It’s Friday…but Sunday’s Coming! 

View…with reverence Pastor S. M. Lockridge’s famous sermon It’s Friday…but Sunday’s Coming! This awe-inspiring video combines the words of the sermon with footage from The Passion of the Christ.

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How does this powerful reminder encourage you to worship Christ even when the hour seems darkest?

Tags: Christ, Easter, Good Friday, Passion Week, S. M. Lockridge, The Passion of the Christ

Palm Sunday: “Hosanna—Save Now” 

Parallel Scripture References

• Matthew 21:1-11  

• Mark 11:1-11

• Luke 19:28-40

• John 12:12-19

• Revelation 19:11

Central Scripture Verse: Matthew 21:5      

“Say to the Daughter of Zion,

‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

Matthew 21:1-11

1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to the Daughter of Zion,

‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

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For meditation: Meditate on and compare/contrast Matthew 21:5 with Revelation 19:11.

Tags: Easter, Holy Week, Matthew 21:1-11, Palm Sunday, Passion Week

He Is Risen!

“He is risen!”

“He’s risen, indeed!”

The Fountain of Life Opened Up

Just what happened at Easter? What difference does Easter make?

Easter changes everything. Easter makes all the difference in the world.        

John Flavel’s (1671) Easter sermon, The Fountain of Life Opened Up, teaches us what happened to Christ and what happened to us because of Good Friday and Easter. May his words pierce our hearts and prompt praise for the glorious Easter exchange.

The Glorious Easter Exchange

Lord, the condemnation was yours, that the justification might be mine.

The agony was yours, that the victory might be mine.

The pain was yours, and the ease mine.

The stripes were yours, and the healing balm issuing from them mine.

The vinegar and gall were yours, that the honey and sweet might be mine.

The curse was yours, that the blessing might be mine.

The crown of thorns was yours, that the crown of glory might be mine.

The death was yours, the life purchased by it mine.

You paid the price that I might enjoy the inheritance.

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Which aspect of the glorious Easter exchange are you most rejoicing in right now?

Tags: Easter, Good Friday, Holy Week, Passion Week, Resurrection

It’s Saturday . . . but Sunday’s Coming!

It’s Saturday, the day before Easter.

On the Christian calendar, we often forget this day. Yesterday was Good Friday. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday.

On Friday, Jesus is crucified; dies for our sins. His followers mourn.

On Sunday, Jesus is resurrected; He’s risen! He’s risen, indeed! His followers rejoice.

But on Saturday, Jesus lay in the tomb; earth groaned. His followers waited, confused.

It’s Saturday, but Sunday’s coming . . .

Holy Saturday: The Day of Waiting

On the church calendar, Saturday is known as “Holy Saturday.” While there are services on Friday and on Sunday, this day is traditionally a day of waiting.

Holy Saturday is a lot like life this side of heaven. We wait. Our final resurrection is sure. Our victory is certain. But this side of heaven, we face death daily. Saturday—the day-in-between, the day between earth and heaven, hurt and healing, waiting and receiving, faith and sight.

It’s Saturday, but Sunday’s coming . . .

The Message of Holy Saturday

The message of Holy Saturday is, “Wait. Something is about to happen. But it hasn’t happened yet.”

Holy Saturday lasts so long. It feels like Sunday will never come. The twenty-four hours feel like an eternity.

It’s Saturday, but Sunday’s coming . . .

Death still surrounds us. Sin still tempts us. Sickness still wounds us. Suffering still pervades us. Evil still invades us. Satan still taunts us.

It’s Saturday, but Sunday’s coming . . .

Easter Is Coming Our Direction

In Narnia, under the curse of the White Witch, it was always Winter but never Christmas.

For Christians, we live in the sure hope that Spring is always just around the corner; just around the river bend.

Easter has already arrived, and it’s coming in our direction.

It’s Saturday, but Sunday’s coming . . .

While we forever remember the crucifixion, thank God we’re moving toward Easter. It’s coming in our direction, closer all the time.

It’s Saturday, but Sunday’s coming . . . and it’s not far away.

All we have to do is hold on for a little while and Sunday will soon be here.

Saturday may seem like a long time, but that’s only as we count time.

Hold on. Keep believing. Never give up. Wait.

It’s Saturday, but Sunday’s coming . . . soon.

Hold on for a little while longer.

The Final Victory

Death will not have the last word.

The tomb will empty.

