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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2023)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 5, 2023 -- SEVEN Messages of Easter hope from local pastors Most to be Pitied “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19). Paul is arguing that if the resur- rection of Jesus Christ is a farse, Christians should be pitied. Why? Because they would be forfeiting the present pleasures of this life in place of the enduring persecution and sufferings that come with being a follower of Jesus. They would be wasting their lives. Instead of eating, drinking and being merry, they would be sacrificing their lives for a religion that could not deliver on any of its promises. They would be believing in the greatest and cruelest of all deceptions. Like Paul says a couple verses earlier, “… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (v. 17). Notice however, the “if” which began each part of the verses quoted. Chris- tians would be most to be pitied “if” it were true Christ did not rise from the grave. But the fact is, He did! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is perhaps the most verifiable fact in all of antiquity. It is true and it has eternal ramifications for those who embrace it. Because of this, Paul de- voted his entire existence to preach the gospel, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures …” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). Therefore, because the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a fact, those who are most to be pitied are not Christians. Those who are to be pitied are those who choose to reject the person and work of Christ. Those who are most to be pitied are those who are currently dead in their sins. Those who choose the fleeting pleasures of this life in place of the eternal bless- ings of the next are most to be pitied. God became man in the person of Jesus Christ. He lived the perfect life you are incapable of living. He died the death you deserve to die. But He did not stay dead. He rose from the grave to make a way for sinners to be saved from the wrath of God. Turn from sin and trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins. If you do not, you will be, “of all men most to be pitied.” Pastor Eric Schon- bachler Lexington Reformed Baptist Church www.lexrefbc.org The Brevity of Life Everywhere you look, people are dying. There are thousands upon thousands of deaths that have occurred within the last few weeks in faraway places like Syria, Turkey and Ukraine. Some of these were due to natural disaster. Some were the result of human strife and war. Death is pervasive. We are so saturated in its black, dark presence that we de- velop phrases like “Dying is part of living” in an attempt to normalize death. Even in our small community here within the walls of the beautiful Willow Creek Valley we call home, death cannot be escaped. It seems as if the uptick of loss has been more rapid in recent days with the passing of so many loved ones this past year. Perhaps it has always been this way, or maybe it is just that I’m paying more attention. Regardless, death is inescapable. There is an answer to this really depressing weight you are feeling right now. A way of escape from death’s clutches does in- deed exist. That way is what we are celebrating on Easter Sunday. On that day, we will commemorate an event that happened about two thousand years ago in a remote corner of the Ro- man Empire in a city called Jerusalem. In that city so long ago, a man named Jesus of Nazareth was cru- cified. This man Jesus had committed no crime. Even more unjust is the fact that not only was he not guilty of a crime, he had never done anything wrong in his entire life, ever. Of course, Jesus is not like other people. Jesus is the Son of God. He is one-hundred percent God and one-hundred percent human. He has always been and will always be. He is God in the flesh. There has never been and there will never be another one like Jesus. Because Jesus was so special, he had the ability to die a less than average death. When he died, he died for your sin, my sin, and all the sins of all the people of the world who are willing to believe this by faith. And here is the best part—Jesus did not die and stay dead. He died and came back to life three days later. No one has ever died and then come back from the dead after days. If true (which I believe it is true, and there is actually quite a bit of historical evidence to support this), this changes everything. Jesus’ resurrec- tion from the dead proves that he was not just making up stories about dying for sin and being God in the flesh. His rising from the dead means that Jesus really is God. Jesus really does have power over death. Jesus really can do some- thing about our problem, the brevity of life. So what are you going to do now that you know this about Jesus? You could dismiss it as just a bunch of fairy tales. You could ignore it. You could just say that you don’t really care. Or, you could believe it and let Jesus change your life. Life is short, there are no guarantees another day will dawn for any of us. The choice is yours. Would you let Jesus transform your brief life into an ex- traordinary life, a life that will move from brevity to eternity, a life set free to bloom from that closed bud of death and darkness to the open flower of life eternal? All are welcome to join us for our Easter worship service at 10 a.m. this Sun- day at 560 Minor Street, Heppner. Tripp Finch Willow Creek Baptist Church Light of the World There is a story written by Paul Aiello, Jr. that tells how, “The captain of a ship investigated the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message, ‘Alter your course 10 degrees south.’ Promptly a return mes- sage was received: ‘Alter your course 10 degrees north.’ The captain was an- gered; his command had been ignored. So, he sent a second message: ‘Alter your course 10 degrees south—I am the captain!’ Soon another message was received: ‘Alter your course 10 degrees north—I am seaman third class Jones.’ Immediately the cap- tain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: ‘Alter your course 10 degrees south—I am a battleship.’ Then the reply came, ‘Alter your course 10 de- grees north—I am a light- house.’” Though this is just a short, funny story, it per- fectly points us to the reality of the need for a “light- house” in this life. Just like in the story, the lighthouse was desperately trying to protect the captain’s ship from crashing into the rocks ahead. Likewise, in our very lives, Jesus Christ is the Light shining out, call- ing all of us to Himself so that we can avoid the rocks of sin and death. I would like to just take a little time to focus on the reality of Christ as the Light of the world, and how walking in the light of Christ brings salvation and unity. In 1 John 1:5-7, God’s word says, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellow- ship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” In these three verses we find a powerful truth regarding our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus our Lord is the Light of the world who cleanses us from sin. So, because Jesus is the Light of the world, and because it is through Him alone that we are saved and cleansed from sin, it is only fitting that we focus in on why walking in the light of Christ brings not only sal- vation, but unity in our lives as well. However, before we can come to understand this truth in its fullness, we have to come to understand just how much we, man- kind, are in darkness. If we go back to the beginning when mankind first fell, all the way back in the Garden of Eden, ev- erything was thrown into chaos because of sin. We were instantly separated from our God with such a great expanse because of sin. There was no way for man to rekindle the rela- tionship with our Creator. God’s holiness and purity demanded justice from sin to be served. And the sad reality is, the justice that was required for our sin was death. Today, with the way our world is, with all our great achievements and all our efforts to attain unity and equality, you might be thinking, that was way back then when God was dealing with Adam and Eve, surely today we are much better off and less sinful than they were. However, according to the truth of God’s word, we are not better off. In fact, we are all guilty of sin because each one of our hearts and soul are tainted with the curse of sin and death due to the actions of Adam and Eve. For as Paul makes perfectly clear in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” I am guilty. You are guilty. Every single person on this planet throughout history is guilty of sin. It does not matter if it is the smallest little white lie or the deepest, darkest evil thought or action you have ever committed. 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However, God in His great love and mercy saw fit to step into our desperate situation and personally came as the Light of the World. Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, willingly sacrificed His life by going to the cross and enduring the most excruci- ating pain ever imaginable. You have to understand that the pain that Jesus endured on our behalf was not only physical pain. He also en- dured extreme spiritual pain as each one of our sins were laid upon His shoulders. He endured all of this so that through His death, His burial, and ultimately His resurrection, each person who surrenders his life to Jesus can be freed from the darkness of sin and death and can step into the light of Christ. From this point for- ward, as His Holy Spirit fills our very soul, we can walk according to His light in all that we think, say and do. Through the blessing of the resurrection, and the covering of Jesus’ blood for our lives, we have been given so much more than just a guilt-free life. We ourselves, through the pro- cess of coming to Christ, are in fact adopted into His family. As adopted children of God, we are given the great gift of unity. We were separated from God by the great expanse of sin until Jesus Himself, through His sacrifice, became the very bridge that now reconnects us to God and restores our intimate relationship with Him. It is because of Jesus’ actions that we can now walk by the light of Christ; mirroring His very image, so that the lost and broken souls in this dark world, can come to see the Light and find salvation through Christ. This is a very im- portant aspect. All people, whoever you are, have been given an opportunity to be united with God. And through that unity in Christ we are now called to be united with each other in the process. It is only through the power of Jesus that such unity is possible. It is only through the power of Jesus that we can all work together to walk in the light of Christ; one mission, one purpose, and one goal of sharing Jesus with each person in this darkened world. For that is exactly what Jesus Himself desired for us all as He prayed in John 17:21, saying, “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” Therefore, because of what Jesus has done for all of us, and because His prayer for us is to live out, it is vital that we as God’s people, continue to walk in the light of Christ which will bring both salvation from sin, connection to God and unity. Pastor Quentin Byers Heppner Christian Church Peace Be with You The theme of Easter is “Peace” (shalom). Peace…. We can’t turn on the news without hearing daily reports of worldwide tragedies and shootings all around us. That is the world in which we live. And on top of that, we are all going through our own personal trials…none of which brings us feelings of peace. Easter reminds us that peace isn’t something we find on the outside; it is a blessing we can experience on the inside. What we no- tice in all the post-resurrec- tion scenes are Jesus’s first words when He appears to His disciples: “Peace be with you.” As I was thinking of an Easter message, I thought of an apt message for the occasion from the Gospel of John, “Jesus answered them, ‘Do you believe now? The time is coming and is already here when all of you will be scattered, each of you to your own home, and I will be left all alone. But I am not really alone, because the father is with me. I have told you this so that you will have peace by being united to me. The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world!’” (John 16:31-33). Last year, during the pandemic, the Church found different ways for us to celebrate life and hope during a time of uncer- tainty. We could not even come together to worship the Lord as a community. Unthinkable is the image of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem without even a sparse num- ber of admirers practicing social distancing, a Maundy Thursday meal without the disciples, the way to the -Continued to PAGE EIGHT