Sligo Presbyterian Church: Our Congregation and Community
In this blog, we'll focus on the working being done at Sligo Presbyterian Church, Sligo, Pennsylvania. We'll also look at what's happening in Sligo, Rimersburg, Clarion, and all the other communities served by our congregation.
The members and friends of Sligo Presbyterian Church are discussing the time after the resurrection. We meet on Thursday evenings, at 6:30 p.m., to consider passages that deal with the time between Easter and Pentecost. During this series, we’ll consider the following topics:
[[And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.]]
[[Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.
Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table, and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.]]
Below is a recording and the text of an article that Pastor Rudiger wrote for the Leader-Vindicator.
A couple of weeks ago, two profound events impacted my life. On April 5, we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord. And even though I’ve led worship services on Easter Sunday almost forty times, it’s always special. You see, it comes at the end of a week in which we move from the enthusiasm of Palm Sunday to the pain and sacrifice represented by the cross. And Easter, well, that’s a wonderful way to finish this journey, with the hope made real by an empty tomb. And throughout my pastoral career, I’ve tried to help people focus on this pivotal event.
But for me, this year was different. My father died on April 3. And although it was unexpected, it really wasn’t a surprise. Dad would have been 92 on April 15, and frankly, the last year was challenging. Still, he was in very good physical shape; therefore, we didn’t expect him to pass. As a matter of fact, my wife and I were planning to go down to Norfolk, Virginia during the week after Easter for a visit. Of course, we still went, but the reason was radically different.
And as I’ve been working through these two events, I believe I’ve found a genuine sense of hope and peace in the resurrection. You see, as the Apostle Paul reminds us, “But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life.” [1 Corinthians 15:20, CEV] In other words, since those women found the tomb empty, someday ours will be too.
And I’ll tell you, just believing this has given me enormous hope and peace. You see, my faith is grounded in something real and solid, not vague and obscure. Simply put, I trust that I’ll see my father again, along with my mother, grandparents and all those to whom I’ve said, “Good-bye,” because a process started when God raised Jesus from death. Again, as Paul wrote, “Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us. But we must each wait our turn. Christ was the first to be raised to life, and his people will be raised to life when he returns.” [1 Corinthians 15:21-23, CEV] Now this is at the core of my faith. You see, my trust is not based on disembodied spirits floating around on clouds. Instead, it’s grounded in the sound of a trumpet, in the mortal bodies we now have putting on immortality and in the fulfillment of that promise: Death has lost the battle! Where is its victory? Where is its sting? [1 Corinthians 15:54b-55, CEV] And to me, that’s why the resurrection is important.
For me and my family, both events that recently impacted my life are now in the past. We celebrated Easter, and we endured a funeral. But personally, I doubt that I’ll ever be able to unlink the two, because I can now see that the time of separation we’re facing will end in the twinkling of an eye when God does for us what he’s already done for Jesus Christ. You see, as I’ve tried to convey during every Easter service, our hope is grounded in the resurrection.
On Sunday, April 19, we started a sermon series entitled The Good News of Resurrection: An Exploration of 1 Corinthians 15. During this five-past worship series, we’re looking at how the Apostle Paul viewed the resurrection of Jesus and discuss how it might shape our faith and outlook. We’ll consider the following topics:
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