General Archives - Page 2 of 3

Sunday Snippets: October 20, 2019

Posted on Oct 23, 2019 in General |

Sunday’s Songs:

Open Up the Heavens

I Am

At the Cross

O Come to the Altar

How Great Is Our God

Sunday Scripture:

Genesis 1:1-25

Announcements:

Baptism and Child Dedication- Today. Congratulations to the O’Mahoney and Bornowski family as their children are dedicated today. Also, We celebrate with the Pina family as Jayden is baptized.

Hogeye Festival is Saturday, October 26. We will have a children’s booth and ask that members sign up to help at the booth.
Home Church signups are open! Sign up at the table under the stairs.
We will start collecting for Operation Christmas Child. Bring small items that will fit in shoe boxes or bring donations to cover shipping costs. Donations can be put in the Operation Christmas Child box on the entry table.
Journey has a Spotify playlist of Sunday worship songs. You can find the list here.

Sunday Snippets: October 13, 2019

Posted on Oct 15, 2019 in General |

Sunday’s Songs:

The Lion and The Lamb

Come To The Table

Glorious Day

Jesus

This is Amazing Grace

Sunday Scripture:

Genesis 1:1-5

Announcements:

Baptism and Child Dedication- Sunday October 20. If you would like to be baptized or dedicate your child please talk with Phillip

Sunday Snippets: October 6, 2019

Posted on Oct 5, 2019 in General |

Sunday’s Songs:

Only King Forever

Great Are You Lord
Living Hope
Happy Day
Even So Come

Announcements:

Baptism and Child Dedication- Sunday October 20. If you would like to be baptized or dedicate your child please talk with Phillip

Sep '19

Announcements: September 22, 2019

Posted on Sep 20, 2019 in Announcements, General | Tags: announcements, church, community, journey, journey elgin

Sep '19

Hogeye Festival is Saturday, October 26. We will have a children’s booth

Home Church signups will begin soon!

Journey has a Spotify playlist of Sunday worship songs. You can find the list here.

Sep '19

Sunday Snippets: September 22, 2019

Posted on Sep 20, 2019 in General, Music, Scripture | Tags: bible, church, journey, journey elgin, Scripture

Sep '19

Sunday’s Scripture: Joshua 3

Sunday’s Songs: Open up the Heavens, How Great is Our God, What a Beautiful Name, Alive, Old Church Choir

Nov '16

Blog: Political Pessimism

Posted on Nov 17, 2016 in Blog, General | Tags: church, faith, journey, journey elgin

Nov '16

I hesitate to write anything closely related to politics because typically I would rather people like me. I know that by writing anything remotely political there may be some who want to throw burning pitchforks at me; however, I feel compelled to write anyway. I want to clarify at the beginning of this that I am writing to Christians and not society as a whole. This article is for those of us who consider ourselves Christian and who desire to follow the example of Jesus and proclaim the message He called us to proclaim.

I am generally an optimistic person. This is a choice I try to make everyday even as pessimism presses in on all sides. I admit that I do get pessimistic from time to time, but I try my best to be positive. After all, I claim to believe in Jesus and His teachings, so I should probably do my best to experience the joy He promised us. Being optimistic allows me to experience more joy. I have chosen to extend my optimism into my view of politics. This is not easy to do and is becoming more and more difficult.

Eight years ago our country freely elected a president who held ideologies that ran contrary to many traditional Christians. I heard many pessimistic projections of what would happen to our country. People were in an uproar. To the point that many were making the case that our new President could be the antichrist. (He better get on that, he only has two months left……..oh wait maybe he is just using the presidency as a springboard to ascend to the throne of the relished position of antichrist) Obviously I am being sarcastic here but the vitriol against President Obama was very real by many Christians. I even heard things such as, “How could anyone be a Christian and vote for a Democrat.” To use the political jargon, right leaning Christians made moderate or left leaning Christians feel like due to their voting choice they were not adequate to be true followers of Christ. Eight years ago I chose to believe in the checks and balances of our great country and treat our leader with respect. Our country has withstood many challenges and I chose to believe we would continue to survive, if not thrive. Eight years later our country still exists and we are still a strong nation. Are there problems? Yes. Can we become better? Yes. But President Obama did not destroy our nation.

