Please know that you have found a
place on the web where you can come for peace of mind, peace with God, and
monthly encouragement. If you are not yet a Christian, you
can have peace with God by accepting His son Jesus as your Savior? This in
itself is the greatest encouragement
of all. Webster's Dictionary defines the word
encourage as to give courage, hope, or confidence and to give support.
Jesus can give you all of this. You just have to ask. If you haven't
done this, would you like to do it now? If
so, please follow this link:
You Can Know God.
It's Friday But Sunday's on the
Way!
A Temporary Obituary
"Though they found no proper ground for a death
sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed.
When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down
from the tree and laid
him in a tomb."
Acts 13:28-29. (Read on for the
rest of the story!)
If you and I had been living in Jerusalem in 33 AD, we may have noticed a temporary obituary in The Jerusalem Times that red as follows:
Why Do You
Look For the Living Among the Dead?
"But God raised him from the dead!"
(Acts 13:30)
Aren't you glad that if there was ever such
an obituary, as the one above, it was only a temporary one!
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and
went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not
find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that
gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the
ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here;
he has risen! Luke 24:1-6a.
In a book entitled It’s Friday but Sunday’s Coming!, Tony Campolo recalls an epic sermon he heard one Good Friday. The Sermon was framed around the lines ‘it’s Friday but Sunday’s coming!’
“It was Friday; it was Friday and my Jesus was dead on the cross. But that was Friday and Sunday’s comin’!”
“It was Friday and Mary was cryin’ her eyes out. The disciples were runnin’ in every direction, like sheep without a Shepherd, but that was Friday. Sunday’s comin’!”
And so he said the Sermon continued, building in volume and power all the time.
“ It was Friday. The cynics were lookin’ at the world and saying; you can’t change anything. But those cynics didn’t know it was Friday. Sunday’s comin’!”
Tony recorded that that the sermon reached such an excitement that when the preacher delivered the final, “It’s Friday!” the whole congregation roared back, “BUT SUNDAY’S COMIN’!”
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again!2...
The pastor continues: And on that horrible day 2000 years ago, Jesus the Christ, the Lord of glory, the only begotten Son of God, the only perfect man died on the cross of Calvary. Satan thought that he had won the victory. Surely he had destroyed the Son of God. Finally he had disproved the prophecy God had uttered in the Garden and the one who was to crush his head had been destroyed. But that was Friday.
Now it's Sunday. And just about dawn on that first day of the week, there was a great earthquake. But that wasn't the only thing that was shaking because now it's Sunday. And the angel of the Lord is coming down out of heaven and rolling the stone away from the door of the tomb. Yes, it's Sunday, and the angel of the Lord is sitting on that stone and the guards posted at the tomb to keep the body from disappearing were shaking in their boots because it's Sunday, and the lamb that was silent before the slaughter is now the resurrected lion from the tribe of Judah, for He is not here, the angel says. He is risen indeed.
It's Sunday, and the crucified/resurrected Christ has defeated death, hell, sin and the grave. It's Sunday. And now everything has changed. It's the age of grace, God's grace poured out on all who would look to that crucified lamb of Calvary. Grace freely given to all who would believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary was buried and rose again. All because it's Sunday.
Don't Wait for Sunday; Accept Christ Today
"By this gospel you are saved:..."that Christ died for our sins,...that he was
buried",
and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." I Cor.
15:1-4.
The apostle Paul tells us three very important facts in this passage of Scripture. First, he says that Jesus Christ died for our sins. He didn't die because He was guilty in any way. He took the punishment for your sin and for mine. Second, Paul says that Christ was buried. Many argue that Jesus merely fainted from lack of blood, but the fact that his own followers buried him in the tomb indicates the absolute reality of his death. But friend, (thirdly) hear this. He didn't stay in that tomb, because on Sunday morning bright and early the Father in Heaven looked down and said, "Arise, my love. The grave no longer has a hold on you." Jesus rose from the dead. The verb tense Paul uses here is the perfect tense which in the Greek stresses an action that has occurred in the past but that has abiding results. The action--Jesus rose from the dead. The results--He remains alive right now. But more than that, He lives in my life, and he can live in yours as well.
The Lord of Glory is standing at the door of your heart knocking. He says to you, if you will invite me to come in and be Lord and Savior of your life, I will forgive all your sin. I'll wipe the slate clean. He says if you will invite me to come in and be your Lord and Savior I will deliver you from the power of sin -- no longer will you be in bondage to Satan. Yes, The Son of God is standing at the door of your heart knocking. He says if you will invite me to come in and be your Lord and Savior, I will give you an inheritance. I will make you an heir to heaven itself. "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:2-3).3
If Jesus came back today would you be going with him to heaven? If your answer is no or you're unsure, then take a look at Romans 10:13. It tells us that "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." You are included in "everyone". Would you like to call (pray) to the Lord to ask Jesus to be your Savior right now? You can do just that by saying this simple prayer:
Dear God, I do trust you and thank you for your son Jesus who died
on the cross for me and took my punishment. I ask you to forgive me
of all my sins and come into my heart and life. I ask you to fill me with
your Holy Spirit* and give me a love for reading your word/The Bible**.
And help me to continue to turn away from my sins. Amen.
*The Holy Spirit is one of
the ways that God speaks to you.
**The Bible is another way that God speaks to you.
The Bible says in Luke 15:10, that once you
have voiced the prayer above (became a Christian), the very angels in heaven
will celebrate with you!
If you prayed this prayer, congratulations and welcome to God’s family! You now
have Jesus as your Savior forever! The Bible assures you of this
eternal salvation in many verses. In John 3:16 Jesus said,
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
And Jesus said in John 5:24a,
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears
my word and believes him (God) who sent me has eternal life."
Please
allow Four Seasons Evangelism
to rejoice with you
and the angels in heaven,
over this good news! You can send an email to
fourseasonsevangelism.com. And
please go to
Now That I’m A Christian
to see how you can start growing strong in your Christian faith.
An Eternal Celebration
Once we become Christians we are headed for a
celebration that will last forever! We can declare now and in the
future that we overcame him"
(Satan) by Jesus' blood and by the word of our "testimony (salvation). (Rev. 12:11). We
will join that great multitude that no one can count, from
every nation, tribe, people and language (Rev. 7:9), and enjoy a
celebration of
everlasting victory over Satan and praise to God! Therefore, we shall
stand firm and always give ourselves to the work of the Lord, because we know
that our labor for the Lord is not in vain. (
I
Cor. 15:58).
Sunday’s coming! And that Sunday hope and excitement radiates out of Easter to every day, to our whole lives, to all ages! In a cynical and hurting world it’s hope for the now and for the future!4
He's coming again! All because it's Sunday and the Lamb of Calvary did not stay in the tomb! He is risen and He lives forevermore!5
Your Brother
in Christ,
David Cooper
Four Seasons Evangelism
References
1. http://www.epicureansdelight.stocktonet.com/Jesus_Obituary.htm
2.
Ian Macdonald,
"It's Friday But Sunday's Coming!," n.p. [cited 14 April 2006]. Online:
http://www.oxford.anglican.org/thedoor/editorials/friday_sunday.html
3. Anonomos, "It's Friday! But Sunday's a Coming!" n.p.
[cited 14 April 2006]. Online:
http://www.gulftel.com/friendship/ico15s1.htm
4. Ibid.
Ian Macdonald,
"It's
Friday But Sunday's Coming!"
5. Ibid.
Anonomos, "It's Friday! But Sunday's a Coming!
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture is quoted from the NIV.