On Sunday, April 9, 2023 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Luke 24:1-12.  This message was the Easter Sunday sermon for 2023.  Below you will find questions related to this message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find the audio and video of the sermon to listen to/watch, download or share.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Luke 24:1-12
3. Why do you think the Apostle Paul makes such a major case that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is SO IMPORTANT to Christians?
4. Have you ever had a time/era/season when you felt like “all hope was lost”?  What were the conditions that led you to have that feeling?  Can you identify with how the women might have felt on that first Easter morning?
5. Jesus wants to make sure that we KNOW that He is alive.  This is why He had His resurrection documented so well.  It reminds us that we can have hope even when times seem impossible.  How does the resurrection of Jesus bring you hope today?
6. Have you ever had a time when someone encouraged you with God’s Word at just the right moment, when you needed God’s perspective on a situation badly?  Share that experience.
7. Who might God want to use you to encourage with a fresh perspective from His Word today?  Think of the various passages we shared this morning and consider who these verses might be particularly encouraging for this week and then “go and tell” them about it.
8. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

 

To listen offline, click the link below:

Crown Him Easter 4.9.23

 

To listen online, use the media player below:

 

 

To watch the stream, use YouTube online:

 

On Friday, April 7, 2023 at 6:00 and 7:30 PM, Wildwood is hosting our Good Friday services.  These services will walk through a deeper understanding of what Jesus meant when He said from the cross, “It is finished!”  The stream from tonight’s worship service can be found here:

We are used to situations that feel hopeless.

• When your basketball team is down 5 points with 1 second to go, you turn the television off or head for the parking lot.
• When you have stage four cancer and your doctor calls in Hospice, you head home and prepare for the worst.
• When your marriage has been battered by infidelity or broken trust, you call the divorce attorney.

When things look impossible we assume that they are, and give up hope.

This feeling of hopelessness was certainly felt by the Jesus’ followers on the day following His crucifixion.  Having just witnessed their friend (and hopeful one day King) be brutally tortured and killed by the Romans, Jesus’ first followers gave up hope.  After a day of shock and mourning, only a small group of women were stirring early one Sunday morning … and they were headed to the tomb to treat Jesus’ dead body for long term burial.  This was the equivalent of turning off the TV, heading for the parking lot, heading home and preparing for the worst, or moving out and preparing to start over.

The followers of Jesus looked at their situation and gave up hope.

But …

They.  Were.  Wrong.

Their despair (like the stone covering the entrance to the tomb) would soon be rolled away.  The darkness of the moment would be illuminated as the Son rose.  God was able to do what was impossible for humans.  Instead of quitting, God was just getting started.  The grief of the moment had blinded Christ followers from seeing what Jesus said is true … and so God sent a pair of angels to reiterate the words of Jesus and remind them that Hope was alive.

As people who are used to situations that feel hopeless … situations where our grief blinds us from seeing and remembering the truth … we need to look deeply at the account of the first Easter morning to have our hope rekindled by our glorious God.

This weekend is Easter weekend.  At Wildwood we will gather for worship services on both Good Friday (April 7 at 6:00 and 7:00 PM) and Easter Sunday (April 9 at 8:30, 9:45, 11:00 AM).  Friday night we will see the work that Jesus’ finished on the cross.  Then on Sunday morning we will see why this gives us hope.  Make plans to join us Friday AND Sunday.  See you there, and bring friends!

On Sunday, April 2, 2023 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Luke 9-22.  This sermon was the Palm Sunday message.  Below you will find questions related to this message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find the audio and video of the sermon to listen to/watch, download, or share.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Compared to other holidays, how “prepared” do you feel to celebrate Easter each year?  Why do you think Easter can “sneak up” on us?
3. Easter was a part of God’s plan, and was in the works for thousands of years.  Even during Jesus’ earthly life and ministry, He was headed to Jerusalem to “keep the appointment” of His crucifixion.  What does this plan tell you about God’s heart for you?
4. Jesus loves you and died for your sins.  Have you ever placed your faith in Him for the forgiveness of sins?
5. Jesus (the One who loves us) invites us to follow Him with our lives.  Are you following Jesus in obedience today?  What are some areas of your life where you need to follow Him more this week?
6. The people on Palm Sunday SANG and CELEBRATED around Jesus, but they did not follow Him.  Have you crowned Him LORD OF ALL in your life?
7. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

 

To listen offline, click the link to download:

Crown Him – Palm Sunday 4.2.23

 

To listen online, use media player below:

 

To watch the stream, use YouTube online:

 

Does Easter ever sneak up on you?  It certainly can do that.  Even though this holiday celebrates the most important event in history, we almost miss it from time to time.  Unlike Christmas or Independence Day (which always occur on the same day each year), Easter moves – sometimes even occurring in a different month! If we are not careful, we can “accidentally” bump into Resurrection Sunday on the way to or from a T-ball game or soccer tournament!

