"Take Off Your Grave-Clothes" - John 11 - (April 30, 2023 - 4th Sunday after Easter)

Grace Alone Online

From Easter through Pentecost our theme is Stop Being Afraid. Our goal is to move from fear – living paranoid when events uproot you from your comfort zone in life, to faith – being prudent in your actions and decisions even though they may make you feel uncomfortable. Moving from paranoia to prudence we are moving from those things that make you fear and feel uncomfortable, to act prudently saying, Forsaking All I Take Him - meaning Christ. Death is probably our greatest fear. Dreams fade. Seasons of life wind down. Jobs come to an end. Children go away to college. Relationships terminate. As happens in all lives, death comes. We all die. And it just keeps on coming in so many ways, shapes and sizes. But you never think about death coming to congregations. But death appears here as well. Death and loss affect your comfort zone. Beginning with pets, as children you may remember a favorite pet that died – or consider one of your own children’s pets – How did you handle it? How did you handle a loved one’s or a close friend’s death?