Weekend Sermon -- Easter

      Thanks for joining me today for the Weekend Sermon. Christ is risen today, glory be to His name. 

     Over the course of the last few weeks, we've been in a series of messages called the Way of Jesus. This is Holy Week, and it is Easter, so I am taking a short break from our current series to bring a message about Easter and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

     On Good Friday, we saw from the Gospel of John that Jesus was crucified. He died for our sins, and then He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. As the Sabbath was quickly approaching, the full preparation of the body of Jesus wasn't carried out, so on Sunday morning, some of the women who followed Jesus went to the tomb in order to prepare it. What they saw shocked them. 

     When the women arrived at the tomb, they saw that the stone was rolled away. An angel told them that Jesus was no longer there. He had risen from the dead just like He told them He would. The women were told to go tell the disciples that Jesus was risen, and that is what they did. However, the disciples didn't believe until they saw the Risen Lord revealed to them in person. After His resurrection, Jesus made several post-resurrection appearances so that there would be no doubt that He was alive. The apostle Paul tells us that there were at least 500 people who witnessed the fact that Jesus was alive. 

     So, what does the resurrection of Jesus mean to us. It means everything. When Jesus died on the cross, He shed His blood to redeem us from our sins. However, we know from what the Bible tells us that there is a consequence for sin. Sin brings death. In order to truly defeat the power of sin, Jesus had to rise from the dead conquering death, hell and the grave. 

     On Easter morning, Jesus rose in triumph over the grave. Sin had been defeated once and for all. Those who put their faith and trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus would have eternal life. He would be with us now and for eternity in the place that He has gone to prepare for those who love Him. 

     Because of what happened on Easter morning, those who are in Christ need not fear death. For those who know Jesus, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. When we die, we go immediately to be with Jesus. It isn't because of anything that we have done, it is because of what Jesus has done for us. 

     Because Jesus rose, we do not grieve as those who have no hope. We will be reunited in Heaven with those who we love who were in Christ. All is well and all will be well because Jesus is the Risen Savior. 

     I want to invite you to come to know the Risen Lord today. Believe in what He did for you on the cross. Belief in His resurrection. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sin and to come into your heart as Savior and Lord. You can come to know Him today. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please continue to pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Pray for peace in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. 

     Coronavirus is still a big problem in many places. Pray for an end to this pandemic, and pray that the sick will recover. 

     Continue to pray for the people of Tonga as they recover from the effects of the volcanic eruption that occurred a few weeks ago. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of  Guinea and Djibouti. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, we will return to our series on the Way of Jesus. I will post the verses on Monday, and I will try to post something midweek. May God bless you all.  

Maundy Thursday

      This is the first of our Holy Week posts. I want us to focus on the events of Maundy Thursday. On this night, Jesus instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion. He told the disciples that the bread represented His body that was to be broken for them. The wine represented His blood that would be shed for them. As often as they ate the bread and drank from the cup, they were remembering His death until the time that He would come back to earth again. 

     When we partake of the elements of Holy Communion, we are remembering what Jesus did for us when He sacrificed Himself on the cross. He came from Heaven and took upon Himself human flesh. He was tempted in all manner just as we are, yet He was without sin. By living a sinless life, He was our perfect example, and He was the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. We must always remember what Jesus gave up and what Jesus suffered in order that we might have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. 

     Jesus did something else on Maundy Thursday. He washed the disciples feet. He did this in order to demonstrate to them that He had come to serve and not to be served. As they followed His example in the world, they were to serve each other and those in the broader community. They were to go out and tell others about Jesus and help them to have a better life. They were not to go and get notice and riches for themselves. In all things, the disciples were to follow Jesus' example. We are to do the same. Let Jesus be our example as we seek to serve Him in this world. 

Update

   An update on the blog. Since this is Holy Week, there will be a Maundy Thursday and a Good Friday post. The Weekend Sermon will be posted on Saturday this week. 

    I have two prayer requests. Please pray that the storms predicted for my area will not be bad. Also, pray that all will go well with my dental appointment this week. Thank you. 

Verses For The Week

      Before I post the verses, I would like to ask that you pray that the weather in my area will not be bad this week. The forecast is for tornados. Pray that the storms do not come. Thank you. 

II Thessalonians 3:3 -- "But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one."

Psalm 138:7 -- "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out Your hand against the anger of my foes; with Your right hand You save me."

Weekend Sermon -- The Way of Jesus -- Part 6

      Welcome to the Weekend Sermon. I hope everyone is having a good week. Thank you for taking the time to read the sermon this week. 

     As you probably know by now, we are in the midst of a series of messages I've entitled the way of Jesus. These messages are intended to show the way that Jesus taught us to live. They are to show what it means to live as a follower of Jesus in this world. 

     In today's message, I want us to see that following the way of Jesus means helping the least among us as we have been taught to do by Jesus. We find Jesus' teaching about this specifically in Matthew 25. 

     In this chapter, Jesus tells us that there will be a great judgment of the nations when He returns to earth at His Second Coming. Jesus will separate the nations as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Jesus brings judgment against one group. He tells them that when He was sick, they did not come to visit Him. When He was hungry, they did not feed Him. When He was naked, they did not clothe Him. This group asks when they might have seen Jesus in this way. Jesus tells them that when they did not do good unto the least among them, they did not do it unto Him. On the other hand, Jesus tells the other group that they had clothed Him when they saw Him naked. They had visited Him when He was sick. They feed Him when they saw Him hungry. Jesus said that when they had done it unto the least of these, they had done it unto Him. 