It is rather ironic, though, that Easter (of all holidays) would surprise us.  After all, the events remembered at Easter had been planned for a very long time.  From the time that sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, God promised that one day the seed of the woman would have His heel bruised while He crushed the head of the snake (Genesis 3:15).  The victory promised at Eden was accomplished on Calvary’s cross and announced in the garden’s empty tomb.

Jesus ushered Easter in by intentionally processing from Heaven to Bethlehem to Galilee to Jerusalem in a multi-millennia-long journey.  Given this amount of planning, it would be a shame for us to miss it.

This Easter season at Wildwood Community Church we will be gathering on three days for three different worship services:

• Palm Sunday – April 2 (8:30, 9:45, 11:00)
• Good Friday – April 7 (6:00 PM & 7:30 PM)
• Easter Sunday – April 9 (8:30, 9:45, 11:00)

This weekend, as we celebrate Palm Sunday, we will look at Luke 9:51 – 22:53 and see Jesus journey to Jerusalem knowing full well what awaited Him there.  And why did He do this?  Because HE LOVES US and was coming to rescue us.

Join us this Sunday as we prepare our hearts for Easter by seeing His heart for us.  Get ready.  Don’t miss it.  And we will see you this Palm Sunday morning … and bring friends!

On Sunday, April 17, 2022 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on John 20:24-31.  This message was a part of our Easter Sunday celebration.  Below you will find questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find the audio and video of the message to listen to/watch, download or share.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read John 20:24-31
3. What are some common doubts and questions about God, faith, and Jesus that you have heard from others?  What are some of the doubts and questions that YOU have had (or currently have) about God, faith, and Jesus?
4. What do you notice most about the way Jesus responds to Thomas?  Is there any part that surprises you?  Does it encourage you in any way?
5. Our faith is not grounded in just some teachings, ancient writings, or impressions … but in a historical event – the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Imagine for a moment that you became convinced that the events of the resurrection and crucifixion as recorded in the Gospels were true (I believe they are, based on the historical evidence).  How does this historical event CHANGE THINGS regarding who Jesus is and how we respond to Him?  Jesus anchored His argument to Thomas based on this event, and it changed everything for Thomas.  Does it change everything for you?
6. What does the Bible tell you that Jesus DID during His earthly life?  Make a list.  What does this reveal about who Jesus is?
7. Have you personally decided to believe in Jesus as your Savior and God and follow Him as Lord?  Why or why not?
8. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

 

To listen offline, click the link to download:

Easter Sunday 4.17.22

 

To listen online, use the media player below:

 

To watch the service, use YouTube online:

 

Did you know that 1 out of 42 babies born worldwide are twins?  That’s just over 2%.  That means that though the majority of us are NOT twins, we probably all at least KNOW a set of twins.  

When I think of twins, I think back to my high school basketball team.  Of the 15 or so varsity players on two state championship teams, we had TWO SETS of twins (4 out of 15!).  What are the odds?  (I know … 2.3%, but who’s counting!)  On a (possibly) unrelated note, we also faced a steady diet of zone defenses.  I think teams adopted that game plan for two reasons:  (1) It was the best way to slow us down (2) who wanted to try to play man-to-man against a lineup with so many (nearly) identical parts!?

I write today about twins, because as we prepare for Easter Sunday at Wildwood, I have been studying John 20:24-31.  These amazing verses detail the story of a man named Thomas.  You probably know Thomas from his modern nickname, “Doubting Thomas.”  His real name, however, in Hebrew meant “twin” (not “Doubter”) so his buddies nicknamed him Didymus, which means “twin” in Greek … creative, right?  All this probably stemming from Thomas being born with a twin brother or sister.  

Though Thomas probably had one biological twin, he has had millions of philosophical “twins” over the past 2,000 years.  Our “twin” Thomas is relatable to anyone who has ever played on Team Doubt.   Is the Bible accurate and authoritative to my life? Does God really exist?  Is it reasonable to have faith in Jesus?  Did Jesus really rise from the dead?  These questions (and more) have been asked by Thomases for multi-millennia.  Thomas became captain of Team Doubt by famously and honestly stating that first Easter Sunday night, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.”  That is both honest and brash. What a high standard Thomas demanded for his belief!

