The Theology of the Russian War in Ukraine - Reece's Peace's

I was halfway through writing a wonderfully fun article on the turning of the season when I saw a report that the Russian Orthodox Patriarch stated that all Russians that die in battle will have all of their sins forgiven.

It stopped me in my tracks. Russia invaded Ukraine for no valid reason. They have spent months killing civilians and military personal fighting to defend their home country. Now the Russian Church has turned into a mouthpiece for this genocide and promises eternal salvation for those who die in this offensive war. Patriarch Kirill went so far as to compare the sacrifice of Christ to that of Russian Soldiers. This is against all Christian reasoning and theology. Christ never fought in a war. Throughout all of Christ’s ministry he fought against the oppression of good people by tyrannical authorities. The idea that Jesus offers salvation not because of faith in God, but instead because of participation in a vindictive war brought on by petty individuals, is completely inappropriate.

Even more troubling is the fact that more than 90% of Christians in Russia are members of the Russian Orthodox church. For almost all Christians inside Russia, this absurd theology is the only opinion they hear. They will not hear Pope Francis’s public address stating, “In the name of God, I ask you: stop this massacre,” calling the invasion an act of “unacceptable armed aggression.” They will not hear the number of other ministers and priests around the world that have condemned this act. They will not even be able to read this article.

In their own country, religious voices have been silenced as Russia continues it mobilization for war. In the beginning months of the conflict Russian parishes independently began to rid themselves of connection to the Russian Patriarch, removing Kirill’s name for church worship. However, inside Russia, those churches have now too been silenced.

I wish that I had a better topic to write about for this article. I wish I could have written a loving piece about the changing colors of leaves, bonfires, and hayrides. However, I couldn’t. It is not that there is much any of us can do to stop this, but still, we must acknowledge the problem with religious statements like this one. Jesus is not for war. Hopefully, we can come together as a community of faith and pray for a peaceful end to this senseless war.

Standing Firm - Kayla's Korner

1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”

As Christians, we are called to be alert to various dangers, we are to be steadfast in our faith, we are to act like an adult, and have a strong will so we can remain pure in faith. We should be careful to not allow ourselves to become corrupted by the ways of the world. We should continue to believe in the scriptures. We should have a strong will to oppose people who try to corrupt or divide us.

Something I have noticed about today’s world, is people are afraid to speak up, because they don’t want to offend people. I want to ask you, Do you think Jesus spoke up or do you think He sat back because He didn’t want to offend others… Jesus came to earth to turn each of us away from our wicked ways, so that we could inherit the kingdom of God. In order for Him to turn each one of us from our wicked ways, He had to stand firm in what God had called Him to do and what Jesus believed was right.

We must follow Jesus’ example….In order to stand firm, believers must plan to utilize all tools available to them. I want you all to also note that Paul calls the devil’s work against believers “Schemes”. He appears to seek to destroy the good work of all believers. Thankfully his power is no match to the power of God. My fellow Christians, I encourage you to stand firm in your belief of God. Don’t allow others to persuade you to question your belief. Put your foot down, stand strong and be bold in the name of Jesus.

Our Vison, Our Mission

What will Hurstbourne Christian Church look like in five years?

What makes Hurstbourne Christian Church different?

What is God’s vision for Hurstbourne Christian Church and what will we do to become that Church?

Since January we have grappled with these questions. On the first Sunday of the year, I asked you what Hurstbourne Christian will look like in five years. What will our missions look like? What will our church look like? Those questions were the start of our journey.

Next, our entire church prayerfully answered a survey describing the vision each of us as individuals have for the church. We combined those answers into one complete document.

Then we took the collection of individual answers and formed a vision team, connecting all aspects of the Church into one body. This team continued together information by surveying the Hurstbourne neighborhood. We asked our neighbors what they thought of our church and what their community needed in a church. Some of their answers were shocking but truthful! The vision team spent many nights debating and discussing our mission and our vision, evenings spent prayerfully working to listen and discern God’s will.

After numerous hours the vision team developed a new vision, new mission, and a plan to make them a reality. Now it is time for you to celebrate the fruits of our labor: the plan to bring about a church that is ready for the roaring (20)20’s, a vision that keeps the heart of the church of the past but with a new energy that is ready for the future.

On September 11 we are celebrating our Vision Sunday and the whole church must be ready to support this vision! United we stand, divided we fall. Frankly, our vision is something that is impossible not to unite behind. It is a vision for a loving, biblically-based church, ready to make actionable change in the world!

Choir - Marc's Music Notables

We are excited to announce the return of our Christmas Cantata for 2022!

This year we will present "Sing Joy to All the World: A Christmas Celebration" by Lloyd Larson. Because the choir hasn't met since the pandemic lockdown, we need singers to join us for this special event!

If you are interested in singing with the choir for the cantata let Marc know by emailing him directly at marcusdmonroe@gmail.com, or simply tell him in person! We would love to have anyone interested join us!

Because of the amount of time it takes to prepare a program like this, the choir will focus all of its efforts on the cantata, but we plan to resume singing on Sunday mornings (on a regular schedule) after the holiday season. We will rehearse every other Wednesday at 6:00 pm starting September 28th. We will also provide music books and part CDs to help you learn your part.

For those who don't sing, but want to support this project, talk to Marc about sponsoring an orchestra member for the performance. We plan to hire a few musicians, in addition to our member musicians, to fill out the instrumentation of the chamber orchestra.

We can't wait to bring back this holiday tradition, and we appreciate all of the continued support of the music ministry at Hurstbourne

Love One Another - Kayla's Korner

Love One Another “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

John 13:34 NIV Jesus commands us to love each other! Jesus loved each of us before we even existed. Sometimes it can be hard to show love toward others when they aren’t being kind towards us, but, Jesus tells us to still show them love as He did toward us.

Loving our neighbor is the biggest Christian act we can do! When we love others they will know Christ through our love. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:35 NIV When we turn our back toward others and show hate toward them, we are pushing them away from Christ. As Christians it’s important to speak kindly and show love toward others so that they can come to know God. Our mission on earth is to bring others to Christ.

This month, pray and ask God to open up your heart and to be able to start loving everyone. To start being kinder to everyone. To speak nicely to others.