Holy Week: A Time to Re-Visit the Passion of Christ

Next week is Holy Week…a time to re-visit the passion of Christ. Around the globe, Christians and other inquirers will be reflecting on the events leading up to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  What is the significance of Holy Week and how can I probe its deeper meaning?

The tradition of observing Holy Week seems to have originated in the East, emerging out of the practice of pilgrimages to Jerusalem.  Each day of Holy Week is significant.  For those of us whose faith was shaped in a Baptist tradition, at least four days call for guided reflection. Palm Sunday is a day to revisit the royal welcome extended to Jesus by the curious crowd as he entered Jerusalem. On Maundy Thursday believers recall the occasion when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples as he gave them a new mandate to love and serve.  On Maundy Thursday evening, many faith communities re-enact “the last supper” when Jesus broke bread and shared the cup with his disciples by receiving the elements of communion.  Good Friday is an occasion to feel the passion of Christ and to think on the enormity of his suffering. And Resurrection Sunday, or Easter, is a festive day to celebrate and proclaim that “Christ is risen; He is risen indeed.”  

Because of the sequential significance of these events, Holy Week is best approached slowly, with a disposition of holy exploration, an attitude of sacred awe.  In Weldon Gaddy’s book, The Gift of Worship, he describes our opportunity to engage in a more meaningful experience of the passion of Christ: “Holy Week services bring into focus dimensions of discipleship that are missed completely by a simple leap from Palm Sunday to Easter. Worship services which take seriously the truths of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday please God because they challenge a greater commitment and a more effective ministry among the people of God.”

This year as you begin your spiritual journey through Holy Week open your senses and your imagination to both the tragedy and the triumph of this pivotal week in history. Take time to listen to the voices of the crowd as Jesus enters the city.  Hear again the teachings of Jesus and contemplate his days in Jerusalem.  Feel the water touch your feet, taste the morsel of bread on your tongue and the sip of wine rolling over your lips. Sense the disgust of his betrayal by a friend. Smell the stench of the scourge and hear the mocking sarcasm of the trial. Grieve over the cruel injustice of his execution and experience the passion of his incomprehensible suffering.  And ultimately…consider the mysterious power of the resurrection and the hope generated by the notion that life invested in Christ cannot be extinguished, even by the reality of death.  

The events of Holy Week invite and motivate us to follow Jesus, not out of religious obligation or fear of eternal damnation, but because we identify with his teaching and his vision, and we discover a sense of belonging in his cause and his kingdom.  A slow and deliberate journey through Holy Week may re-energize your faith and inspire you to live and serve with passion.

Our Holy Week experience begins this Sunday.  Dr. Ross Lankford will be preaching on Palm Sunday.  I will be preaching on Holy Wednesday and Resurrection Sunday. I look forward to seeing you as we re-visit the passion of Christ.

Dem Dry Bones

In both elementary school and Sunday School I remember singing the words to the popular spiritual, “Dem Bones,” written by author, activist, poet, and songwriter, James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938).  The lyrics were based on Ezekiel 37:1-14 and were used to teach children about the human anatomy.  Although the song isn’t 100% anatomically correct, the lyrics are memorable and catchy:

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Ezekiel cried, "Dem dry bones!"

Oh, hear the word of the Lord.

The foot bone connected to the leg bone,

The leg bone connected to the knee bone,

The knee bone connected to the thigh bone,

The thigh bone connected to the back bone,

The back bone connected to the neck bone,

The neck bone connected to the head bone,

Oh, hear the word of the Lord!

Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk aroun'

Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk aroun'

Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk aroun'

Oh, hear the word of the Lord.

As we continue our April sermon series entitled Living Proof,  we are taking a deeper look at the themes of resurrection and renewal in Ezekiel 37:1-14 and the “Dance of the Dry Bones.”

This key story in Ezekiel is obviously more about our spiritual anatomy than our physical anatomy.  It is about the restoration of hope and the importance of re-connecting to the spiritual community. 

This is a great week to ask God to refresh and revitalize us individually and collectively as the body of Christ.  It is also an opportune week to invite someone who has become disconnected to join us for Bible study and worship, and hopefully become re-connected to our spiritual family.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday. Based on the words of Ezekiel, I firmly believe these bones can live!

Hold It Up to the Light!

I stopped by a discount store last week to get a new pair of sunglasses.  I accidentally dropped my old sunglasses down a stairwell - they were “totaled.”

When I pulled out a twenty dollar bill, the clerk held it up to the light and examined it front and back.  Trying to be witty, I said, “I’m a pretty honest guy.” She replied all too seriously, “You can’t be too careful.  There are a lot of counterfeits out there.”

There really are a lot of counterfeits out there.  The U.S. Treasury Department has taken proactive steps to minimize the potential for fraudulent characters to produce and circulate counterfeit currency.  One of the ways merchants check for counterfeit bills is to look for a watermark that is visible on both the front and back of all bills larger than $2 when it is held up to the light.

This Sunday we begin a new series entitled, Living Proof….a series to encourage us in our journey toward Easter.   The first message is about “Ripping the Cover Off of Frauds” from Ephesians 5:6-18. 

In this text Paul instructs believers to be wary of religious scams and to “Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ” (Ephesians 5:13 MSG).

Here is yet another good reason to live by the book:  The teachings of Christ provide light to help us detect and avoid counterfeits that throw us off course.

I am looking forward to a great day of worship this Sunday as we are challenged to examine life in the light of Christ.

Do You Remember Your Baptism?