So how does Jesus deal with Thomas (and all of his “twins”)?  What does His response show us about God’s heart for “Team Doubt”?   And how does the ACTUAL BODILY RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST relate to all this?  Join us on Easter Sunday at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 at Wildwood.  Bring your friends and family.  Bring your doubts.  Let’s look to the resurrected Christ together.  We hope to see you there.

P.S.  On Friday night April 15, at 6:00 and 7:30 PM we will have our Good Friday services.  These services are different and distinct from our Sunday services, and will focus on John 18-19 and Jesus’ death on the cross.  We will remember His sacrifice for us in song, Scripture, and reflection.  Please join us then as well!

P.S.S.  Friday night’s service will be live-streamed at 6:00PM, and Sunday’s Easter service will be streamed at 9:45AM, both at wildwoodchurch.org/live

On Sunday, April 10, 2022 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on John 12:9-19.  This message was the center of our Palm Sunday celebration.  Below are questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find the audio and video of the sermon to listen to/watch, download, or share.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read John 12:9-19
3. Put yourself back in the shoes of a first century person who lived on the outskirts of Jerusalem.  Imagine that you have heard that Jesus was approaching your city.  Why would YOU be interested in going out to greet Him?
4. Think for a moment about how you perceive Jesus personality.  Is He warm and engaging?  Aloof and distant?  Quiet and serious?  Smiling and welcoming?  Now compare your picture of Him to one who the “whole world has gone out to meet.”  Is there any part of your thoughts about Jesus that needs to be adjusted?
5. The people expected Messiah to come and wage war against Rome.  Jesus adjusted their expectations by coming on a donkey.  Are there ways in which your expectations of Jesus have differed from your experience of Him? In what ways?  
6. Do you approach your connection to Jesus more like a subject in school, like a client you are defending, or like the One you adore?  How does looking at this passage encourage you to look to Jesus as YOUR SAVIOR, as a real PERSON, and not just as a subject in Sunday School or the centerpiece of Bible stories?
7. What has Jesus done for you?  How does that impact your demeanor as you approach Him? 
8. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

 

To listen to message offline, click the link:

Palm Sunday 4.10.22

 

To listen online, use the media player below:

 

To watch the service, use YouTube online:

 

 

Can I share with you something quasi-embarrassing?  

Last December, in the midst of all they hype and speculation that the University of Oklahoma was going to name a new Head Football Coach, I got a text from a friend that indicated that the announcement was imminent, the new coach was on campus, and that a stage was being constructed near the stadium for a late night concert by an “A List” celebrity and announcement of the new ball coach.  

Now to fully appreciate this text, we need to understand the context of that moment.  First of all, I am both an alumnus and fan of OU’s athletic teams.  Second, like many, I had been checking and rechecking Twitter and other media outlets to follow the coaching search several times each day for over a week.  Third, I had seen the celebrity in question on television the night before at an OKC Thunder game.  

So, what did I do?  [NOTE:  this is the embarrassing part]  I loaded up my entire family.  That’s right.  My wife, my son, AND my dog, and headed over to campus (at 10PM on a school night) to look for the celebration.  So there we were … all 4 of us in a Chrysler mini-van, looking for the party.

We never found it.  Nothing was really happening that night.

What this story DOES demonstrate, though, is how a crowd can assemble quickly with high expectations.  If people care about something, are looking for signs of its coming, and see a glimmer of their hopes embodied in a person – they tend to show up!

I was thinking about that experience today, as I read John 12:9-19 in advance of Palm Sunday this weekend at Wildwood Community Church.  In this section of God’s Word, we are transported back to the Sunday before Jesus’ would die on the cross.  The Jewish people cared about the future of their nation, had a hope that Messiah would one day come, and saw in Jesus a glimmer that He just might be the One!  So in great numbers, the people showed up when they heard He was passing through Bethany and headed over the Mount of Olives and into Jerusalem.

Were they RIGHT to show up that day, or would they ultimately be embarrassed by where they had placed their hope?  We will explore that this Sunday at Wildwood in our Palm Sunday sermon … AND we will explore how WE can/should respond to the knowledge that Jesus is coming.  Can’t wait to look at this passage of Scripture together.  Make plans to worship with us at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 … or online in the stream.  See you Sunday … and bring friends!