Finally, a church with an Easter message on their sign!

WEEKLY CHURCH SIGN REVIEW: Bowmanville Seventh-Day Adventist Church

For some reason, it was surprisingly hard to find any churches with signs mentioning Easter this year. In fairness, I’ve mostly been taking pictures of church signs I see while walking my dog or sometimes while driving around the city. A friend snapped this pic from the Bowmanville Seventh-Day Adventist Church⸺that’s a little too far away for walking my dog!

Jesus loves the people driving by our churches and this sign communicates that truth in a relevant way given that this was so close to Easter Sunday. Not everyone would get the meaning of this sign, but I think many people know that Jesus died on the cross and would understand this message claiming Jesus did this out of love for us. I like it, but I have to apply my usual review standards. This sign is not the most welcoming and it does not give a specific invite. Since Bowmanville Seventh-Day Adventist Church holds their church service on Saturday at 11 or 11:30 am (not clear to me from the website), it’s important to have this on the sign if you’re wanting to invite people to come. So great job giving a relevant, positive Easter message, but, unfortunately, lacking in a couple other ways. 3 stars out of 5 gives this sign a passing grade.

Do-It-Yourself Church Sign

WEEKLY CHURCH SIGN REVIEW: St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Oshawa

OK, first, apologies for featuring church signs from St. Matthew’s Anglican Church so often! That’s not fair when there are so many other church signs around. I’ve spent the last couple weeks moving and St. Matthew’s just happens to be on that runway from my old address to my new address. Plus I really like this week’s sign! I promise not to do another sign from St. Matthew’s next Friday, unless it’s really very good. (Sorry for skipping the review last week… last Saturday was the big moving day.)

“What could this sign say for you to come on Sunday?” Great question! This week’s sign is witty and welcoming. St. Matthew’s Anglican Church is saying to all the people passing by, “We’d like you to come to church… What could we say to convince you?” And the sign gives the times people can come on Sunday. Four stars! It’s welcoming, fun, friendly and gives a specific invite. Congratulations to St. Matthew’s Anglican Church for earning the highest score so far on the Weekly Church Sign Review.

“I’ll be back!” said Jesus, long before Arnold Schwarzenegger!

WEEKLY CHURCH SIGN REVIEW: St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Oshawa

I have to admit this week’s sign at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Oshawa definitely caught my attention! I knew right away it would be the sign for this week’s review. Sorry for all the snow in the picture I took on April 6! The sign reads: JESUS SAID “I’LL BE BACK” A LONG WAY BEFORE ARNOLD DID! Is it funny? I’m still trying to decide.

I previously reviewed a “Christian Budweiser” sign by St. Matthew’s Anglican Church. It didn’t score so well. But I do want to give this church one star for effort. They are trying to do something with their sign and they do change every week to two weeks. I’ll give them a second star for including the invite to the Sunday Worship Service, though perhaps they should’ve included the word “Sunday.” I’m hesitant about giving another star for the humor of the sign as I’m not sure that i’s that funny. Could we run a poll on whether this sign is funny or not?

The humor is in suggesting that Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger’s catchphrase “I’ll be back” could’ve been used by the resurrected Jesus as a way of promising his followers that he would return to earth someday following his ascension into heaven. The second coming of Jesus is clearly taught in the Bible so this catchy idea makes sense. It’s not theologically incorrect. But do people who don’t attend church know that Jesus promised to return and that Christians today are waiting expectantly for the second coming? Personally I believe the return of Jesus is imminent. It could happen at anytime. I’m not so sure that many people in the church today believe this or teach it or act as it were true. It’s in the creeds, but do Christians live watching and waiting as Jesus instructed? Do people outside church know that we believe that Jesus ‘will be back’? If not, the humor of the sign falls flat and it’s a joke that only works for insiders. If you click on the “CLICK HERE to join the discussion” link just below this post you can leave a comment to tell me if you found the sign to be funny or not, and maybe you can tell us what you believe about the second coming. Do you agree with the 2 out of 5 stars score? What would you give this church sign? (If you don’t see the link for joining the discussion, click on the title of the post and that link should then be visible below the post.)

Finally, I’m not sure if St. Matthew’s Anglican Church put up this sign because Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the news this week or if that’s just coincidental, but God’s peace be with him. Schwarzenegger underwent heart surgery on March 29, spent the Easter weekend in hospital and just went home today. A spokesperson released a statement saying the 70-year-old “Terminator” actor and former California governor was “home and doing incredibly well.” Here’s Arnold’s tweet from the hospital:

It’s true: I’m back! I went to sleep expecting to wake up with a small incision and woke up with a big one - but guess what? I woke up, and that’s something to be thankful for. Thank you to the doctors & nurses. And I’m truly filled with gratitude for all of the kind messages.

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) April 2, 2018