“I was saved on June 26, 1975 at 1:30 a.m. at the Colonial Apartments on Laguna Beach near Panama City, Florida… I was baptized on July 6, 1975 with Mark Smith, Brandon Smith and Mike Tiller by Rev. Tommy Reaves at the creek behind Donald Lloyd’s house.” These are the words I wrote as a fifteen year old in the front of my KJV Scofield Reference Bible, Red Letter Edition.

After making my commitment to Christ and being baptized, my grandmother encouraged me to write the date of those significant events in the front of my Bible so I would never forget them. 

I don’t believe that everyone has to remember the time, date, and location of their conversion and baptism to be considered a genuine Christian, but for me, remembering my baptism has helped me to confirm and reaffirm my faith during some pretty tough times.  There’s an old gospel song that says, “I can tell you the time, I can tell you the place, where the Lord saved me by his wonderful grace.”

Do you remember your baptism?  As followers of Jesus who learn and live out Christ’s teaching in a Baptist community of faith, being baptized is pretty important…not to “seal the deal” but to confirm and launch us into a life of grace and growth.

This Sunday, as we conclude our series of sermons Living by the Book, we are asking, “Do You Remember Your Baptism?” as we examine scriptural teachings and general Baptist beliefs about “believer’s baptism by immersion.”  To prepare for Sunday, I encourage you to read Matthew 3:13-17 and I Corinthians 11:23-28.

We plan to celebrate baptism in the Midmorning Service and to share the Lord’s Supper in both of our worship services.  Teams will be going out on Sunday afternoon to share the Lord’s Supper with those who are homebound and those who live in retirement communities.

I am looking forward to a great day of worship this Sunday as we continue learning to be “doers of the word.”  I hope you will be here with an open heart, an open mind, and an open Bible.

Could You Use a Little Home Improvement?

It’s springtime!  Daylight hours are longer.  Yellow bells, azaleas, and dogwoods are about to bloom.  This time of year, many folks engage in a little spring cleaning. But maybe your home needs more than a little cleaning.  Maybe you are ready for a little home improvement.

And by home improvement, I mean “home” improvement. There is a difference in a house and a home.  A house is made of bricks and mortar.  A home is constructed with faith and love.  Both, however, require upkeep and maintenance.

We live in a culture that emphasizes the size of the house rather than the quality of the home.  But as followers of Jesus, we are in the home-building business.

This Sunday in Bible study, we are looking at the importance of Family.  In worship, I will be talking about “The Most Trusted Name in Home Improvement.”  When it comes to marriage and family, we need to make sure we are living by the book.  To prepare for this Sunday, I encourage you to read Genesis 2:18-25 and Ephesians 5:21-33.

We also look forward to sharing moments of Parent/Child Dedication with three families in each of our worship services this Sunday.

Don’t forget that on March 27 we will be studying the meaning of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  We will end each service that day by celebrating the Lord’s Supper.  And our deacons will be serving the Lord’s Supper to our homebound members on Sunday afternoon.  We will celebrate baptism at the beginning of the midmorning service. If someone in your family has recently made a commitment to Christ and they are ready for baptism, contact one of our ministers or Elizabeth Smith in the pastor’s office to begin preparing for the baptism.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in Bible study and worship as we become better equipped to do a little home improvement.

How Many Clocks Are There at Your House?

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.   -Ecclesiastes 3:1

How many clocks are there at your house? I did a quick count at our house this morning and there are at least 19 clocks that have to be re-set this Saturday night at our house.  We have alarm clocks, wristwatches, microwave clocks, desktop clocks, wall clocks, and bathroom clocks.  We even have a clock on our coffee maker.  And I didn’t count the clocks on the desktop computer, my laptop, and our cell phones because they automatically re-set when the time changes.

I guess you could say that we love being aware of the time.  Daylight Savings Time allows us to maximize the daylight hours during the spring and summer.  My goal is to maximize all of my time…whether winter or summer, rain or shine…and live every moment for the Lord. 

Paul offers this reminder: See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16 NKJV).

Daylight Savings Time begins this Sunday, March 13.  Whether you choose to adjust your clocks at bedtime on Saturday evening, or you actually make the official adjustment at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, don’t forget that this weekend marks the beginning of DST. 

During services this Sunday yawning is welcome and momentary dozing will be easily forgiven.  Extra bold coffee will be available in the atrium beginning at 7:45. Spring forward with us this Sunday as we gather to focus on Spiritual Gifts in worship and Bible study.

How many clocks did you say you have at your house?

The Offering: A Radical Act of Worship

One of the most radical things we can do in worship is present to God an offering.  When we bring our tithes and offerings into the storehouse, we are not only supporting the work of the kingdom with our finances, we are declaring to God, to ourselves, and to the world that our core life commitment is to our God.

Learning to prioritize and manage our earthly treasures is one of the most challenging disciplines of the Christian life. This Sunday is Stewardship Sunday.  During Bible study and worship, we will be taking a closer look at what the Bible teaches us about how to manage all of the resources entrusted to us.  To prepare for Sunday I encourage you to read Malachi 3:8-12 and Philippians 4:10-19.

Here’s my invitation to you: To focus on the offering as a radical act of worship, prepare for every member of the family to bring an offering to present at the conclusion of the service as a part of our response to God.  We will present our offerings as a part of our response to God at the conclusion of each of our worship services.

Speaking of stewardship, our First Baptist Family has done it again!  We have exceeded our goal for the Christmas Offering for World Missions.  Our goal was $100,000.  Last week our total was $97,200.  As of today, our total gifts are $105, 206.  Way to go!

I look forward to seeing you in Bible study and worship as we celebrate God’s extraordinary grace this Sunday.