“Halloween” means “holy evening.”  It’s called that, because Oct.31 is the eve of All Saints Day.  All Saints Day is a wonderful holiday.  The Bible commands us to remember those who have gone before us.

Heb.13:7  Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 

Heb.6:12 We…want you…to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. 

After a long chapter about the great men and women of faith, the next verse urges us to take courage from their example (12:1).

God instituted holidays for the purpose of reminding us and to give an occasion to teach our kids.  

Luther, waited until Oct.31 to nail the 95 theses in honor of All Saints Day.  What a great time to teach your kids about the reformation.  “Why do we celebrate Halloween?”  “Did you know there was time when non-Christians were in charge of the church, and they wouldn’t let people have Bibles, and made them pay all their money – lying about getting them out of hell…”

Christmas started as a pagan holiday, and the Church changed it.  Same with Easter.  We need to keep trying with Halloween.

My opinion: celebrate the holiday, but steer clear of the bad elements.  We teach our kids that all the scary stuff is bad – we do the same thing with the worldly elements of Christmas and Easter.

What should we do tonight?  We want to encourage the success of Christian celebrations.