Good afternoon and welcome to the Alpha Light Party. To start off with I want to do a quick quiz with you. So you all need to listen carefully and stand up. We are going to play a quick game of true or false, so listen carefully.
1. The name ‘Halloween’ means ‘Half-Night’, meaning the night when boundaries between the physical and spiritual worlds are lowered. FALSE –actually ‘All Hallows Eve’ 1st November is actually All Saints Day. Hallow means to make Holy.
2. Halloween was originally an ancient Pagan celebration known as “Samhain” (pronounced ‘Sah-ween’) TRUE
3. In parts of Yorkshire, a similar festival to Halloween occurs on November 4th and it is known locally as “Mischief Night” TRUE
4. The purpose of Halloween Lanterns carved from pumpkins and originally turnips is to aid casting magic spells FALSE – they are supposed to scare away evil spirits
5. There is nothing dangerous about Halloween; it’s all just a bit of fun. DEBATABLE
That is part of why we are here. Halloween can be a bit of fun for some but for others it is a very serious festival or a very scary experience.
On Halloween night, people traditionally dress up in costumes, light lanterns and call on people to try and scare them with trick or treating. You don’t need to tell me how popular it is, just take a look in all the supermarkets. From September onwards, the shops are full of broomsticks, pumpkins and witches costumes. Most people don’t think whether it relates to anything real. However, there are others who regard this time of year very seriously.
The Bible claims the devil is real, and that he is powerful. He wants people to be afraid, especially of death. But we as Christians believe that although the devil is powerful, he isn’t anything as powerful as God. The devil was defeated by Jesus’ death, and as a result, the grip he had over people has been shaken off.
The book of Hebrews says this about why Jesus came.
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death- that is, the devil- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
The Bible tells us that God sent Jesus to release people from fear and offer them freedom.
On All Hallows Day, or All Saints Day, Christians remember all the saints who had faith in God to help them over come their fears to help others. This Halloween, rather than frightening others, you might consider some of the things that frighten you. With God’s help we can conquer fear. If we could all live free from fear, imagine what a different world it would be.
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