REAL Church Bulletin Misprints & The REAL Reason for Christian Joy

An Eastern Orthodox Christian Looking Unusually Joyful

I wish to offer the following hypothesis:

Of all the people on the face of the earth it is Christians who should be the most joyful.

Oh, yes…  I’m quite serious.  I’ll explain more in a minute but first please allow me to put a smile on your faces with the following list I’ve compiled from various internet sources.  For your enjoyment (and just for the sake of a good laugh) here are my top 15 church bulletin misprints...  may you be filled with joy!

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Real Church Bulletin Misprints

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1.     Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come       hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

2.     The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict.

3.     Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.

4.     Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again", giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

5.     For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

6.     Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.

7.     A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

8.     At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

9.     Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

10. Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 pm - prayer and medication to follow.

11. The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

12. This evening at 7 pm there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

13. Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.

14. Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

15. Mrs. Johnson will be entering the hospital this week for testes.

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Alright...  now pick yourself up off the floor, dry your eyes and take a moment to think about:

The Real Reason For Christian Joy

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Sure, the list above might be silly and only good for a cheap laugh... BUT a good laugh and a light heart should remind us as Christians of a wonderful truth  – namely, our theology, when properly understood, produces great joy!  Christian theology is not (nor should it ever be considered) merely the preserve of ivory tower academies, nor is it primarily a matter of reading what one scholastic brainbox from the distant past has written in response to another – Christian theology is simply about knowing God and knowing Him better.  To truly know Him is to rejoice in Him. 

Therefore, as someone has concluded elsewhere:

“That’s why theology is so exciting – it’s about knowing this God; the God who is, from all eternity, a Father loving his Son by his Spirit, the God who has revealed himself to us in the Scriptures, the God who has himself come to us in Jesus Christ and displayed his unimaginably great love for us on the cross. That’s why Christian theology is so exciting, it’s not a matter of trying to bend our minds around some philosophical construct – it’s about knowing this God!  And Christian theology is transformative: as we dive deeper into knowing the true and living God, he grips not only our minds, but our hearts too – how could knowing him more not lead us to love him more, since he is lovely?! And then theology becomes very practical: as Jesus taught, when we love him, we will obey his commands (John 14:15).”
 
With all of this in mind please continue to do good theology, grow in your knowledge of God, and be filled with joy.  Never forget of all of the people on the face of the earth, my Christian friend, it is you who should be most joyful!