. By believing risen no power on earth could stop them. They went into a in Jesus Christ, our spirits come alive never to die. The hostile world with courage, conviction and faith. They Fountain of Youth is Christ. “Dead man walking,” is the name of a movie about challenged the Roman Empire, they were undaunted by a man preparing for the electric chair, titled by what people distances, they were fearless in persecution. So, let each of us affirm our faith in the resurrection said when he walked by. There are many “dead people of Jesus and go forth to meet the challenges of our lives. walking" around our community. (“You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” Revelation 3:1) Their -Father (Jerry Condon spirits are dead. Easter is the time to sing the song of life, that God replaces death with life. Jesus said to his friend, Heppner Christian Church Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who Easter Assumptions believes in me will live, even though he (or she) dies. And Easter is the time that Christians celebrate the fact whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John that Jesus was more than a man and that he came back 11:25) Easter is a celebration of life, new life, and spiritual alive from the dead. Non-Christians consider that to be a life. Let us sing, dance, laugh, eat, drink, make merry, and crazy assumption. However, Christians are quite open about celebrate because we were once dead and are now alive. their assumptions, which can be summed up by saying that Alive forever. the Bible is the truth from the Creator of the Universe. The Resurrection Sunday for lone Community Church all important question is: does that assumption agree with begins with Easter Breakfast served by the Deacons at 8:30, reality? followed by an Easter Service at 10 a.m. Free and open to After all, the Bible talks about a talking snake and the public, all are welcome. magic fruit. Is this a fairy tale? It tells about a man who -Rev. Dr. L ori Wiley lived three days inside a fish and then converted the most vicious warlike nation in the world to faith in God. It tells Church of the Nazarene about the Earth’s population being reduced to eight people Christ’s Resurrection a little over 4000 years.ago. Interestingly, secular history Easter. It’s one of the happiest, most joyful days of shows that the previously brutal Assyrians became peaceful for a few generations beginning about the time of Jonah. the year. Most everybody goes to church (somewhere) on Ancient records of Europe and Scandinavia trace the Easter. Easter should be a time when our mind takes us genealogies of nine different lines of pagan kings back back to the basics. We should ask ourselves bold questions several centuries to Noah. W hile these histories are like: How do we know Jesus really rose from the dead? technically correct they are not “politically correct” and so And what difference does it really make anyway? Many of us grew up with Christmas and Easter, do not show up in the textbooks. Naturalists, evolutionists, the “politically correct,” and took a great deal for granted before we made our etc. tend to gloss over their own assumptions as though Christian faith, our own. And these questions are life and they were fact. For instance, cosmic evolution, known as death questions that no one else can answer for us. We know that Jesus rose again because the the “Big Bang,” is said to have come about when there was nothing and then it exploded, or else when all the matter scriptures tell us so. In their inspired and penetrating ways, in the universe was concentrated into one little dot. This the disciples who gave us the inspired Word bore witness so contradicts the laws of physics that evolutionist Paul with their words and with their life’s blood. They saw the Davies called it a singularity. He says a singularity is a Risen Lord. They believed. We know that Jesus rose again because of the temporary suspension of all natural law. (Christians call mighty impact His life has made and is still making during that a miracle.) the nearly 2000 years since His death on the cross. It is The assumption of chemical evolution is that the impossible to imagine what this world would be today more com plex elem ents cam e from hydrogen. The assumption of stellar or planetary evolution is that stars without the influence of the Risen Savior. This world is and planets formed from dust clouds. These assumptions forever changed because Jesus lives. However, the most penetrating reason that we can are contradicted by the known laws of physics. know that Jesus rose again is because, for many of us, we have had a “revelation moment” in which Christ has been i I made personal to us. We heard Him speak to our heart, somewhere, some time, as the written Word came alive. Perhaps in a sermon- perhaps in a word of personal witness; and we cannot get away from the reality that He lives, and that He loves us. We have been persuaded that Jesus really is alive. Which brings up the second, even more impertinent question: What difference does it make anyway? Being really persuaded that Jesus rose again makes a difference w hen the prospect of death becomes a reality for someone we love, or even for ourselves. Paul tells us, in First Corinthians 15:15-19, “ ...for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” But does the resurrection o f Jesus make any difference in our every day life? If Jesus did not rise then we are fooling ourselves. But if in fact the risen Savior by the gift of his Holy Spirit walks with you and talks with you- in the kitchen when you are doing chores- in the middle of the night when you awaken to worry about finances- in the joy of looking into your child’s face while she is sleeping- the reality makes "All The Difference In The Whole World.” The Risen Savior makes us friends with God. This is the very essence of what Christians believe. This is basic stuff. In First Corinthians 15:15:1-8, Paul wrote, “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also...” -P astor Duane Jones Holy Week schedule for St. Patrick’s and St. William’s parishes Following are the Holy Week schedules for St. Patrick’s, Heppner, and St. W illiam ’s, lone. Catholic churches. For St. Patrick’s: Holy Thursday, April 13, 7 p.m.. Solemn commemoration o f the L ord’s Supper; Good Friday, April 14, 12:05 p.m.. Stations of the Cross and 7 p.m., Solemn commemoration of the death of Jesus; Holy Saturday, April 15,7 p.m., Easter Vigil; and Easter Sunday, April 16, 11 a.m.. Resurrection Mass. For St. William’s: Good Friday, April 14, 5 p.m.. Stations of the Cross; and Easter Sunday, April 16, 8:45 a.m.. Resurrection Mass. Everyone is welcome to attend any of the services being held. Educational seminar on retirement to be held An educational seminar on managing your income for a secure retirement will be held at St. Patrick’s Senior Center in Heppner on Wednesday, April 19 at 7 p.m. Jerry Kerr, a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch, will be speaking on the following topics: Analyzing your current incom e strateg ies; D eveloping a plan for maximizing income; and Identifying appropriate income producing investments. Please RSVPtoTina Sullivan or Jerry Kerr at (541) 312-6828 or (866) 220-8041. Community members gather for Palm Sunday parade ' ' J H ------------------- p u - > T p p V t i * i * I *jf* V . ■ * " f 1 1 ' r' : ' \ % f Community memhers gather for Palm Sunday parade. More than 80 people from lone Community Church and St. Williams Roman Catholic Church joined together for a Palm Sunday Parade behind Ben, the donkey, loaned for the occasion by Tonya Heideman, and led by Erin, Deacon, and Jake Heideman, up the Main Street of lone, between the two churches. Palms, flags and music were used to reenact Jesus' ride to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, four days before his trial and crucifixion. A short ceremony was held on the lawn of lone Community Church, and more than 30 children lined up to “pat the donkey." Ben was remarkably patient, only braying once. Palm Sunday was a peasant coronation where Jesus’ disciples and crowds of tourists in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival cheered for Jesus as their King. Arena tokens to be sold at Green Feed The MCGG Green Feed Store has tokens for the Wilkinson Arena. The price is $10 per token/per hour. The Fair board appreciates MCGG for providing this extra service to the customers. The Morrow County Fair and Morrow County is not responsible for damage or injury incurred while riding in the Wilkinson Arena. If you have any questions, call Renee Yocom at 6 7 6 -9 4 7 4 .
