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. When we
Whole home WiFi
for the whole family!
included with your Gorge Networks service
Seamlessly blankets your home with fast, reliable WiFi
Filter online content and set time limits
Ability to block devices and receive new device alerts
No dead or slow spots!
300 Mbps Symmetrical Speed >> $59.95/month *
1 Gig Symmetrical Speed >> 74.95/month *
Visit gorge.net or call (541) 436-0223 to learn more!
*Price reflects residential rates only.
are standing before the
Holy God of all creation,
sadly, we are all guilty.
There is no getting around
that truth.
Now, I know what
you’re thinking—Pastor,
why are you being so seri-
ous and why are you beat-
ing us up which such a
heavy truth? The fact is,
we have to understand just
how deep of a hole mankind
is in and just how much we
needed the Light of God
to shine into our desperate
situation in order to bring
us salvation.
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