     Following the way of Jesus means helping those who are considered to be the least among us. We have many people in many nations around the world that need those of us who follow the Lord Jesus to help them. In my country, there are many people who suffer from what is called food insecurity. This means that they don't know from one week to the next if they will have enough money to buy the food that they need for themselves and for their families. Many people in the US are reliant on food banks in order to have enough to get by from week to week. Without the free school lunches that many students receive, they wouldn't get a proper meal. Some schools even send food home for the children on the weekends so that they will have enough to eat. In my country, there are many homeless people who have virtually nothing. 

     Following the way of Jesus and helping the least of these means that we have to do all that we can to help people get enough to eat. There are people all over the world without enough, and the church of Jesus Christ needs to be the solution to the problem. One way that we do this is by feeding the hungry. We also have to be strong advocates for the governmental programs that will help those who need help. 

     Hunger is not the only need. There are many people who can't afford to go to the doctor. Many die of treatable diseases all over this world every day. This shouldn't be. Christians must follow the way of Jesus and work to bring healthcare to the nations so the everyone can have a bright future. We cannot just walk by on the other side of the road. We must be like the Good Samaritan who helped the man who needed aid. 

     I could go on and on, but there are two more things that I would like to mention. Many in my nation and around the world are exploited. They aren't paid enough to live properly. Rich corporations exploit people and don't treat their workers properly. Christians must be at the forefront of paying decent living wages and being advocates to end exploitation and seeing justice for workers around the world. 

    Now, some may find this controversial, but I believe that the least among us can refer to animals as well. So many animals suffer from abuse and neglect. It is abhorrent. Let us help these who are the least among us too that they might have the life that God intended for them. A life that is free from fear and harm. 

     None of us can do everything, but Jesus calls us to do what we can to serve the least of these who are among us. Let us all try to find a way to make a positive difference in this world and please the Lord who we claim to serve. Amen. 

 Prayer Requests

     I am having a lot of health problems right now. Please pray that I will get to feeling better. 

     Continue to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. Pray that the sick will recover. 

     Pray that those in Tonga will continue to receive the aid that they need. 

     We must keep praying for peace in Ukraine. Pray for an end to the violence against the civilian population and pray for the refugees. Also, be in prayer for peace in Syria, Yemen and the other troubled areas of this world. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those who live in the nations of  Iran and Vietnam. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, I will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Monday. I will try to post a review midweek. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 Romans 8-10 -- "If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness."

John 5:21 -- "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes."

Weekend Sermon -- The Way Of Jesus -- Part 5

      Thank you for reading the sermon today. I hope that everyone is doing well and is feeling well. The storms went to the north of my area, and I thank the Lord for that, and I thank you for your prayers in that matter. 

     For the past several weeks, we've been studying what it means to follow the way of Jesus. The early Christians were known as those who followed the Way. The way that they followed was the way of Jesus. We've been trying to see from the Gospels what that all entails. 

     In today's message, I want to focus on the fact that following the way of Jesus means living a life that is upright. One of the ways that we know how Jesus wants us to live in this world is by reading what He said in the Gospels. The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most important statements that Jesus made about living a life that is pleasing to God. We can live a life that is pleasing to God when we seek to avoid sin. 

     In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us to avoid several different types of sin. He told us not to be angry with our brothers and sisters. He told us to avoid lustful behavior that could lead to adultery. Jesus told us about when divorce is sinful, and He went on to forbid the taking of oaths. These are just a few of the many things that Jesus taught us about living an upright life. 

     The Lord Jesus never did anything that was wrong. He was tempted in every manner just as we are, yet He was without sin. If we are to follow the Way of Jesus, we have to make sure that we are striving to live without sin in our lives. We are called to live lives of holiness in imitation of the life lived on this earth by the Lord Jesus. 

     In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that He had not come to abolish the Law. We have been given many things in the Word that we are required to do by the Lord. In both the Old and New Testaments, we are given the information about what the Lord expects of us. We have been given the Ten Commandments to follow. There are many different places in the New Testament were we are told to refrain from specific sins. Jesus told us some of the serious sins that we are to avoid in our lives in Matthew 15:19. Jesus said that sinful behavior includes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony and slander." As we saw last week, Jesus placed a special emphasis on people not acting in a hypocritical manner. 

     As those who follow the way of Jesus, it is required of us that we deal with sin in our lives. When we feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we need to repent of our sin, and then as the Holy Spirit empowers us, we are to remove that sin from our lives and live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. 

     In my life, I've found that the best way to overcome what is wrong in my life is to spend so much time doing what is right, that there isn't enough time to do what is wrong. It isn't always easy to do the right thing, but the Lord will forgive us when we fail. He will give us the strength to live a life of holiness that is pleasing to him if it is truly our desire to serve Him and honor Him in this world. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please continue to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. Hong Kong is having a great deal of difficulty right now. 

     Continue to pray for Tonga and Madagascar as they are recovering from natural disasters. 

     Pray for peace in Ukraine and pray for Ukrainian refugees.

     Pray for peace in Syria, Israel, Yemen and others areas where there is conflict. I am thankful to the Lord that a cease fire has been agreed to in Ethiopia. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let's pray for those who live in the nations of Bangladesh and Guinea-Bissau. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, we will continue in our current sermon series. I will post the verses on Monday, and I will post a review midweek. May God bless you all.