The Saturday of Holy Week always makes me think of what it must have been like for  the disciples to have lost all hope. Many times I've thought of this day as the Day When Hope Disappeared. Disciples were scattered in clusters. One was dead -  a betrayer with such guilt that he hung himself. Some were alone, hiding in fear. Some were together.

Was the last 3 1/2 years just an empty adventure? Was it possible that their eyes had deceived them? Was it
possible that Jesus was not who He said that He was? Why hadn't they stayed true? Why hadn't they fought for Him? What had He done that merited death on a cross? What would become of them?

Sunday morning was coming . . . but they didn't know what Sunday would bring. 

What are your questions today? What are your doubts? 

It may be the day when your hope is gone, but HOPE is not dead. HE is alive! And Sunday? It's coming!
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Easter Is Coming 03/21/2012
 
Easter Sunday has always been a special day for me. It was on Easter Sunday in 1974 that I asked Jesus to be my Savior and Lord. I had no idea just how significant that decision would be as a four-year-old boy, but that day
would forever change my life. It was on Easter Sunday that God's grace reached out to me and saved me from what could have been. It was on Easter Sunday that God's grace reached out and saved me from what I am.

I had no idea as a four-year-old that God would eventually call me into ministry. There are days when I wonder if God knew what He was doing calling me. But that's the thing about God. He works in surprising ways to ultimately accomplish His glory. 

Easter Sunday, 1974 is the most significant day of my life. But, it's not the most important Easter. That happened on the first Easter Sunday. It was on that day that Christ changed the course of human history. It was on Easter
Sunday that He paved the way for mankind to be reconciled to God. It was on that day that ultimate victory was won. We're about 2,000 years removed from the first Easter. It seems like the further we get away from the date, the less impact it has on us. Today in America, the vast majority of people are more excited about the release of the newest iPad, the Hunger Games movie premier, the signing of Peyton Manning, a presidential election year, and a host of other things than we are about the life-changing truth that Jesus is alive.

I was traveling across the country last week, visiting colleges with my son, Chris and then on a speaking trip to New York with my sister. So, I'm catching up this week. I've been catching up on 400+ e-mails. I've been catching up on some Bible reading that I got behind on. I've been catching up on tax work. And, I've been catching up on my preaching schedule. Easter is 2 1/2 weeks away. As I prepared today, I watched a number of videos from the Skit Guys' website (If you have never been to their website, check it out at here.) So many of their videos spoke to me today, but two of them, in particular, hit me to the core. If you have some time between now and Easter, watch these videos and celebrate the fact that Jesus is alive and He is pursuing you! That's worth getting excited about!

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When I accepted the call to serve at my first church, my Grandfather, who had been a pastor for many years looked at me and said, “Brian, make much of Jesus. In your ministry of the Word, in your life, in your home, in your church . . . make much of Jesus!”

I loved my Grandpa, and to this day, his advice was the best that I have ever been given as it relates to the life of a Christian. David Platt, in his book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream writes, “While the goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God.”

Beginning this Sunday, Woodbury Community Church will take a journey to the heart of what it means to live as citizens in the Kingdom of God. The Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7 is the most famous sermon that Jesus ever preached. Thousands of people gathered to hear the Rabbi teach about a new way of living. Jesus taught like no one else ever had. His sermon would shake the contemporary understanding of what it meant to live as a child of God. If you pay serious attention to Jesus’ message, it will shake us to the core as well.

I wrestled with how I would begin the 2011 sermon year. There were about ten themes that I kept studying, but I couldn’t escape Jesus’ sermon. The words of Jesus are as revolutionary today as they were when he preached them two thousand years ago. We are going in depth, spending 33 weeks to unpack Jesus’ words in Matthew 5-7. Take some time between now and Sunday to read through Jesus’ sermon, and come ready to learn how we can best live as citizens in the Kingdom of God.

If you would like some additional resources to study while we go through Jesus’ sermon, check out these three books, which will be my primary study tools outside of the Bible.
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1)    Kent Hughes book, The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom, is part of the Preaching the Word Commentary set published by Crossway Books. The Preaching the Word Commentaries are among my favorite, because they are simply the sermons that the authors’ preached in the churches that they serve. This book is from a series of sermons that Hughes taught at The College Church in Wheaton, Illinois. I used this book as a template for the way that I would divide up the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.

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2)    John Stott’s book, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, is a classic exposition of Jesus’ teaching. Stott is a brilliant Bible teacher and gives so many unique insights into Jesus’ words.

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3)    D. Martyn Lloyd Jones’ book, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, was mentioned in almost every commentary on The Sermon on the Mount that I read. It is a spiritual classic, written by the longtime minister of Westminster Chapel in London.

All three of these books make much of Jesus, and I hope that our series will as well! Looking forward to God doing some great things in the weeks ahead!

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In December of 2009, the Minneapolis Star Tribune named Owatonna's, Adam Young their Artist of the Year. Why? Because, Young had accomplished something that had not been accomplished by any other musician from Minnesota since Bob Dylan. His song "Fireflies," made it to number one on the Billboard Charts. He was called "The Wonder Boy of Owatonna," and Young had the world at his fingertips.

For those unfamiliar with Young's work, he is essentially the one-man music machine known as Owl City. When he tours on the road, he brings an entire band with him, but his studio albums consist mainly of his voice and the incredible genius of his synthesizer talent.

I find Adam Young to be incredibly refreshing. He is unashamedly a follower of Jesus Christ. His music carries a positive message, but isn't overtly "Christian." I'm told that he is rather shy but enjoys the opportunity that his platform has given him to represent Christ.

One of the most refreshing signs of Young's commitment to the Lord is a song that he put on his blog on the Owl City website. I first heard the song in October, and regularly go back to the website to listen to it. The song is In Christ Alone, by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. Keith Getty, his wife Kristyn, and their friend Stuart Townend write some of the most theologically profound songs in modern Christian music. There is no mincing of words in the song In Christ Alone. Here are the lyrics:

In Christ alone, my hope is found


He is my light, my strength, my song


This cornerstone, this solid ground


Firm through the fiercest drought and storm


What heights of love, what depths of peace


When fears are stilled, when strivings cease


My comforter, my all-in-all


Here in the love of Christ I stand

There in the ground His body lay


Light of the world by darkness slain


Then bursting forth in glorious day


Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory


Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine


Bought with the precious blood of Christ



No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me


From life’s first cry to final breath


Jesus commands my destiny


No power of hell, no scheme of man


Can ever pluck me from His hand

Till He returns or calls me home


Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

I want to encourage you to visit Adam Young's blog and listen to this song. I think you'll be moved. It is the most powerful rendition of the song that I've ever heard. You can click here to visit the site.

Adam has taken some hits from his fan base for his commitment to Jesus Christ. I'm proud of him for the stance that he takes. If you think about it, pray for Christian artists like Adam. It's never easy to be in the spotlight. Pray that God will continue to use Adam to reach a generation of people for Jesus.

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