Slideshow image

November 1 is All Saints Day, also known as All Hallows Day. It’s a day to remember and celebrate faithful followers of Jesus who now stand in the presence of the Lord in glory.

In the Bible, it was important to honour those who had gone before. Think of the long lists of often unpronounceable names in 1 Chronicles 1-9; or the names and ancestry of the Jews who returned from Babylon in Nehemiah 7; or the priestly heritage of Ezra in Ezra 7. Of course, the most famous list of names, or genealogy, is found in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. This is the genealogy of Jesus.

Each genealogy highlights one simple fact: the faithfulness of God through all generations. God’s promises stand, they cannot be shaken or corrupted.

What does All Saints Day mean to us today? Ephesians 2:20 says that as fellow citizens with God’s people we are “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ himself as the chief cornerstone.” We stand in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it has been passed down to us from the apostles and prophets through the Scriptures, as it has been lived and witnessed to by the Church over the last 2000 years, as it continues to be demonstrated in the life of each believer today by the power of the Holy Spirit.

All Saints Day reminds us, therefore, that we are not alone. We are connected to one another and to all believers who have gone before us and will come after us. We are the “family of faith”. All Saints Day reminds us that we have the greatest heritage ever known, for God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight – as Ephesians 1 declares. And All Saints Day reminds us that in Christ we are triumphant. As someone once said, “The Church is the only organization that does not lose a member because of death.” As 2 Corinthians 4:14 says, “...the one who raised the Lord Jesus form the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.”

God has been faithful through all generations. He continues to be faithful. His faithfulness is everlasting. He will bring us into his eternal presence, with all the saints, at the final resurrection to eternal life. Hallelujah.

視頻大意翻譯(video Chinese translation):

大家早。

今天，11月1日是眾聖節，就是大家所知道的萬聖節。這是慶祝耶穌忠心跟隨者的一天，他們在我們以先，現在已經站在主的榮光同在中了。

在聖經中，我們看到尊重先人是多麼重要。想想歷代志上1-9章中那些經常無法發音的名字。或者尼希米記第7章中所有從巴比倫歸來的猶太人的名字和祖先。或者以斯拉記第7章中以斯拉的祭司遺產。當然，最著名的名字或家譜是在馬太福音 1 章和路加福音 3 章中看到的。就是耶穌的家譜。

每個家譜都是為了強調一個簡單的事實：上帝世世代代的信實。上帝的應許是有效的，它們不能被動搖或敗壞。

萬聖節對今天的我們意味著什麼？以弗所書2：20說，作為與神子民同居的公民，我們“建立在使徒和先知的根基上，以基督自己為房角石”。我們站在耶穌基督福音的真理中，因為它是從使徒和先知通過聖經傳給我們的，正如教會在過去2000年中生活和見證的那樣，正如它繼續透過聖靈的力量在每個信徒的生活中彰顯出來一樣。

因此，萬聖節提醒我們，我們並不孤單。我們彼此相連，也與所有在我們之前和將要跟隨我們的信徒聯結在一起。我們是“信仰之家”。萬聖節提醒我們，我們擁有有史以來最偉大的遺產，因為神在創造世界之前在基督里揀選了我們，在他眼中是聖潔和無可指摘的—正如以弗所書 1 章所宣稱的那樣。萬聖節提醒我們，在基督里我們是得勝的。正如有人曾經說過的，”教會是唯一一個不會因為死亡而失去會員身分的組織。如哥林多後書 4：14 所說，“那叫主耶穌復活的、也必叫我們與耶穌一同復活、並且叫我們與你們一同站在他面前。”

萬聖節是一個充滿歡樂、希望和期待的日子。上帝世世代代都是信實的。他繼續忠心。他的信實是永恆的：他將帶領我們進入他永恆的同在，與所有的聖徒一起，在最後的復活中，獲得永生。哈利路亞。

讓我們一起禱告。 

Grace and peace

Pastor Callum