Scripture for March 31st: Luke 24:1-9

Easter Play: It's All Because of Jesus!

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.

Why is the resurrection of Christ so important? K.D. Boa attempts to answer this question when he writes the following:

"All of Christianity is summed up in one verifiable historical event. And this changes everything. Jesus of Nazareth, a maverick Jewish rabbi and prophet, who claimed to be the Messiah about whom Scripture foretold, was arrested, condemned in an illegal trial and crucified. A soldier’s spear to his side and the blood and water that flowed from the wound confirmed that his lungs had collapsed. He was dead. Days after his body had been prepared and placed in a sealed tomb, some women went back to the tomb and found the Roman seal broken, the stone rolled away from the entrance and his body (along with the guards whose lives depended on their keeping watch over it) gone. Soon after that day, more than 500 people claimed to have seen him alive. Others claimed to have seen him ascend into heaven. Most of these witnesses were still alive at the time of the writing of the four Gospels. If the words of this “Good News” were not true, one of those witnesses would have surely refuted them.

Those who committed to follow Jesus early on gained no visible benefit from following him, no wealth or power or possession. Rather, many were themselves beaten, stoned, tortured and crucified. Yet Christianity has persisted on through history to today. And because we know that this account of Jesus’ death and resurrection is factual, we can also know that his promises are sure. The One who died as a criminal to take our sin away from us is alive now, preparing a place for us. And one day, we will be made alive again with him."

This coming Sunday we will celebrate this "one verifiable historical event" - the resurrection of Christ! We will have the kids perform the annual Easter play, sing praises to our Risen Savior and read the Easter story from God's Word. It will be a great Sunday and I hope to see you then!

He has risen! He has risen, indeed!

Scripture for March 17th: Mark 6:45-52

Sermon Title: Year of Popularity - Calming the Storm

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd. After He said good-bye to them, He went away to the mountain to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. He saw them being battered as they rowed, because the wind was against them. Around three in the morning He came toward them walking on the sea and wanted to pass by them. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. Immediately He spoke with them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded, because they had not understood about the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened.

“There is nothing that will change things!” I have often heard that statement made by individuals who are facing very difficult situations. They are in despair because they think that their circumstances will never improve or change. The disciples certainly could relate to that feeling. When they were in the boat as the storm ravished the sea, they each thought they were going to die in a terrible manner. And then they see what they think is a ghost and immediately they believe there situation has only gotten worse. But notice what Jesus tells them to do – “Don’t be afraid.”

In reality, the disciples were silly to be afraid – Jesus was with them, walking on the very water that He created. What would happen to them that would not happen outside the will of Jesus? The Creator of all was in their midst and nothing was stronger than Him. And truly, it is silly to believe that the situations and circumstances that we face will never change or be used of God for some greater purpose. God is in control; He is in the middle of our lives and He will care for us just like He did for the disciples.

This coming Sunday we are going to talk about three important principles found in this Scripture: the principles of possibility, power and presence. If we are able to apply these principles to our lives and view life through them, we will be able to then do what Jesus asked the disciples to do, “Don’t be afraid.” Hope to see you then!

Scripture for March 10th: Mark 6:30-44

Sermon Title: The Year of Popularity - The Feeding of 5000

The followers of Jesus came back to Him. They told Jesus all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away from the people. Be by yourselves and rest.” There were many people coming and going. They had had no time even to eat. They went by themselves in a boat to a desert. Many people saw them leave and knew who they were. People ran fast from all the cities and got there first. When Jesus got out of the boat, He saw many people gathered together. He had loving-pity for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things. The day was almost gone. The followers of Jesus came to Him. They said, “This is a desert. It is getting late. Tell the people to go to the towns and villages and buy food for themselves.” He said to them, “Give them something to eat.” They said to Him, “Are we to go and buy many loaves of bread and give it to them?” He said to them, “How many loaves of bread do you have here? Go and see.” When they knew, they said, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.” Then He told them to have all the people sit down together in groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of fifty people and in groups of one hundred people. Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves in pieces and gave them to the followers to set before the people. He divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were filled. After that the followers picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. About five thousand men ate the bread.

The miracle of the feeding of 5000 reminds us of the great compassion Jesus had on those around Him. His important work did not distract Him from the needs of others. Jesus loved others and this love was expressed over and over again in tangible ways.

Dr. Warren Wiesbe points this out when he writes the following: “Jesus sent the 12 Apostles out to minister because He had compassion on the needy multitudes (Matt. 9:36–38). This time, the needy multitudes came to them—and the disciples wanted to send them away! As yet, they had not learned to look at life through the eyes of their Master. To them, the crowds were a problem, perhaps even a nuisance, but to Jesus, they were as sheep without a shepherd.

When D.L. Moody was building his great Sunday School in Chicago, children came to him from everywhere. They often passed by other churches and Sunday Schools to be with Mr. Moody. When asked why he walked so far to attend Moody’s Sunday School, one boy replied, “Because they love a fella over there!” The children could tell the difference.”

God has this same great love for us today. He doesn’t sit in a distant place, too distracted from our needs and problems. Rather, He is involved in our lives, viewing us with great compassion and showing His love through tangible ways on a daily basis.

This coming Sunday we will talk about how Christ gave His followers rest, provision and miracles and how He does the same for us today as we continue the sermon series, “The Life of Christ.” Hope to see you then!

Scripture for March 3rd: Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon Title: Year of Preparation – The Baptism of Jesus

Jesus came from Galilee. He went to John at the Jordan River to be baptized by him. John tried to stop Him. He said, “I need to be baptized by You. Do You come to me?” Jesus said to him, “Let it be done now. We should do what is right.” John agreed and baptized Jesus. When Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens opened. He saw the Spirit of God coming down and resting on Jesus like a dove. A voice was heard from heaven. It said, “This is My much-loved Son. I am very happy with Him.”

Why did Jesus get baptized? This is a question many ask and Dr. J. Vernon McGee attempts to answer it when he writes the following: “There may be several answers, but the primary reason is stated right here: “For thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” Jesus is identifying Himself completely with sinful mankind. Isaiah had prophesied that He would be numbered with the transgressors (see Isa. 53:12). Here is a King who identifies Himself with His subjects. Actually, baptism means identification, and I believe identification was the primary purpose for the baptism of the Lord Jesus. Again, the reason Jesus was baptized was not to set an example for us. It was not a pattern for us to follow. Christ was holy—He did not need to repent. You and I do need to repent. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. He was baptized to completely identify Himself with humanity.

There was a second reason Jesus was baptized. Water baptism is symbolic of death. His death was a baptism. You remember that He said to James and John when they wanted to be seated on His right hand and on His left hand in the kingdom, “Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Matt. 20:22). You see, Christ’s death was a baptism. He entered into death for you and for me."

At the baptism of Jesus, He identifies Himself with God the Father and as the long promised Messiah. He also demonstrates His obedience, as He humbles Himself to allow John the Baptist to perform the baptism. We will talk more about His obedience and identification with God the Father and what it means to us today as we begin the sermon series, “The Life of Christ,” on Sunday. Hope to see you then!