Needless to say, I’m really BLEEPIN Jealous right about now – if I could “re-do” my Postal Service career all over again, I should’ve ‘followed in the footsteps’ of Gerald Groff (a Christian Postal Worker, who the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier today that he was entitled to have religious days off, like Sundays).
In MY particular case, not only on Sundays, but a bunch of Christmases & Easters that I was “REQUIRED” to work, which I could’ve spent with my sons back when they were still young. Furthermore, I wonder if any Muslim Postal Workers ever had any problems getting THEIR religious holidays off from work – Hmmmmm !!!!
Anywho, a special salute goes out to Mr. Groff, along with his attorney, Hiram Sasser, for now establishing this as the “official”, Law of the Land.
This coming Easter Sunday, 4/9/23, why not ask Jesus to be your personal Lord & Savior, so you too can have ‘Eternal Life’? Please read, Romans 10:9-10 & perhaps John 14:6, for further info.
Aaron Louie, music pastor at Merrimack Valley Baptist Church, was my guest for this episode of, ‘Frankly Speaking’. This interview took place on 4/5/22 at the Access Nashua studio.
Among the topics discussed during this show included: Easter, specifically why does this holiday go from March to April, year-to-year; comparing Easter to pro football fans, would Easter be like “the Super Bowl of Christianity” since Jesus actually rose from the grave to give Christians their actual spiritual power; and, of course, the musical arrangements Pastor Louie has planned for both the MVBC service on the evening of Good Friday, as well as Easter Sunday morning.
This coming July, MVBC will hold some upcoming major events for its 40th Anniversary. Aside from the fact that it’s a major milestone for any church to reach a 40 year milestone, MVBC has several hundred members, as well as operates a K-thru-12 school, and has a missionary headquarters — all housed in the same complex. It should be noted here too that when the Gallup polling organization conducted a nationwide poll on which States were deemed “Most Religious” in the Country, New Hampshire ranked 49th, just ahead of Vermont for being the absolute worst. Needless to say, there were many challenges en route to making MVBC the tremendous congregation it is today.
Greg Odiorne, pastor of the MVBC, initiated the phrase, “Love Like Jesus” as the annual theme for the current calendar year. Pastor Louie and I talked about the love of Jesus, particularly how His level of Forgiveness and Patience were simply beyond human comprehension. Or, how to literally follow in Jesus’ footsteps by just believing that a Mountain would go into the ocean or any of us could ‘walk on water’ are miraculous feats most people would just limit to Jesus himself.
Last but by no means least, since Pastor Louie is the music pastor of MVBC, we discussed how he composes songs, as well as how he feels about the Christian music genre of today.
To find out more information about Merrimack Valley Baptist Church, please log onto: mvbc.org . Local entertainer Sharon DiFronzo of Screamin Heart records sang the intro and outro theme songs for this show.
I probably should start off with a disclaimer on this particular commentary as the blogger of this video, Pastor Justin Peters was very apologetic trying not to offend anyone with this editorial content, but it does concern traditional dogma that has never really been addressed by either of the Christian or Catholic church, so please try to view it from a Biblical perspective and watch the entire video before you draw any conclusions.
Wow, this is a really tough subject to deal with — ESPECIALLY if you’re a Christian. When both my sons were toddlers, I probably asked them if they were excited about Santa Claus coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve. Neither of my sons have made me a Grandparent yet, but I’m debating if I want to voluntarily put any of my future Grandchildren through the same “Lie” I put both my sons through about a decade ago.
I have the utmost respect for the Minister who did this approximate 45 minute video on this very same topic, Justin Peters. The video titled, ‘Santa Pause’ addresses the strong parallel between Santa Claus and God, indicating it could be construed as idolatry, and how on the two most revered Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter, there seems to be a fictional character serving in the roll as God. The character representing Easter, of course, is the Easter Bunny.
Let’s get real — how many current Christmas movies (or TV holiday specials) are REALLY about the Birth of Jesus Christ? Or what about the vast majority of Christmas carols, which fill the radio airwaves usually between Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and December 25th (the traditionally recognized day of Christmas)? It seems like Jesus has taken a backseat to not only Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, but also Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. I think “commercialization” is the word I’m looking for here.
Whatever happened to once popular Christian cliches around this time of year like: ‘Jesus is the Reason for the Season’, ‘Keep Christ in Christmas’, or how about, ‘Wise Men Still Seek Him’?
Lastly, I really hate to insert Politics into a commentary like this, however, our very probably soon-to-be-departing President, Donald Trump brought back, when he was first elected to public office, the traditional phrase, Merry Christmas without any fear of possibly violating, “Political Correctness”. Next year at this time, will we Americans start hearing President Joe Biden (or maybe President Kamala Harris) revert back to saying, Happy Holidays? What the hell is Happy Holidays supposed to signify, anyways?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject. As for myself, I sort of wish Peters, or somebody like him, had made a video like this years ago. Merry Christmas, everybody.
Stephen Hackett, an Intern with the Merrimack Valley Baptist Church, did this show with me on Frankly Speaking, which was taped at the Access Nashua studio 3/14/16. I was especially blessed when Mr. Hackett shared a lot of Biblical scripture relevant to the Easter holiday. And if you’re looking for a good Bible-based church to attend in the Greater Nashua (NH) area, please consider Merrimack Valley Baptist Church in Merrimack NH.
One Bad Decision Away From Homelessness 