Well, let me start today by saying … ‘Happy Easter!’ Today, in celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, we’re beginning a new series which will basically explain—perhaps in ways you’ve never thought of before—why Jesus came and did what he did for us. And what we’re going to discover together today and for the next several weeks is … it’s all about relationship! Are you familiar with the old game called ‘Simon Says’? You know, you’ve got one person who is the caller and says ‘Simon says … whatever.’ And when that...
Let me read our scripture for today (which sounds like it should be Palm Sunday already), then I’ll get into it (Mark 11:1-11, NLT)… As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If...
The Gospels record seven last statements of Jesus. Luke and John record three each, but Matthew and Mark each tell us of only one statement Jesus made from the cross. Surely, Jesus said more than that … but for these two Gospel writers, this one statement was all that needed to be recorded. … For many, it is the most moving, disturbing, and powerfully haunting statement of the seven: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These words reflect not only the darkness of this horrific experience Jesus...
Folks, you have a review sheet in your bulletin, as an insert today. I’d like to take a look at that, so we can review just what we need to be about to be a church whom God will bless in the future. Would you look at that with me right now? If we want God’s blessing on all that we’re doing here, we need to be a church that is about… Praying for God’s Power (even though we usually want to do things ourselves)… Using everyone’s language (words matter...
There’s a story of a man who was at the gym one day, working out on an elliptical machine, and looking out the front window of the gym onto the parking lot. As he worked out, sweating away, he noticed a guy pull into the parking lot right in front of the gym. After a couple of minutes, this rather large guy gets out of his car … and it takes some effort for him to even get out of his rather small sedan. (Kind of like Mr. Incredible …...
My wife, Jane, and I met at a church camp, here in Wisconsin, in the summer of ’77. For Rom, it was a very good year… It wasn’t long after I met Jane that I took a picture of her and, because she was going back to school in Indiana after the summer was over, that picture came to mean a great deal to me. It kind of became an item of pre-nuptial ‘worship.’ (I’m not saying that was right; I’m just saying that’s how it was…) It was one...
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?” 13 So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with...
As we begin today, I want to walk you through the very familiar story of Good Friday… Here’s my timeline for the day: Thursday, early evening … Jesus dined with his disciples for what has come to be known as The Last Supper… Thursday, after supper … Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane, across the Kidron Valley over to the base of the Mount of Olives … and it was there he prayed so intently that sweat dropped off of him likes drops of blood… His disciples couldn’t stay...
