Easter 2020

04/12/20 • 27 min

John 20-21

This present pandemic we are in has caused many of God’s people to spiral into sorrow, fear and uncertainty. The resurrection story in John 20-21 couldn’t be more relevant! The followers of Jesus came to a point of deep discouragement. Mary was crying her eyes out; the disciples were hiding in fear; Thomas was reeling with doubts and Peter was swimming in shame. But when the risen Christ showed up, everything changed. He spoke peace to them and their sighing was turned to dancing. The early Christians were marked by inexpressible joy. They experienced tremendous persecution and pressure but the Scriptures say that they broke bread together and ate together with glad hearts. This message is designed to spark joy. It’s a reminder that the risen Christ is with us and He is speaking peace to us. Despite the present circumstances of this dark pandemic cloud, we can fly above the clouds in the blue skies of God’s joy.

John 20-21

Previous Episode

Palm Sunday

Luke 19:28-48

The message is from the classic passage in Luke that talks of Jesus coming into Jerusalem on a colt. Instead of focusing on that part of the story I really felt impressed to go deep with the next scene: Jesus weeping over Jerusalem and then cleansing the temple. In light of the present pandemic it seems like a lot of people are asking the question, “Is God angry with the planet and punishing them for their sin?” It’s a valid question but the better question perhaps is, “how does God feel and act toward people who provoke him to wrath?” Luke 19 answers this important question perfectly. We see Jesus weeping for, warning with tears, shaking up and teaching those who have sinned against him. What love! The discussion of coming judgment is hard to bear but this message will bring great hope to those who wonder if God has given up on them.

Next Episode

Ephesians: Dead in Sin

Ephesians 2:1-3

In order to appreciate how amazing grace is, we must understand how desperate our condition would be apart from grace. That’s what this message is all about. The first few verses of Ephesians 2 describe who we are apart from grace. It’s not just that we needed a little help or that Jesus made our already good life a little sweeter. The writer of the epistle describes our life apart from grace as spiritually dead. A dead person cannot hear, cannot see, cannot respond. We were hopeless. The Apostle Paul presses us to remember how desperate our condition was in order that the glorious grace of God would be magnified. It is humbling and even painful to consider that apart from Christ we would be enemies of God under His wrath. But the more we understand just how lost we were the more our hearts are moved to gratitude, awe and worship.