Oscar Night - Jesus on the Red Carpet?

This week I was amazed to see the amount of news coverage provided to this all important topic: Would John Mayer accompany Jennifer Anniston to the Red Carpet of the Academy Awards? The Academy Awards is Hollywood's premier event. Even though some say "It's an honor just to be nominated," winning an Oscar seems equal to finding the Holy Grail. And a huge part of the obsession of the night is the stars' arrival on the Red Carpet. All eyes will be watching, so there is tremendous pressure to get that Red Carpet moment right. You see, because every inch of the stars' appearance will be photographed, analyzed, and dissected, the stars go to extreme lengths to enlist teams of professionals to decide the outfit, the makeup, the jewelery, the pose, and yes, even who will be your date for the evening. A million flashbulbs define a potentially life-changing moment.

Yesterday after church some of us young people were talking about the upcoming Youth Ministries evangelism series. On March 1st, just one week from Oscar night we will have our own premier on Linden's Red Carpet; The Locked Down For Jesus Gospel Experience. One of the young ladies in our group wondered if people would support this program, especially since it's been notoriously challenging to get people to come back to AY. Another young person commented on how the spiritual thermostat of most of our young people seems to be permanently stuck on 'cold.' It seems like some of our youth prepare for church just like the stars prepare for the red carpet: they enlist their team to decide their outfits, make-up, jewelry, pose, and who they will sit with.

So where is Jesus in all this? Luke Chapter 19: 29-40 tells us that Jesus was greeted as a celebrity when the people waved palm branches, lined the streets, and placed their coats on the path as He rode on a colt into Jerusalem. It might as well have been a red carpet because Jesus knew that His award would not be an Oscar, but instead a rugged cross.

Pastor and Sister Kibble reminded us yesterday that this Movement was started by Young People, and if you read Pastor Harrigan's article in the Linden Times then you know it's up to us. Come out to the meetings, Jesus will be there. See you on the Red Carpet.