Hey Friends…
When you discover you’re in a terribly untenable situation, all your mental energy goes towards figuring out how to gracefully evacuate that circumstance, does it not? Worse, when it’s a downright painful scenario, your brain goes into overdrive panic mode looking for any way out. I have some good news about an exit strategy from our summer teaching series on the end times. Not just that it’s going to end in two Sundays. No, I’ve got much better news than that! When all the terrible realities of the end of the world come to pass, Jesus Christ himself is going to step out on a cloud and call his children home. I’ll tell you more in Deeper Thoughts below… But first… some quick reminders of important Mt. Hope happenings: · Are you interested in becoming a “Covenant Partner” of Mt. Hope? Join us for a no-commitment orientation THIS Sunday, August 11, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., lunch included! Click here to RSVP. · Men… our next-up Men’s Challenge breakfast is TOMORROW Saturday, August 10, 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. · Join us for a super-important all-church information, vision, and business session right after church NEXT Sunday, August 18, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. We will discuss the potential expansion of our facility, vote regarding our new fiscal year budget, and other important ministry and business matters. All are welcome, and we always have fun with these meetings! · Ladies, "Pool and Prayer" on Saturday, August 24, 2024, 1:30 – 4:00 p.m. Join us for swimming, food, a devotional, and prayer! Click here for more info and to RSVP! · Parents—Join us for an important after-church parent’s luncheon on Sunday, August 25, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. We will explore your ideas and family needs for long-range planning of our kids and family life ministries. We’ll share what’s upcoming this fall, and co-create our direction for the future with you. This is a don’t miss event… yummy lunch provided! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who would rather hang around in highly uncomfortable situations. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… I spent this week at my in-law’s cabin deep in the mountains of West Virginia feverishly working on our fall teaching series that will launch in a couple of weeks (more on that coming soon!). It is simple country up here; coal used to be king, but now most everyone lives on the edge of economic ruin and the towns are in deep decay. Many folks here cling to their faith in the physical and victorious return of Jesus Christ. For some, that is all the hope they have that someday life will get better. They know that here in the mountain hollers there just isn’t much physical abundance in store for them. So, they turn their eyes towards spiritual abundance and a day when the entire physical world will transition to perfection at Jesus’ return. Signs with some variant of “Jesus is coming back… you’d better get ready” adorn the front yard of more than one church in these parts. For them, the majestic return of Jesus Christ *is* their exit strategy from all suffering, disappointment, and decay. Is such an eternal focus merely an emotional crutch for the economically disabled? Or is it good theology? You don’t see any church billboards proclaiming Jesus’ return in Ashburn, do you? You know… on those little movable letter signs where there’s always at least one letter that has fallen off? Never mind that we don’t have many of those types of signboards anywhere in Ashburn except at fast food joints or oil change shops. But even if we did, our churches don’t seem to feel the need to shout real loud about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Not so here in Appalachia. Here they cannot afford fresh asphalt to fill the potholes. Dancing on heavenly streets of gold seems like a worthy upgrade from the economic squalor that surrounds them. I heard a quote recently (I can’t remember from who) that suggests the reason we don’t think or talk much about heaven anymore is that “we think we have created heaven right here.” This may be one of the major problems with affluent suburbia—we are just too content with the creature comforts we have amassed to feel the need to look for an exit strategy. That makes perfect sense to me. Why plan for an exit from something that is awesome? The problem comes with how temporal, how fragile, how tentative these comforts really are. Biblical prophecy that we have been studying all summer reveals how the power and wealth and comfort we cling to are a shaky construct at best, and built on demonic spiritual deception at worst. There is a day coming--called “the Day of the Lord”—where deception ends forever. At that time, whatever is good will persevere into eternity with the Lord, and whatever is bad will fall away in destruction. We need an exit strategy. And it needs to be with the Lord Jesus Christ. Some say it will happen in a “rapture” of the Church where we believers get snatched up into heaven before the really bad stuff happens. Others say it will come later as the climactic rescue of His Bride at the end of the great tribulation. So, which is it? This Sunday, we will look specifically at the “rapture”—a promise quite familiar to many evangelical Christians in North America. Movies and books have regaled us of this glorious exit strategy that promises an off ramp prior to the woes of global tribulation as the Day of the Lord approaches. This is a great promise, and one that I would love to experience. But we need to also look carefully to see if this promise is indeed in the scriptures. Some say it is not. I’ll weave us through the academic arguments on both sides, and we’ll dig deep into the Word of God to see exactly how Jesus plans to evacuate his Bride from a world entangled in despair. Whatever theology you end up with, know this: Jesus Christ is coming back for his Church, his Bride. He will not leave us to destruction or despair. The Word of God is clear on this. Check it out in advance of Sunday: 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11. Oh… one more thought. There’s something else they do here in rural West Virginia: They play a whole hour of old time Gospel quartet singing on the classic rock radio station at 9:00 every morning. I’m not kidding. It was during “Gospel Hour” two days ago while I was driving to my quiet study spot that they played an old song I hadn’t heard since I was a teenager. It’s called “The Midnight Cry.” Sung well, the swelling melody will send chills up your spine. Its lyrics go something like this: “When Jesus steps out on a cloud to call God’s children; The dead in Christ shall rise to meet him in the air; And then those that remain will be quickly changed; At the midnight cry, when Jesus comes again.” (Click here for a rendition of this song by the Gaithers. It’s worth your four minutes.) I don’t know about you… but I need to be quickly changed. “Come, Lord Jesus, come” (Revelation 22:20). Much love to all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend
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