Fast forward to today. We have now freely elected a man who many find offensive and are terrified about where he will take our country. With the rise of social media since 2008, the cries of fear and frustration have been given a megaphone. Now Christians who are more left leaning or moderate are returning the favor given to them eight years ago. I have heard and seen statements such as, “Anyone who voted for Trump is a racist and a bigot, no true Christian could vote for such a man.” Christians who may have voted for Trump are being categorized as less than Christian just as Christians who voted for Obama were eight years ago.
I have chosen again to believe in the checks and balances of our great nation and treat our leader with respect even if he sometimes does not. I believe our nation will survive and possibly thrive. Unfortunately, my pessimism is becoming stronger not in regards to our nation, but in regards to our ability to effectively impact the Kingdom of God.

With the election of President Obama in ’08 and the election of President Elect Trump in ’16 the unhealthy obsession with politics among American Christians is obvious. We have become so engaged in our earthly political system we have neglected our role in the Kingdom of God. Jesus called the Church, which is all of us, to proclaim the Good News of God’s Kingdom. He did not call any country or political system. The excessive emphasis by us as Christians on our political system has begun to fracture our ability to make a positive impact in the Kingdom of God. We are divided as a country, but more concerning, is how divided we are as the Church. Christians on both sides of the political landscape are lobbing hate and fear like grenades and the Church is absorbing all the shrapnel. With every angry and accusatory tweet and Facebook post, the effectiveness of the American Church becomes less and less. As Christians, we should be ashamed that we have allowed a temporary political system, lead by a temporary leader, derail us from our God given mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God is at hand. We are citizens of an unshakable Kingdom led by God Almighty and yet we tremble at the thought of a leader who will govern an earthly and temporary kingdom for at most eight years. I will admit that the way we have acted as Christians towards one another in these last two election seasons is embarrassing, and in my pessimism I wonder if we can recover our ability to make a positive impact for the Kingdom of God.

Thankfully, I believe we can; however, changes will need to be made. First, we must quit acting like one political party captures what it means to be a Christian. I am going to oversimplify this example to try and make a point. I know your minds will be spinning with arguments and qualifiers to what I am about to say, so I urge you to just consider the basic point. Republicans proudly support a pro-life and anti-abortion agenda. I can make a very strong case that this is a Godly and biblical principle. God values all life and He has “knit us in our Mother’s womb.” Does this mean all ‘good’ Christians must fall in line with this party? The Democratic Party holds strongly to a more welcoming and relaxed immigration system. I can make a very strong case that this is a Godly and biblical principle. God certainly desires for us to welcome the foreigner and remember, “what you have done to the least of these, you have done to me.” Does this mean that all ‘good’ Christians should fall in line with this party?

I know that all of you are doing the mental gymnastics necessary to justify and defend your political party and that is fine, but please stop long enough to consider the fact that maybe God didn’t appoint one of our political parties to be the ambassador of Christianity. How are we going to be able to show God’s love to the world around us when we allow political party lines to bring about such division and hate among those who claim to be Christians? If your party allegiance causes you to look down on those who politically disagree with you then your allegiance to your party is greater than your allegiance to God.

Please don’t take this as saying that we should not be involved in the political process. This is not the case at all. However, we should conduct ourselves within the process as Christians. Seek to understand one another, respect each other, and be willing to turn the other cheek when others disrespect you. Our political fervor should never lead us to treat others with hate and disrespect.

Secondly, we must decide whom we will serve. I know that when we as Americans think about our country there is a strong emotional reaction. Many of us have family and friends who have served this country through the military. They have sacrificed so much and deserve our respect and gratitude. Our country’s value on freedom has given us so many opportunities. When we feel that one political ideology is threatening that freedom we react passionately. Both sides of the political spectrum react out of this passion. I am so glad we live in a country worthy of passion, but as Christians we need to understand our country is still only an earthly kingdom. All earthly kingdoms will one day fade away. Earthly kingdoms have very different agendas and responsibilities than the Kingdom in which we live.

I believe the United States is a great country and will survive our political turmoil, but as strong as our country is it does not compare to the Kingdom of God.
Jesus came with a message proclaiming the Kingdom of God was at hand. This means there is hope for the hopeless, peace for those ravaged by war, and joy for those immersed in sadness. The Kingdom of God does not rely on an election in order to be great, the Kingdom is great because God is present and active among us. There is no threat to the Kingdom. Jesus has already secured victory. Our job is to proclaim that victory. No political system can ever offer what is found in God’s Kingdom. I am very proud to be an American citizen, but that will always be a secondary citizenship. First and foremost we are citizens of the Kingdom of God and we cannot allow the enemy to use our political passion to divide us.