We will celebrate the resurrection.

It’s Saturday, but Sunday’s coming!

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What is the wait like for you?

Tags: Christ, Easter, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Passion Week

“Our Forgiving Father”—Luke 15

Part 4: Returning Home

Welcome: Thanks for reading my Passion Week blog series as we reflect together on Our Forgiving Father. Today in Part 4, we see Jesus’ portrait of a prodigal returning home to the Forgiving One. We put our ear to the chest of Christ to hear the heartbeat of God—the heartbeat of our Forgiving Father.

Part 4: Returning Home: Luke 15:15-20

The younger son recognizes what the elder son will not. Having spent everything, the prodigal son is in great need. Physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually he’s at the end of his rope. With a few vivid details, Jesus portrays the depths to which the son falls as he is initiated into the world of moral consequences.

“So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything” (15:15-16). Culturally, the Jews saw swine as unclean animals. To eat the food of pigs is to be reduced to a sub-human level. Even this was denied to him.

When We Come to the End of Our Rope, We Come to Our Senses

When he came to the end of his rope, he came to his senses. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father” (15:17-20a).

J. C. Penny, the famous millionaire store owner, also came to his senses when he came to the end of his rope. Penny was seriously depressed as a young man. He tells of being confined in a mental hospital suffering such severe depression that the doctors had given up on him. One morning, on hearing a commotion down the hall, he put on his bathrobe and found his way to the chapel where people were singing about putting their trust in the Lord. Penny was the son of a Baptist preacher. He knew all about Jesus and decided now to trust Him. His whole life changed, and from that point until his death at 95, the Lord was the center of his life. Lost and found.

The son is like J.C. Penny. He repents. He returns. He comes home.

But the crucial question remains. Was the woman I was counseling right when she said, “Some sins are so deep that even the love of God can’t touch them”? Is Clint Eastwood right? Is everyone guilty and no one forgiven? Does the Father really welcome sinners? Does He receive worldly sinners? Does He accept self-righteous sinners?

Yes! Of course He does! Being welcomed home with open arms is exactly what Christ’s parable is all about. Now is the time to put our ears on the chest of Christ to hear the heartbeat of God—the heartbeat of our forgiving Father.

Our Forgiving Father Pursues Us: Luke 15:20, 28

Head down, guilt stricken, the prodigal slumps home to the father. Head high, love motivated, the father sprints to his son, throws his arms around him, and kisses him repeatedly! So very different from the Middle Eastern expectation. Listen again to Ken Bailey’s interview.

“And what would happen if the boy came back home, penniless, hungry, and broken?” The Middle Eastern reply: “The father would certainly not run to him and receive him! The father would stay hidden for a while and make the son eat humble pie outside the gate of the village.”

This is not what occurs in Jesus’ story. The father, our Father, runs to his son. “Run” literally means to sprint to, to rush, and to race. He forgets his dignity. He forgets the insult and disrespect his son had shown him. He doesn’t care what others might think. He doesn’t care that his peers will call him an old fool. No! He picks up his flowing robe and races to his son!

But we see something even before this. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him.” How? Why? Jesus is painting a picture of a father who listens to every noise, every sound. “A traveler. Could it be my son?” He is vigilantly on the lookout. He hears that sound and his eyes spy out the terrain . . . “He’s about his size, it might be him.” But crestfallen day after day, because yet another traveler is not his son. Until today. Today his lost son is found! Today his dead son is resurrected.

And he sprints to his son. In no other religion anywhere on the planet does one come to know God as the Racing One; as the Pursuing One.

He does the same with the eldest son. Listen, “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him” (Luke 15:28). In no other religion anywhere in the world does one come to know God as the Pleading One; the Wooing One.

When you blow it yet again. When that besetting sin gets the best of you for the umpteenth time. When spiritual defeat seems your constant companion. When Satan convinces you that the Father is tired of you. Return to your pursuing Father. To the Racing One, the Pursuing One, to the Pleading One, the Wooing One. He’s the Father we each long for; the Father Who wants us, welcomes us, forgives us as He pursues us. Return to the Forgiving One.

The Rest of the Story

This is great news. But the best is yet to come. Be sure to join me in Part 5 as we hear the most amazing words imaginable, “Welcome home!”

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What is keeping you from returning home to the Forgiving One?

