April 7

John 17:20-23

The Unity of True Christian Fellowship

What are the marks of true Christian unity? What is its foundation? How does it contrast with what the world calls unity? As Jesus describes it, unity is not like a gift on Christmas morning that’s all wrapped up in ribbons and bows, sitting under the tree to be unwrapped. Unity is the PRODUCT of a group of believers committing themselves to Truth as God reveals it to us in His Word. Truth is embodied in the person of Christ and expressed in God’s Word. Truth is not a random conclusion we come to by way of our own reason and experience. Truth is revealed to us by God. As our lives together are conformed to that Truth, they become holy, bound together in a God-breathed unity that cannot be broken by the world.

April 14

John 18:1-11

John 19:16-19

Was the Cross Really Necessary?

This is a question that haunts the minds of lots of modern Christians, especially those of us who have lived mostly comfortable lives. To us the cross seems unnecessarily barbaric. How could a God of love put his son through what Jesus went through? Why was the cross necessary to save the world? I spent the larger part of a Saturday morning in search of answers to these questions. I read the entire 18^th and 19^th chapters of John’s gospel, parts of which I will read as today’s text. And I now know the answer: Yes, the cross was necessary.   No, it’s not something I enjoyed reading about. No, I do not like imagining how Jesus suffered a torturous death on my behalf. No, it’s not very appetizing or appealing to our modern sensibilities. But I have come to terms with the truth that Jesus went to the cross and died on the cross because there was no other way to accomplish his mission.   The cross is not pretty, but it is beautiful. I pray I can convince you today of its necessity. 

April 21

Sunrise Service

Luke 24:1-12

April 21

Easter Worship

Exodus 14:15-22, 26-31

John 20:11-18

April 28

What Does It Mean to be an Easter Person?

I find it fascinating and wonderful that the first heroes of the Easter Story in Luke’s account are women! It was Jesus’ women followers whose compassion and love and sense of duty drove them to His tomb early on that Sunday morning. It was the women first discovered the stone was rolled away. It was a woman who first heard the angels’ message and spoke to the Risen Christ. Today, we are going to let these women show us what it means to be Easter People, people who believe the unbelievable, find hope in the midst of disaster, and do what seems impossible. Can we be Easter people today like those first women at the tomb? 

On Exodus and Easter

This year I have discovered some striking similarities between the Exodus and the Easter events. I’d always known how closely connected the Crucifixion was to the Passover, how Jesus became the sacrificial lamb who delivered us from the death sentence of sin. But it’s not until now that I’m finally making the connection between the “Crossing of the Red Sea” and that first Easter morning! For Jews and for Christians alike, God is a God of deliverance! A God who refuses to leave his children in the bonds of slavery! Both stories in the Bible are God’s witness to his people: my love will not be defeated by the power of evil, sin and death. The morning of the Exodus truly is a foreshadowing of the morning of Easter. On Exodus and Easter morning, the impossible became possible, defeat became victory, and death became the doorway to new life.