His Only Son!

Romans 8:32

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Easter comes once a year – even if we should celebrate Easter every Sunday or even every day. Yet – we don’t have to limit our joy to that one day – do we? If your family is like mine – when we gather for Easter – for the family gathering – we usually end up talking about life and the blessings of that life. It is always a touching time – and watching our family age before our eyes – year after year. It brings a nostalgic note too. Listening to what the girls have shared over the years and now what the grandchildren will share has been and is a blessing. We are always thankful for the way God touches our lives and the joy we feel being together.

I’m the crier in the family (one daughter is starting to show my emotions as well). An example of my inability to hold back my tears can be seen in most any family gathering. I remember at a special birthday for my wife in recent years – as others were sharing – I tried to share my heart and the tears flowed. Tears will flow for most any reason from my eyes. I will shed tears when I watch It’s a Wonderful Life for the 200^th time – and even while watching certain episodes of The Andy Griffith Show – tears will flow.

Easter – 4th of July – Birthdays – Thanksgiving – Christmas – are all family time for our family – and we will gather once again – the Lord willing. Holidays and special days are especially hard for me now that mom and dad have gone to be with Jesus – along with my father & mother-in-law. Our parents loved the holidays and family times. We must keep making them special for ur children and grands.

Celebrating Easter Every Sunday

Romans 8:1

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

Easter has come and gone for another year. Churches were packed that Sunday from sunrise services through regular and extra worship services. Some of my colleagues had to hold Easter services off-sight for a variety of reasons. Some wanted to reach the unchurched and thought off-site might be the best way to do this.  Some would have had to hold so many services in their current facilities that it made sense to go off-site to a larger facility. Some for both reasons and maybe some others as well. I imagine that some saw larger crowds than they will see all year until Easter next year – April 20th.

If their attendance was anything like I have experienced over the years – although there were some visitors – like family visiting for the long holiday weekend – folks looking for a church or simply the C&E folks (Christmas and Easter) – mostly the higher attendance is a product of the regular folks all attending on the same Sunday. Sadly – studies show that regular for some means once or twice a month – something less than most every Sunday. When attendance on a regular Sunday is say 75 and on Easter it blossoms to 125 with only 10 visitors – that suggests that if your regulars were more regular – your normal attendance might be closer to 115 than 75.

As pastors we often ask the question – how can I reach the unchurched who attend on Easter? I would like to suggest – too late for this Easter but since they will be around some moving forward – we also ask the question – how can we excite the regulars to be more regular in cooperate worship? I’m not suggesting that those who see once or twice a month as regular worship are not sincere about their faith. For whatever the reason – and that is the key – other things take a priority over cooperate worship two to three Sundays a month. Why and what can the church do about that priority listing – if anything?  Shouldn’t the joy of our salvation – our relationship with Jesus – overcome even the toughest circumstances of life?

Gathering Together

Hebrews 10:24–25

²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Last Sunday was Easter – and most sanctuaries were probably fuller than normal. I know our church had a number of folks that were visiting and most of our regular members were present. It wasn’t packed – but there were more than usual. It was a wonderful day and worship was a blessing. Did you attend worship? If so – leave some comments in the comment section giving God glory for what you experienced.

My sermon Sunday – was about commissioning the Body of Christ – the church – to go out and tell somebody about Jesus. You can hear the service and sermon here. The sermon is titled – The Great Commissioning – and is based on Matthew 28:1-20. I challenged the congregation – and myself – to think of four persons that they believed needed to hear about Jesus – and go and share our faith with them.

Traditional Faith

Matthew 28:18–20

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Today’s presenting scripture has been called the the Great Commission. It is often seen as the marching orders for the Christian Church. It will be a part of our sermon on Easter morning this year.

We are called to go and make disciples of or for Jesus Christ (whichever makes the most sense to you – lol). In the early years of the Methodist movement – making disciples – followers of Christ – seemed to be the main focus. Revivals and Camp Meetings were all the rage and altar calls were common place in Methodist worship – as pastors challenged parishioners to be transformed after the likeness of Christ. I typically have an altar call each week to challenge those in attendance to faith – or to a deeper faith – or simply to pray about something that has been a challenge for them. Even online – we challenge people at the end of our services.

Early Methodists were called to holiness – they were part of the holiness movement in the United States. We were taught to study the Word of God (the Bible) and to strive to live our lives after what it taught. We were even encouraged to avoid some of the ills of our society. The way it was explained to me (as a third generation Methodist pastor) – Methodists were encouraged to abstain from alcohol – from playing cards – from dancing – even from playing pool. The reason – again as it was explained to me – was because these social activities were often associated with bars and night clubs – with gambling and behavior and places that were not appropriate for folks striving to follow after Christ. We were encouraged to avoid even the appearance of evil or sin (we actually called behavior contrary to God’s will – sin in those days).  We were encouraged to keep Sunday set aside for the Lord. In my home growing up – Sunday was a day for worship and Sunday School in the morning – a family lunch – a nap time – youth group – and worship in the evening. Sunday was a day set aside for being with God and with other Christians.

Lent 2024 – Our Hearts

Deuteronomy 6:6

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

We are in the midst of Lent 2024. Let me share with you some upcoming events during this Lenten Season.

We continue our Lenten fast. How are you doing?

We will have breakfast with the Easter Bunny on March 23rd at 10 am. I promise you – this event will be all about Jesus.

We will have a Cantata along with our worship service on March 24th at 10:30 am – Palm Sunday.

We will have a Community Meal at 6 pm on March 28th at 6:00 pm – and celebrate Holy Communion together at our tables.

We will join First Baptist Church in Annapolis on March 29th at 3 pm – Good Friday – for the Last Seven Words.

We will have a Sunrise service Easter morning – March 31st – at 6:30 am. This service will be outside – weather permitting – and we will gather on the Sanctuary front steps. If the weather isn’t nice – we will meet in the Sanctuary. There will be a different sermon at the Sunrise service and the regular service at 10:30 am in the Sanctuary.

Today’s passage reminds us to put the Word of God on our heart. This doesn’t mean memorize – although that would be a blessing. It does mean that we learn the Word and learn to live in and through it. Are we students of the Word of God?