Things are certainly moving along! Daylight savings time starts Sunday. Spring is here and Resurrection Day is just a few weeks off. April 4th will be the day we gather to rejoice in the fact we serve a risen Savior. Of course, every Lord’s Day is a celebration of the resurrection but on that day believers around the world will be celebrating that pivotal moment in history. Our culture has shifted. The world will not be focused on resurrection. Cadbury will sell chocolate eggs, jelly beans will be in big supply and new outfits will be bought but most will have no idea why. The cultural memory is there, for now, but the cause for rejoicing has been jettisoned. It would be easy to blame the culture and the ungodly, but that’s too easy. We bear much of the blame. When I was in college, way back in the 80’s, I remember the Southern Baptist Convention’s Sunday School lesson for preschoolers on Easter Sunday was, “God Made the Flowers.” When a convention employee from the Sunday School Board was questioned about that at a conference he said, “Children shouldn’t hear about such things as crucifixion and death.” While I would agree children shouldn’t be giving a “blow by blow” account of the crucifixion or treated to a graphic video depiction, anyone raised in church should be able to say, “From my earliest memory I heard that Jesus died on the cross for my sin and was raised on the third day according to Scripture.” The cross and the resurrection are central to our faith. They are essential elements of the Gospel and therefore must be front and center in all that we say and do. All of history points to or away from the cross. That pivot point was fixed in eternity past as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit entered into covenant to redeem a people for the glory of God. Over the next few weeks we will march toward the cross on Sunday morning. We will use Mark’s Gospel as our guide. We will focus on chapters 14, 15, and 16. I want to encourage you to make those chapters a part of your Bible reading, along with the corresponding chapters from the other gospel accounts, as we explore the message of our Lord’s passion.
Of course, this is also the time of our Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Missions. Your gifts to Annie Armstrong will support gospel work across the United States and Canada through the North American Mission Board. This annual offering supplies the lion’s share of the operating budget for the Board. I encourage you to prayerfully consider this strategic work and give as the Lord directs you.
I look forward to gathering with you and your family as we meet this coming Lord’s Day!
Rod