Victory Over Death (part 2) Preview

It is a scene that American sports fans are oh so familiar with.  A scene that indicates the game is nearly over and one team has prevailed.  When the players on the field assume this posture, the deal is done, victory for one side is assured, and the other side is left only with frustration and defeat.  What am I talking about?

The victory formation.

It looks different in different sports, but the message it communicates is the same.  In football, it is achieved when the team in the lead has the ball and can run out the clock without doing anything more than handing the ball to the quarterback and taking a knee.  In basketball, it is a team dribbling out the clock near half court, while the opposing team can do nothing to change the outcome.  In hockey … well, who am I kidding … I have no idea what this looks like in hockey!  I grew up in Oklahoma after all!

You get the idea.

In Luke 19:28-44, we have what appears to be Jesus in the “victory formation.”  He is entering Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, riding a king’s animal, surrounding by celebrating festival goers, who were honoring Him as their king, and singing songs of glory.  This looks like the first century Messianic version of the “victory formation.”

But was it?

After all, five days following this moment of victory, it appeared that the “other side” had won.  Like a quarterback fumbling the snap with 30 seconds still on the clock, are we to interpret this turn of events as Satan snatching victory from the jaws of defeat?  Or … was this moment truly a triumph for our Sovereign God?

This Palm Sunday morning, join us at Wildwood Community Church at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 as we look at Luke 19 together to find our answers … and see what this means for us today.  Hope to see you then!  And bring friends!

Victory over Death (part 1) Preview

I once had a history teacher in high school (Mr. Love) who was famous for assigning a weekly report that his students turned in on notecards. In fact, he was so famous for this assignment that by the time I took his class in the fall of 1990, he began day #1 of his class saying strongly, “Students, there are three things that you will find as constants in life: Death, Taxes, and Mr. Love’s notecards!” Many, many years later, and I can still hear him saying that.

Mr. Love’s comment generated nervous laughter in the classroom that day (“what did we get ourselves into?!?”), but over the next 9 months we found the third axiom he asserted to be spot on. 36 weeks in our school year … 36 sets of notecards turned in. As high school students, though, most of us could not fully relate to his first two constants. As 17 year olds living in an American small town in the 80’s, most of us had seen little death. And taxes? Well, we were beginning to understand why a $1 purchase cost $1.08, but income tax would have to wait.

As time has gone on, however, Mr. Love’s full statement has been confirmed: we are one month away from April 15 … and I have both attended and officiated many memorial services. In fact, while someone MAY get away with not paying their taxes, none of us will escape death – scientists confirm that one out of one people die … and it is no laughing matter.

But where does death come from? What is the cause of it? How might we describe the birth of death?

This Sunday at Wildwood Community Church in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 worship services, we will begin a four part series leading up to Easter entitled, “Victory over Death.” This week, we will begin by considering the “Birth of Death” from Genesis 1-3 and Romans 5:12-21. In these verses, we will not only see where death came from, but also what can conquer death! Hope to see you Sunday, March 17 … and bring friends!

Easter Sunday 2023 Sermon Questions, Audio & Video

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

 

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To watch the stream, use YouTube online:

 

Easter Weekend 2023 Preview

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!

Palm Sunday 2023 Sermon Questions, Audio & Video

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:

 

Palm Sunday 2023 Preview

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!

Easter Sunday 2022 Sermon Audio, Video, and Questions

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:

 

Easter Sunday 2022 Preview

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