A Pastor's Big Day

I need help! That is an understatement. I always feel the intense expectation of Easter Sunday. I realize that the Lord has placed in my lap a task that I am incapable of doing. Preaching the gospel. I was awake at 3 a.m., then 4a.m. and then about 5:15 a.m. for good, because of the anticipation of this morning. I have been praying, and realize in all the hustle and bustle I should have been praying more.

So whats the big deal?

The big deal is that Jesus is alive. The big deal is that I truly believe that people's souls will be changed for all eternity today.

There are 3 categories of people that will attend Easter services at churches this morning.

#1 - The soundly save and walking with Christ. My hope and prayer for them is that the service and message from God's Word will be used of the Lord to draw them in worship of Christ, to edify, the encourage, to press them in even closer to Christ. What a glorious opportunity for them.

#2 - The nominal. There are always people who make an appearance each Christmas and Easter. Some people make jokes at their expense. "See you next year." I don't want to brow beat these people, Christ died for them too. I do pray earnestly that this Easter might be different for them. I hope that the Lord would open their eyes, and that they would get right with God. They are missing out on way too much to continue in the direction they are heading.

#3 - The Lost. Lost people will go to church. Some know they are lost, some think they are saved and they are not. They go to church because it is the cultural thing to do, or they were raised that way, or their spouse makes them. I don't care why. I thank God that they go. I see their eternal destiny before them. I pray for their salvation.

Those three things weigh upon my mind and soul. I want thing to be just right, down to the smallest detail. I want this so that there will be the least distractions to keep people from the stated goal above.

All of that is why I need help? Not your help. The Lord's help.

Lord, do a might work according to Your Will. Pour out yourself in power, strength, grace and mercy. Remove distractions, doubt, the influence of the enemy and the world. May the glory of the true gospel shine in the darkness.

Easter T.V.

(This is a timely repost)

It's getting to be that time of year. As Easter approaches many people try and capitalize on the interest in the holiday. One thing that annoys me is how the media portrays Easter as some controversy about Jesus. Pay attention to some of the major t.v. stations and even some major magazine publications (like Time) in the next several weeks. You will see many shows about Jesus, the Resurrection, or something to do with religion. Most of these shows are more like the "Da Vinci Code" than real journalism.

I have already seen a couple of show titles like "The Real Jesus", "The Fake Jesus" trying to get an audience. I haven't seen all of these shows, but am pretty sure I know what the gist will be. Jesus isn't what the Bible really says He is.

I have seen a few of these done by 20/20 and 60 minutes type t.v. shows in the past. They always have experts on these shows. What is almost humorous is that these so called "experts" are rarely mainstream experts. They almost always represent some fringe element on the liberal side of theological academia. Why? They are more sensational. The more sensational and far fetched the ideas, the better chance of gaining an audience.

The truth of the matter is this: the most reliable and historically credible information about Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, is the Biblical record. So, before you take some phony "experts" da vinci like conspiracy rubbish about Jesus, go to the real source and see what it has to say.

Christmas VS. Easter

The Big Deal:

The Christmas season is the undisputed heavy weight champion of holidays in the US. For proof of that assertion just go to Wal Mart in mid October. The Christmas promotions are in full swing earlier and earlier every year.

From a commercial standpoint and overall societal emphasis - Christmas is the big dog.

What about Easter? It does get some promotional considerations, but it is not nearly as big a deal. Have you ever noticed that? I have.

Easter is commercialized. Stores look for anyway they can to get a buck. The markets are closed for Good Friday. But, there is a two week break at Christmas. Schools are closed, people are on vacation. There are Christmas parties, specials, and all kinds of activities that take place for about 6 weeks.

Why? Let me delve into some social analysis.

First, I am not dealing with biblical/spiritual reasons just yet. I know that America's fascination with Christmas is not on a true/biblical/spiritual level. I am making general observations.