Tags: Easter, Forgiveness, Passion Week, Prodigal, Prodigal Son

“Our Forgiving Father”—Luke 15

Part 1: Unforgiven

Welcome: Thanks for reading my Passion Week blog series as we reflect together on Our Forgiving Father. Today in Part 1, we introduce the spiritual reality that apart from Christ’s life, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection—we’re all guilty and unforgiven. But there’s hope when we put our ear to the chest of Christ to hear the heartbeat of God—the heartbeat of our Forgiving Father.

Part 1: Unforgiven

The Big Idea: Put your ear to the chest of Christ to hear the heartbeat of God—the heartbeat of your Forgiving Father.

The Big Picture: Unforgiven

The 1993 Western, Unforgiven, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, is a dark parable of the driven, unforgiven mood of our apprehensive age. This grim and gritty film accurately portrays the pain and emptiness of the human heart in need of grace.

Eastwood plays the aging gunslinger, Bill Munny. In his younger, wilder days, Munny has killed many men. But, as the film opens, we meet a Bill Munny who is no longer a gunslinger. He has been reformed by the love of a good woman, his wife, Claudia. It was she who helped him give up whiskey and hang up his guns. But now Claudia is dead, killed by smallpox. Grieving, poor, and debt-ridden, Munny tries to eke out a living for himself and his two children as a pig farmer on the Texas plains.

Then one day, a brash young gunslinger calling himself, “the Schofield Kid” rides into town to remind Bill Munny of his ugly past. “I hear tell you’ve killed a lot of men,” the Kid tells him. “Well, up in Wyoming, there’s a thousand dollars to be had for killing two cowboys. Seems those boys found some women one night and one of ‘em got mad at the woman he was with and he slashed up her face. The other ladies in that establishment have posted bounty on the heads of those two cowboys. If you come with me, we can kill those boys and split the reward.”

No,” Munny replies, honoring the wishes of his dead wife. “No more killin’ for me. I ain’t like that anymore.”

The kid rides off alone. But then Munny begins to think. “How are my children going to live? How will I pay off this debt? My split of that money sure would go a long way.”

So he straps on his gun and rides off to catch up with the Schofield Kid. As they ride together, the Kid, who’s fascinated by Munny’s reputation as a killer, pumps him for stories of his past. But Munny doesn’t want to remember his past sins. “I ain’t like that anymore,” he keeps repeating to the Kid, and to himself, denying the obvious question, “If he ‘ain’t like that anymore,’ then why is he riding off to Wyoming to kill a couple of cowboys?”

Together, Munny and the Kid track down the two cowboys. Munny shoots one of them, a fresh-faced boy named Davey. It’s a grisly scene. Later, the Kid shoots the other cowboy—Quick Mike. It’s a cold-blooded killing of an unarmed man.

Later, the killings accomplished, Munny and the Kid sit under a tree outside of town waiting for their reward money. While they wait; they talk. The Kid is full of remorse and on the verge of tears. His earlier fascination with killing has evaporated now that he has actually killed a man.

Munny, whose soul is stained with the blood of countless men, says, “Terrible thing, killing a man. You take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna’ have.”

“Yeah,” says the Kid, his voice choking. “Well I guess they had it comin’”.

Munny looks back at him coldly, and then says, “We all have it comin’, kid.”

It’s a dark moment in a dark film. Munny’s terse comment—“We all have it comin’”—is the statement of a man who cannot escape his past, his sin, or his guilt. It’s the statement of a damned soul. The title is fitting: Unforgiven. For this film is about guilt and retribution. Everyone in the film is guilty: the two dead cowboys, the Schofield Kid, Bill Munny. In the end, everyone is guilty and no one is forgiven.

Unforgiven won four Academy Awards, including best picture. Why? The answer is simple. It touches the very nerve center of our soul. We all need to hear the story of our Father’s forgiveness. We all long to experience the thrill of our forgiving Father’s welcoming embrace. Each of us, in our unique way, is a prodigal wandering far from home. Each of us longs for our homecoming.

Jesus addresses our inner longing in Luke 15. As a master artist, He paints a beautiful portrait of our forgiving Father. Put your ear to the chest of Christ to hear the heartbeat of God—the heartbeat of our Forgiving Father.

The Rest of the Story

Please join me for Part 2, where we learn about “Leaving Home”—how our foolish rebellion against our loving Father creates “awayness.”

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What homecoming do you long for?

Tags: Easter, Forgiveness, Good Friday, Palm Sunday