Pre-Easter Monday

Take a deep breath.  At least that's what I keep telling myself before I plunge into the madness that is the week leading up to Easter.  It's certainly the day that most pastors I know look forward to above all others, but it's also the day that causes the greatest amount of stress and anxiety I'd imagine.  

For me, add on that I'm speaking at a Good Friday service as well as starting baseball practice for my son's Little League team on Saturday, sprinkle in a meeting that will keep me out every other night this week, and you have a recipe for heart-attack levels of anxiety.  So, I'm reminding myself today to breathe.  Inhale and exhale and then remember that what happens on Sunday at New Life isn't even about how good I can be, but it's really all about how good Jesus already is, and how good he continues to be in making an impact on the lives of people.  

We had a great service yesterday as we finished off our two-month look at the statements Jesus makes about himself in the Gospel of John.  Our last message there was focused on Jesus as the way, the truth and life, and I would say I really honed in on Jesus' description of himself as the way.  My conviction is that while many of us have made decisions about the truth of Jesus' claims (and some of us have made them an article of faith) and while many of us have embraced Jesus' offer of eternal life, that we tend to lose our way when it comes to living in this present world.

It becomes very easy to live a life that is divided - a private faith that consists of the truths we know about Jesus and a vague hope for life after we die, and a public persona.  I think Jesus' invitation for us to believe in him as the way to the Father is much more concerned with integrating all the elements of our lives into one cohesive whole.  He wants us to be on the way with him.  He wants our way to be submitted to his, our truth to be found in his, and our lives to be filled to overflowing with his life.  His way - through the cross and then the grave to the resurrection - is the way for us to live now.  

In that sense, I think where we finished this week will dovetail perfectly with where we are going starting on Easter Sunday.  I'm going to be teaching for four weeks on the implications of the resurrection.  If Jesus is alive, then what difference does that make in our lives?  On Easter we're going to talk about the reality that the resurrection is the moment that the kingdom of heaven meets the kingdoms of this world and begins to break in and forcefully advance.  And then in the three weeks that follow that, we will look at different areas in our lives (family, workplace and community) where that work of the advancing kingdom of God is supposed to have its effects.

I do hope you'll join us for our Easter service at 10:30 this Sunday.  I believe it's going to be a significant moment in my life and yours as we look together at what Jesus has accomplished in his resurrection.  At New Life you will find a community of people who aren't really interested in your religious background or credentials, but people who are on the way of Jesus, and are looking to see his work deepen in our lives.  

I'll see you Sunday!

Comments

[Jordan Retro 8]

I often stated, "life is like a book, how would you like to write, it's what type of book. So our very own attitude determines lifetime. Not surprisingly, we should really examine a lot more meaningful book, it can give us inspiration. Do you think so?

[hanamint patio furniture]

Lovely day. You never know sometimes when inspiration strikes.