halloween tips

Halloween is celebrated this coming Sunday Evening, October 31, 2021.
 
Halloween is the contraction of All Hallows’ Eve, a holiday observed on October 31, the evening before All Saints’ (or All Hallows’) Day. In much of Europe and most of North America, observance of Halloween is largely nonreligious.
 
This time of year is unlike any other in many respects. Every shopping center and grocery store is filled with all sorts of candy, costumes, and colorful decorations. Over 14 Billion Dollars will be spent on Halloween this year. In a few short days children will parade up and down the streets going to houses decorated for the occasion. They will be disguised as their favorite characters chanting “Trick or Treat” and holding out plastic bags or molded plastic pumpkins in hopes of collecting vast amounts of candy.
 
I was reading up about Halloween, and I ran across a sermon by Scott R. Bayles and I thought he had some suggestions we might want to consider.
 
He was thinking that while we have been encouraged to use holidays such as Easter and Christmas as opportunities for outreach, he would suggest the same thing for Halloween. So, he shared a Practical Perspective of Halloween:
 
"In my opinion, the worst thing Christians can do on Halloween is turn off the lights, lock the door and pretend no one is home. Jesus said that his purpose in coming to earth was to “seek and save the lost.” That’s our mission too. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Let your lights shine before men in such a way that they will see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16 NASB).
 
So, let’s heed the words of our Lord and Savior and let our lights shine—both our spiritual lights and porch lights—on a day that is typically known for its darkness. Let me offer some suggestions on how to use Halloween to glorify God:
 
1.      Don’t turn out the lights and ignore it. Halloween won’t go away. So, if you don’t support this holiday, determine to turn a negative into a positive.
2.      If you’re staying home: buy some candy, answer the door and when you put candy in the children’s bags include some information about the church.
3.      If you have children, don’t take fun away from them, go “Trick-or-Treating” with them. And take some Halloween church handouts to give out along the way. I mean, think about it: how often can you go door to door on a day when almost everyone will answer the door with a pleasant attitude?
4.      Instead of playing scary music, play Christian music really loud.
5.      Have a Halloween party and instruct everyone to come as a Bible character.
6.      Buy a pumpkin and carve a cross in it, placing a candle inside to symbolize that Jesus is the light of the world.
7.      PRAY! Pray for the safety of the children who will be out on that night, but more importantly pray that the Gospel will go out that night as well—and that through God’s word some lost soul might come to know Jesus.
 
I hope that you leave your lights on Sunday evening and maybe try some of the ideas mentioned! There will be some Halloween church invitational handouts available at the church services on Sunday for you to pick up and share in your trick or treating.
 
Bart Gray
Lay Servant