The Day of All Days

What a blessing to be in worship Easter morning at Crossroads: Bridgeville! The Spirit of God was definitely at work this morning. Personally I wasn't sure how I would feel come Sunday morning. It has been a very tough week, and I didn't feel like I would want to celebrate. But in the morning I was reminded that the day wasn't about me, but that this day gives me hope to make it through any day, no matter how tough.


I thought about those days I was recovering in the hospital last year after my near brush with death. Times like that really bring life into focus. I realized that there is nothing I would rather do than whatever God has for me. It's easy to waste our lives away: entertainment is so pervasive, there are so many temporary pleasures to chase, and it's flat-out easier not to do anything too hard. But it's the hard things God calls us to that are going to make a difference into eternity.

It was anything but easy to suffer death on the cross. But Jesus did it, knowing the whole time that if at any moment he decided he had had enough, he could call it quits. But he didn't.

Jesus' choice to go through with it wasn't just a one-and-done decision. Even after making it, he still had the opportunity to back down. I don't know about you, but I find it a lot easier to make a one-time decision than one I constantly have the opportunity to reneg on, especially if it involves suffering. But knowing that Jesus continued to choose to suffer for us makes it a little easier to suffer through the tough weeks.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Oh blog, oh blog, I have not forgotten you...

It seems like when things are so busy that I have a lot to blog about, I don't have the time I want to write an entry!

Here are some of the major ministry happenings right now:
- We are looking for a new worship space for our Bridgeville campus. This is an exciting thing, because we hope to have a space that will allow to continue to grow to the next level. Of course, the building does not make the church, so our main focus will continue to be serving, evangelizing, and making disciples in the community. But the time is right for us to work on making this move. I will try to get a link to the verbal announcement I did at our service on March 9.

- Pastor Steve (the senior pastor) and I will be going on an exploratory trip to Mozambique to look for opportunities for our church to partner with Mozambicans in a variety of ways. We will be building relationships and learning ways that our church's gifts might be used to influence different domains of life. Two of our congregation's strong suits are medical/health work and education. We will not be limited to those fields, but we hope to use the natural connections within the field that our people have in order to connect with Mozambicans. God has given us our occupations, and we want to use them for his glory.

-Holy Week: We have Maundy Thursday services, a Good Friday "multi-sensory worship experience," and many Easter services. Easter has always been one of my favorite times of year. I remember loving the atmosphere of celebration and joy, even when I was young. This will be my first Easter celebration as a pastor, and I am really looking forward to leading our congregation. Easter is the central day of the Christian calendar, and really of all history. Jesus was raised from the dead, and the world will never be the same! Hallelujah!