I believe we can regain a positive voice as Christians here in America. Let us unite around our King and focus on proclaiming His message. Do not let political passion divide us, but rather let us be united by the passion Christ has shown us. We have a message that can change the world, why spend so much energy on a political system that cannot.

Sep '16

Blog: John 20:19-23: Be Confident in Christ

Posted on Sep 21, 2016 in Blog, General, Scripture | Tags: bible, church, faith, hope, Jesus, John, journey, journey elgin, Scripture

Sep '16

I believe one of the most common problems we have as humans is a lack of self-confidence. This is evidenced by the hundreds of self-help books and theories on ways to increase your self-esteem. Even those people who will tell you how confident they are, as demonstrated by many pro athletes, many times are just overcompensating for the reality that they too struggle with self-confidence. I understand why we struggle with this issue; life is difficult. Most of us have experienced failures in life and we realize that even doing our best sometimes does not equal success based on our society’s standards. In order to hold on to the slim amount of self-confidence we have, we tend to stick with doing what we are comfortable with and we avoid taking on challenges that may lead to failure which would remove the little bit of confidence we have left.

I found myself in this position during college. My dreams of playing college sports had died and I was simply going through the motions of normal college life. I did not know what I wanted to do with my life and my confidence was not high. Honestly, I just wanted someone to tell me what to do so I did not have to make a meaningful decision. Around this time in my life I received a phone call from a pastor named Shane Barnes, who was serving at my home church. He had come to our church after I graduated, but I had met him and knew a little about him. He asked me a question that would ultimately change the direction of my life: “Would you be our Youth Pastor for the summer?” I was completely unprepared for that question. I had never thought about being a minister in any sense. What really surprised me was the confidence Shane had in me. He told me that he saw something in me and that he knew I would do a good job with the youth. I will never forget the confidence Shane showed in me when I did not have confidence in myself. The support Shane gave me helped me to find God’s calling in my life and I have now been in ministry for around 16 years. All this began with someone showing confidence in me.

In John 20:19-23, we find the disciples experiencing the risen Christ for the first time. They had seen the empty tomb and heard the report from Mary, but they still were not certain of what was happening and they were scared. I have to think that none of the disciples were too confident about their future. They were so insecure about what was happening in their life that they were hiding behind locked doors as if those doors would protect them from the uncertainty surrounding them. At this trying moment in the disciples’ lives, Jesus appears unexpectedly before them and immediately offers them His peace. He knew their hearts were not at peace, in fact they were terrified, but Jesus gives them what they need; assurance of His presence.

Jesus then overcomes their doubts by showing them His hands and His side. As the disciples see the truth of the risen Christ they are overjoyed. Jesus now does something amazing, He calls the disciples to serve Him. These are the men who were just huddling together in fear and doubt and now Jesus is sending them just as God had sent Him into the world. The confidence Jesus showed in those disciples was incredible. They had all fled in fear when He was arrested and now Jesus was entrusting them with telling the world who He was and what He had done. The disciples must have been humbled and amazed at the confidence the Messiah was showing in them.

Jesus did not stop there, He continued by equipping the disciples with all they would need to fulfill His calling on their lives. He gives them the Holy Spirit which will lead and guide them as they go into the world. No longer will they need to huddle in fear because God is with them always. They never need to suffer from insecurity again because their strength can now come from the fact that Jesus has confidence in them. Jesus has given them everything they need to change the world for Christ.

I wonder how many of us live our lives behind locked doors, afraid to venture out into the unknown world. Maybe we need to open our eyes to the one who is standing right beside us giving us peace. Jesus wants you to experience peace in knowing that he loves you and is there with you. Jesus is also showing great confidence in you; He is calling you to serve Him. When I look in the mirror I do not know why He called me, but I am confident in His calling because He was confident enough in me to ask me to serve Him. Not only is Jesus confident in you, but He has also equipped you with everything you will need to continue to impact the Kingdom of God. His presence will guide you if you will allow Him.

This week, step out and live the calling Jesus has so confidently given you. Is there a friend you have been avoiding talking to about your relationship with Christ? Is there a family God has laid on your heart to minster to? Does your church need you to step up and serve? Are you being a minister in your workplace? Your home? Is there someone who needs to hear the confidence you have in them? Be confident, God is confident in you.

