Building a Stairway to Heaven

 

It would probably come as a shock to people, but the truth is, many are trying to build a stairway to heaven. That really isn’t an exaggeration. By far, the single most popular answer to the question, “Who goes to heaven?” is, “Good people who do good things.” It’s very much a pay-to-go proposition. Every time a person does something good, they receive another stair for their stairway to heaven. If they do something that is out of the ordinary good, they might get several additional stairs. If they are good enough, by the end of their life, people will die and then climb up the stairway they built and walk right into heaven! 

While stairway building is quite fashionable down here, it might be good to get an opinion from the One to whom both heaven and earth belong. Interestingly, the God response to the question, “Who goes to heaven?” is directly the opposite of the human answer. God squashes our bold creativity with a rather unflattering, “You won’t get here if you try to do it on your own.” We surely don’t like being told we are hopelessly helpless, but that is exactly what God says when it comes to our getting to him when we die. 

The story of the Bible is a story of God rescuing human beings from our self-destructive delusion that we can live life without him. That rescue mission is both so fantastically and totally supernatural – the only way we benefit from it is to receive it by faith. And that is why Christians say, “Forgiven people go to heaven.” 

If you’ve been feeling like your stairway to heaven is progressing at the rate of the rail, join us for one of our worship services this weekend. When it comes to getting to God, believing beats doing hands down. 

Worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm, Sunday: 10:00 am.

 

We ask the question in many different ways: 

Who can I trust?

I don’t know what to believe.

Everything seems to be changing. 

In each case, we’re expressing the fact that something has happened which has shaken our idea of what our lives are all about. We’re asking, “Where can I find truth?” As a foundation is to a building, truth is to human life. Get the foundation wrong and the building falls. If a person’s understanding of truth unravels, so does his life. 

Everyone believes there is some type of truth which governs our lives. When it comes to truth, we are all people of faith. But what is truth? Whose truth is the truth? These are questions people have been asking for millennia. 

Throughout history, the response of Christians has been, “The Bible is truth.” The Bible is comforting, controversial and challenging all at the same time. It is a book you cannot read without having some kind of strong reaction. It is a book which has changed lives and started wars. It’s often simply called “The Book”. 

For over 2000 years the message of the Bible has remained the same – it claims to be the truth about God, people and eternity. It’s been banned and burned and still it has been printed more times than any other book in the world. You’ll find it in homes and hospitals, subway stations and hotels. Actually, you’ll find it just about everywhere. But most important, in the Bible you will find the truth. 

Worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm, Sunday: 9:00 am & 10:30 am.

The End

 

In some instances, we look forward to the end.

      The end of the test.

      The end of the workday.

      The end of the week.

In other cases, we dread the end.

      The end of a delicious dinner.

      The end of the weekend.

      The end of vacation

There is one “The End” that we don’t even want to think about. In fact, more and more people are saying they choose to ignore it, that they are just too engaged to give it any thought. “The End” they are avoiding is, of course, death. 

It is a strange relationship we have with death. It is inevitable. It is, along with birth, the one major event in which we all participate. One would think we would talk about it more since it should bond us all together. But we avoid this subject, more than the Covid. 

Still, questions occasionally float through our minds about “The End”. Is there a heaven? Is there a hell? Is there anything? Will I be aware of anything? How long will it last? 

The last question might be the most unnerving – “How long will it last?” One thing a person can say for sure is, “We’re going to be dead a whole lot longer than we live on this earth.” 

Another question one might ask is, “How can a human being live well without having any information about ‘The End’?” If we don’t know what happens after our earthly life, how can we be sure of what is important in the here and now? Is each one of us left to make our educated guess about what life now is all about? 

“The End” is worth thinking and talking about. This weekend we’re going to study one of the most powerful and inspiring chapters in the Bible – 1 Corinthians 15. It is appropriately called “The Resurrection Chapter”. The message is very simple, through Jesus Christ, “The End” becomes “The Beginning”! 

Worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm, Sunday: 9:00 am & 10:30 am.

Hipster Love

 

They looked like two movie stars walking down the boardwalk in their fashion clothes and dark sunglasses. She said something cute and romantic like, “To hear your voice is the reason I get up in the morning.” To which he smirked and kept walking. Suddenly a homeless man came out of nowhere, approached them asking for money. Calmly the young man pulled out a $20, handed it to the beggar and said in a low voice, “You can make your life work.” 

The rest of the day continued for the couple in much the same way. In fact, that was the pattern of their lives – living chic. The homeless man took the $20 and the advice he had been given and used it to become a world-renowned artist. The young man and woman were passionately in love every day of their lives, never losing their air of sophistication through the years. It was a story of hipster love, a story that is pure fantasy. 

Hipster love is beautiful to the eye. Hipster love always works out the way everyone wants. Hipster love never is ugly or dirty. Hipster love is…well…it’s just cool. And hipster love never lasts very long. 

Love is one of the most overused words in the English language. Sometimes it’s hard to understand how differently one word can be used. Love is, however, seen by most people as the solution to our world’s problems. So, a more important word is hard to find. But exactly what does the word love mean? 

About 2000 years ago a man by the name of Paul explained love in a way that is shockingly opposite of hipster love. Paul’s love is not concerned with appearance, personal benefits or even, at times, results. This love is difficult, challenging. It can be downright gut wrenching for those who practice it. But it is the love that will change the world. Most importantly, it is a love rooted in the God of perfect love. 

If the superficial explanations of love have left you disappointed and disillusioned, join us for one of our weekend services. Love, rightly understood, really can change the world. 

Worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm, Sunday: 9:00 am & 10:30 am.

Part of Something Bigger

 

Stamps were his life. He spent hours studying them, years working to buy special collections. His life was very planned, predictable, but when he talked about stamps his eyes lit up, the fire of passion was stoked. The years passed, his stamp collection grew in size and value. And then he died. His son, who inherited the man’s beloved stamps, could not spend less time in finding a buyer. The son, you see, detested his father’s stamp collection and never could understand why he spent so many hours doing something which seemed to him, so utterly pointless, and so few hours with his own child. The son then took the money and went to Vegas. Spent it all in a week and returned home to his own very planned and predictable life. 

It might be stamps. It might be football. It might be Facebook. It might be money. Most of us live planned and predictable lives like the two men in the story and we seek an escape from the crushing sameness of life. Something to distract us from the feeling that we are just meaningless cogs in the giant gear of human existence. It often works, but there are the moments when something inside us yearns to be part of something bigger, something more important, something more permanent. And it leaves us empty. 

Years ago someone said, “There is an emptiness inside each of us the size which only Jesus Christ can fill.” And that is exactly what he does. When you are part of what Jesus is doing in this world, you are part of something that is of eternal importance. One Bible writer called it being part of the body of Christ, the Christian Church. God tells us he is always at work in this world, always active. And he offers us the invitation to be a part of what he is doing. 

Looking to fill a void? Join us for one of our worship services this weekend. Be a part of something far bigger than anything we can begin to imagine. 

Worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm, Sunday: 9:00 am & 10:30 am.