A Preacher Gets Ready for Easter Week

Prayers are appreciated: Starting today I will be writing 4 sermons over 158 verses--all to be delivered in 2 weeks. Whew!

At Hillcrest, we've been in the Gospel of Matthew for 30 months. It's all coming to a dramatic conclusion in the next 2 weeks.

We began our study of Matthew in Christmas 2006 with the nativity narratives that open the tax collector's Gospel. We'll end our study this Easter 2009 with Matthew's account of the Passion and Resurrection.

I am grateful for the promise of prayers as I prepare sermons and deliver them on the following schedule:

Sunday April 5: A review of the establishment of the Lord's Supper as recounted in Matthew 26:1-30 will prepare our church to observe the Lord’s Supper 4 days later when we gather Thursday night.

Thursday April 9: After observing the Lord’s Supper, our church will look at Matthew 26:36-56. These verses will remind us of the main truth of Gesthemane: Christ's submission to God’s plan--and the disciples' inability to do so.

Good Friday April 10: Matthew 26:57 to 27:50 will remind us of how Jesus was “despised and rejected.” He was rejected by the religious (26:57-68), by his own (Peter in 26:31-35 and 26::69-75; Judas in 27:1-10), and by a government meant to uphold justice (27:11-26). But at the cross (27:27-44) he faced the worst rejection: rejected by God as he carried away the sin of the world (27:45-54).

Easter Sunday April 12: We'll look at Matthew 27:55 to Matthew 28:20. With these verses we’ll look at the wonder of the Resurrection and two reactions to it: rejection of the story (vv.11-15) and communication of the story (vv.16-20). These are the two reactions to the story: you either come up with reasons why it’s not credible (vv.11-15) or you have to get the news out because it’s the most life-changing truth in the world (vv.16-20).

Someone asked me what I’m getting into now that our two-and-a-half-year study of Matthew is over. I said, “Well, Mark comes next!” (Kidding)

Actually, I’m going to spend a couple of months teaching the book of Proverbs at Hillcrest before heading to Zambia in mid-June for a 4-week assignment at the Baptist Seminary in Lusaka. I'll explain more about the Zambia trip down the line.

No thoughts yet on what to do when I’m back in the pulpit at the end of July.

What topics or texts do you suggest we tackle next?