Aug '16

Blog: John 20:1-18: Running to Jesus

Posted on Aug 26, 2016 in Blog, General, Scripture | Tags: bible, church, Easter, faith, He is Alive, hope, Jesus, journey, journey elgin, Scripture

Aug '16

There is no way to describe the feeling I get when one of my girls surprises me by running toward me and giving me an unexpected hug. Of course, as they are getting older the feeling I get is sometimes fear of being knocked over, but my heart is always warmed when they show me this type of affection. I can remember many occasions when one of my little girls would run down the aisle toward me after worship service on Sundays. She would jump into my open arms or crash into my legs if I was not paying attention. Either way she just wanted to give me a hug. These hugs came as a result of her being excited and happy to see me, but they also happened on occasions when she was unsecure or fearful.

On one occasion after Sunday morning worship, a group of men and I were talking while my youngest daughter was playing a short distance away. For some reason she began to feel uneasy and wanted her dad. Without thinking, she turned and ran toward a pair of legs and grabbed hold as she has done so many times before to me; however, this time the legs were not mine. When she looked up and saw that she had the wrong dad, panic came across her face for a moment. She quickly backed off and began scanning the group of men until she came across the face in which she found her security. She then ran to me and I picked her up and she gave the biggest hug and smile possible.

In John 20:1-18, Mary Magdalene has gone to the tomb to pay her respects to Jesus. No doubt she is still distressed and grieving the events of the Friday before. What an emotional week for her and all the followers of Jesus. They had experienced the excitement and motivation of entering Jerusalem to the shouts of “Hosanna,” and now they were experiencing the lowest of lows. If ever Mary needed Jesus, this was the time; but He was dead. She had seen Him die with her own eyes, there was nothing that could be done now and everything she hoped for was buried in a tomb behind a boulder.

When she reached the tomb Mary saw that the stone has been rolled away and she immediately thinks that things have just become even worse; now even Jesus’ dead body has been stolen. Peter and another disciple ran to the tomb and simply confirm Mary’s fear that the body had been taken away. Even the sight of two angels does not ease Mary’s pain. In my mind I see her hunched over on her knees weeping, when she hears someone behind her and turns to see who could be standing there. Through her tears and distress she simply glances at the figure behind her and assumes the man to be the gardener; of course she would not expect to see Jesus, he is dead. She resumes her position of mourning at the feet of this gardener and pleads with him to help her make sense of this unthinkable situation. Then Jesus calls her name and Mary looks up from her weeping and through the tears she looks into the eyes of the last person she expected to see, but the person she needed to see the most.

As we read this story we have the advantage of knowing the whole story. What Mary did not know was that the victory had already been won before she even saw the empty tomb, but Mary needed to see Jesus to be assured of the victory. We really are not much different when we are going through the dark times of our lives. We tend to forget that God has already won the victory and that he will carry us through these difficult and burdensome times of life. Sometimes the darkness becomes so dark that we feel like Mary and just want to fall to the ground and weep. Only when we look up and fix our eyes on Jesus will the darkness surrounding our life begin to fade into the light of Jesus’ victory.

During the trying times of our life we need to act like my little girl and run to where our security and encouragement resides. We need to run to Jesus and allow Him to comfort us, cry with us, encourage us, and strengthen us. You may find yourself in a dark place right now and there seems to be no light anywhere. Remember that this darkness is only part of the story; the full story ends with an empty tomb and the light of Christ filling all the dark corners of our lives.
There will always be dark and difficult times until Christ comes again, but even in the midst of this darkness we know that the victory is already won. Jesus told Mary to go and announce His victory over death. In a world so consumed by death, violence, immorality, and hopelessness there needs to be a message of hope. Jesus is that message. We need to go and proclaim that darkness has not prevailed, that there is light to be found in the midst of the darkness, and that the light of Christ will extinguish all remnant of darkness. Let us live in the light and share the light with those who are still lost in darkness.

Aug '16

Blog: John 19: It Is Finished!

