Category Archives: christianity

Easter Sermon — What the Resurrection Means

Posted on by

Easter speaks to us concerning what it means to be a Christian, and how that connects with the Resurrection of Christ.

Jesus isn’t special just because of his teachings. There have been many good teachers in history. Jesus isn’t special because he died. Lots of people died. The thing that makes Jesus special – the thing that makes his teaching, his death, and his life special – is his resurrection. The reality of his resurrection makes it possible for you and me to live exceptional lives. Christians are to live exceptional lives.

Now, I am sure you’ve met people who claim to be Christians, but their life doesn’t look that different from those who make no such claim. And, if you’re like me, that’s a huge turn-off. Pretending to be something you aren’t – that’s hypocrisy. I hate it. You hate it. Jesus hated it. He referred to people who pretended to be good as “white-washed tombs.” They looked good on the outside, but on the inside, they were filled with dead man’s bones. There was no resurrection to their lives. They were still dead in their sins.

A person who fails to demonstrate that Christ has made a difference in his or her life is likely not a Christian at all. Being a Christian is about being changed from the inside out. When Peter references the Resurrection of Christ he speaks of that change.

This sermon addresses the difference the new birth makes in our lives.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Cross Is Essential to Christianity…

Posted on by

I love this quote:

It is at the cross and through the cross that God communicates most clearly with man because this is where He experienced suffering and met us where we abide—in the “shadow of death.” And it is through this cross that God can create an alternative reality for a fallen creation that sees the cross as folly until they come to accept His great gift of grace. ~E. L. Shields

What Is Communion?

Posted on by

There’s a radio preacher on the shortwave that I’ve listened to who teaches his people to take communion in their homes. He leads them in taking it, reading the passages, giving the message, and saying the prayer. He even says, “This take in remembrance of me. Let us take it together.”

At first, I thought, “That’s kind of a good idea. It’s good for shut-ins.”

But as I have come to understand Communion and Community, I see that we are to take it together — as we are assembled together. I am not saying it’s wrong, if you can’t get out to be with other Christians, to take it alone.

But the design is to be taking it together.

This message speaks to the meaning of the word “Communion” and how it relates to togetherness.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download