Second, Christmas should be a big deal. Especially for us Christ followers. It should be more than what our society has turned it into. I want Christmas to be a big deal, I also want Easter to be a big deal.

#3 Christmas falls at a strategic point in our yearly calendar. The end of one year and beginning of another makes it a good time to have a break. It is also the middle of the school year. Easter being in the spring makes that time more difficult to take as much time off.

#4 Christmas is the same time each year. Easter is different every year. There is a complicated formula for determining when Easter Sunday will fall. That gives an edge to Christmas.

I think there are other reasons that Christmas is so grand in our society(tradition, etc.). What I really want to address is why Easter is not so grand.

There will be a commercial push. You will see Easter bunnies, eggs, and the like appear in the stores. But, it is so small comparatively to Christmas.

I think the reason why is because the cross is offensive. Galatians 5:15. The word of the cross is folly. 1 Corinthians 1:18.

A baby in a manger is cute. Let's make figurines, books, pictures about a little baby and his loving family. Throw in some cute sheep, a camel, and a donkey and we've got a precious story.

Put a man on a cross, bleeding, gasping for breath, dying for sin - people want to stay away from that. We can celebrate a baby, but a bloody execution? No thanks. That is the attitude that has led to the difference between Christmas and Easter.

What we need to keep in mind is that Christmas is for the purpose of Easter. Christmas comes so Easter can follow. The purpose for the birth of the little baby was so that baby could grow, live and die on a cross. Take away Easter and Christmas is nothing all that special.

The cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to those being saved it is the power of God. Embrace the cross of the Christ child this Christmas and you will be head and shoulders beyond were the majority of society has placed itself.

For more on the connection between Christmas and Easter read Hebrews 2:10-18.

Resurrection Apology

Easter 2007 - Christ Is Risen!

The following is an exerpt from Josh McDowell's book The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict (pages 208-209)

Wilbur M Smith, noted scholar and teacher says, "No weapon has ever been forged, and ...none ever will be, to destroy rational confidence in the historical records of this epochal and predicted event. The resurrection of Christ is the very citadel of the Christian faith. This is the doctrine that turned the world upside down in the first century, that lifted Christianity preeminently above Judaism and the pagan religions of the Mediterranean world. If this goes, so must almost everything else that is vital and unique in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ: 'If Christ be not risen, then your faith vain'" (1 Cor. 15:17)

Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli describe the incredible impact of the resurrection:
The resurrection is of crucial practical importance because it completes our salvation. Jesus came to save us from sin and its consequences, death.(Rom. 6:23) The resurrection also sharply distinguishes Jesus from all other religious founders. The bones of Abraham and Muhammed and Buddha and Confucious and Lao-Tzu and Zoroaster are still here on earth. Jesus' tomb is empty.
The existential consequences of the resurrection are incomparable. It is the concrete, factual, empirical proof that: life has hope and meaning, "love is stronger than death"; goodness and power are ultimately allies, not enemies; life wins in the end; God has touched us right here where we are and has defeated our last enemy; we are not cosmic orphans, as our modern secular worldview would make us. And these existential consequences of the resurrection can be seen by comparing the disciples before and after. Before, they ran away, denied their Master and huddled behind locked doors in fear and confusion. After, they were transformed from scared rabbits into confident saints, world-changing missionaries, courageous martyrs and joy-filled ambassadors for Christ.

Wilbur Smith says,
But when He said that He himself would rise again from the dead, the third day after He was crucified, He said something that only a fool would dare say, if he expected longer the devotion of any disciples--unless He was sure He was going to rise. No founder of any world religion known to men ever dared say a thing like that.

As G. B. Hardy has said, "Here is the complete record:
Confucious' tomb: occupied
Buddha's tomb: occupied
Mohammed's tomb: occupied
Jesus' tomb: EMPTY

The verdict is in. The decision is clear. The evidence speaks for itself. It says very clearly:

CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!