Posted on Aug 3, 2016 in Blog, General, Scripture | Tags: batman, bible, church, dark night, John, John 19, journey, journey elgin, Scripture

Aug '16

The movie scene is intense, and has the audience sitting on the edge of their seats in anticipation of what will transpire during the tension filled press conference. Harvey Dent, Gotham City’s District Attorney in the movie “The Dark Knight,” is addressing reporters and the city in a live interview in which everyone anticipates that the true identity of Batman will be revealed. The city has been gripped by fear due to the psychotic actions of the Joker. The Joker has terrorized the citizens of Gotham and now has assured the city that if Batman turns himself in he will stop his murderous ways. The city is paralyzed with fear and is willing to sacrifice someone who stands for justice in order to ease their apprehension.
Harvey Dent knows that giving in to the demands of evil, personified in the Joker, will only weaken the city and lead them down a path of uncertainty and chaos. Dent knows the difficulty of standing up for what is right. Criminals have already tried to take his life, but that has not stopped this intrepid District Attorney. Dent appeals to the city not to sacrifice Batman, but remain strong and determined as they endure the evil of the Joker together. As he nears the end of his plea, he makes this statement; “The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.”

I believe the crucifixion and death of Jesus is by far His darkest time on earth. Jesus has spent the last three years of His life impacting the lives of everyone He came in contact with. He transformed people’s lives by healing them of all sorts of diseases and physical limitations. Jesus offered people a new life through believing in Him. He brought hope to the hopeless and proclaimed freedom to the captives. Jesus gave all that He was and all that He had for the very people who now were crying out, “crucify Him, crucify Him.”

Evil has powerfully responded to Jesus’ message of hope and new life and now evil is celebrating as the loving and compassionate Christ is hanging on a cross. As Jesus hangs on this cross He is enduring more than He has ever experienced before. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, is taking upon Himself the sin of the world. Not only is He taking our sin, but also the punishment for our sin. Jesus feels the pain our sin inflicts on us and the world. He is now riddled with the guilt and shame that always accompany sin. The full fury of darkness has descended upon Jesus and He must endure all the pain and suffering the darkness brings. Finally, Jesus raises his voice one last time and speaks to the heart of the darkness saying, “It is finished.”

At these words evil must have rejoiced as never before. The darkness had succeeded in extinguishing the light of Christ in one twenty four hour period. While darkness and evil are ecstatic, the followers of Jesus are crushed when they hear His last words. Is it really finished? Were the last three years for nothing? At this point darkness seems to have won the victory, and even the reader of the Gospel must acknowledge defeat if she or he does not already know the ultimate ending. Truly the night must have seemed so dark and the dawn was nowhere in sight.

The darkness was unbelievably dark as Jesus was uttering His last words, but was there a ray of light shining on this day? John specifically mentions two unlikely individuals who are there for Jesus on His darkest day. Joseph of Arimathea is part of the religious structure that has sent Jesus to the cross. This whole ordeal must have been unbearable for Joseph. When he sees an opportunity to do something for Jesus, he offers to provide the burial site for our Lord, even though he would no longer be a secret follower of Jesus. Joseph was willing to stand up to the darkness even though I am sure he believed the ministry of Jesus was finished. He could no longer keep his love for Christ a secret and he shows us a tiny ray of light.

Joseph of Arimathea is helped by a very interesting and profound character in the Gospel of John. Nicodemus is the man who approached Jesus at night and asked how he could enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus responds by telling Nicodemus to be born again. As far as the reader is concerned, Nicodemus leaves Jesus just as confused and wrapped in darkness as when he first approached Jesus; however, clearly this was not the case. At some point, Nicodemus appears to have understood the message of Jesus because he is now stepping out of the darkness and serving Jesus when all others have abandoned Him.

As a reader of the Gospel of John, I must ask; if Jesus was able to overcome the darkness in Nicodemus’ life, could He overcome this darkness that has now consumed Him? The crucifixion and death of Jesus is undoubtedly a dark day, but this is not the last of Jesus. When Jesus said “it is finished,” he meant for sin, death, darkness and evil. Even in this dark hour, Jesus knew that the light was coming. No matter how dark our lives become, maybe we should remember that the night is darkest just before the dawn, and Jesus has promised the dawn is coming and the darkness will have no place to hide.

Jul '16

Blog: John 18-19: Allowing Darkness a Foothold

Posted on Jul 5, 2016 in Blog, General, Scripture | Tags: bible, church, John, John 18, John 19, journey, journey elgin, Scripture

Jul '16

Good versus evil and light versus darkness are themes we see throughout our daily lives. The struggle between good and evil pervades all aspects of society, sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of darkness and at other times the light disperses the darkness and brings hope and security. The entertainment industry has realized how effectively the struggle between good and evil draws an audience into the story. “The Lord of the Rings,” “Harry Potter,” and numerous other books and movies portray the conflict and tension brought about when good and evil collide. In my opinion, the one movie saga that captures the epic nature of the relationship of light and darkness or good and evil is “Star Wars.”

There may be some who are uncomfortable with “Star Wars” being the favorite movie of a pastor. I assure you I am not converting to the Jedi religion in any way; of course I have tried to summon the remote control to my hand only using my mind, but who hasn’t done that? “Star Wars” actually illustrates the battle between light and darkness very effectively. The original trilogy started out with the movie titled, “A New Hope.” The Galactic Empire, ruled by the Emperor and Darth Vader, rule the Galaxy with an iron fist and this empire symbolizes evil and darkness. The light is represented by the small but determined group called the Rebellion. By the end of the movie the Rebellion and the Empire have an epic battle and the Rebellion is able to destroy the Death Star and bring about a new hope to the galaxy; however, just like life, evil is still waiting around the corner. In the second movie, “The Empire Strikes Back,” the Empire is able to reorganize and force the Rebellion into hiding. Good and evil battle one another throughout the movie saga just as they do in life today. In the final movie, good overcomes evil, but not without difficulty and determination by the Rebellion.

In John 18 we begin to clearly see the power of evil as Jesus is arrested and then taken to trial. Over the past few chapters Jesus has been talking to the disciples about His goodness and how they have the opportunity to help spread His goodness throughout the world. Darkness will not quietly allow the light of Jesus to drown out the stronghold of evil in the world. The one person who is the epitome of goodness, love and light in a dark world is now going to be attacked full force and ultimately killed. This must have been an unimaginably difficult time for Jesus and he could have used all the support he could get. The support did not come and darkness descended on the earth as never before.

There are three different responses to Jesus in chapters 18 and 19 and each response allows evil to continue the work that had been started. The first response is that of Peter, a fierce and devoted follower of Jesus. In the heat of the moment during Jesus’ arrest, Peter impulsively cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant. Now Peter finds himself with time to think and when the question is posed to him regarding his relationship with Jesus, Peter denies knowing Jesus on three separate occasions. Peter was so scared he would be put through the same thing Jesus was going through that he felt the need to deny and abandon Jesus when Jesus needed him most.

Pilate’s response to Jesus ultimately paved the way for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate acknowledges the fact that Jesus is innocent and even proclaims Jesus is king of the Jews, but in the end the pressure of the crowd and fear of what others would think prevented Pilate from doing what was right. The third response in these two chapters is seen in the religious leaders. These were God-fearing people who desired to follow God and were looking forward to the coming Messiah; however, they were entrenched in the man-made traditions of their religious façade. If God was not going to conform to their understanding and preconceived ideas then even God would be allowed to be nailed to a tree. Each of these responses allowed evil to gain a stronghold that would lead to the Messiah being crucified like a common criminal.

I wonder if sometimes our responses to Jesus allow darkness to gain a stronghold today. Jesus has called us to be light bearers in this world today which means we live our lives for Christ each and every day. Sometimes we may respond as Peter. For the most part we live for Christ and serve Him, but when following Jesus will cause personal difficulty, will we deny Jesus as Peter did? Are we still concerned more about our personal comfort and security than following Christ?

Maybe we respond as Pilate; we know the right thing to do, but we are afraid of what others might think. Does maintaining our social status keep us from ministering to all people no matter who they are? Do we put what others think about us above what God desires for us to do? Finally, I am afraid that at times we respond the way the religious leaders responded to Jesus. How often do we let tradition keep us from ministering in a new way? Do we only follow Jesus in the areas were we feel comfortable or are we willing to see Jesus from a different perspective? If we allow anything to keep us from serving Christ, we are allowing darkness to overcome the light.

When we are struggling to follow Christ, I hope we will remember that Jesus himself faced evil and overcame the darkness. At our weakest moments, when we are tempted to disregard God’s calling in our life we must remember to turn our focus on the one who has overcome the darkness. Jesus faced all that evil could throw at Him and He conquered death and darkness with life and light. I hope we will take part in pointing people away from the darkness and into the light that Jesus revealed when He overcame death and radiantly burst forth from the tomb.