Something interesting came out in my Easter sermon on Sunday.

Men should listen more to what women say!

Let me show you where we got this from God’s Word.

I was preaching on “the road to Emmaus” from Luke 24:13-35. And in this passage the two disciples who are making the 7 mile walk to Emmaus are ironically telling Jesus about what has happened in the last 3 days concerning Jesus. In verse 22 they say “some women of our company amazed us.” Well then verse 23 goes on to say that the women amazed them by saying that they had been to the tomb and found empty and some angels had told them that Jesus was no longer dead, but alive. Well here is where it gets humorous. The very next statement, which is verse 24,  says “Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said.”

What is really great about this passage is that all four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) tell us that women were the first ones at the tomb on that first Easter Sunday morning. Then the ladies go to tell the other disciples. Mark writes in 16:11 & 13 that “they would not believe it” and “they did not believe it”. So as you know, they go running there to see for themselves.

John writes that it was specifically Peter and John running to the tomb with John being faster (What detail to the story! Also note that John is the one writing and just happens to mention that he runs faster than Peter. So awesome!)

All this to say that when Luke writes in 24:24 that they “found it just as the women had said” we are seeing that they all should have believed the women.

There is great truth in this. Most often, women DO know what they are talking about.

Lets all listen more to the ladies!

CHURCH, DON’T FORGET!

I want to remind everyone that the New Member’s Packets are ready. Beginning next Wednesday evening May 4th, I will lead the whole church (not just new members) through this helpful packet on “what it means to be a member of our church”. This will be done in 5 sessions. Five straight Wednesday evenings.

After everyone in the church has been led through the packet, we will then periodically offer “New Members Classes” to those people who are seeking to become members of our church.

This has been a long time coming, but it is finally here and I am really looking forward to it. Please make plans to be a part of it.

I know many of you may not like this kind of music, but you got to love the title. What an amazing statement! The lyrics to this song are good. Check it out.
http://youtu.be/XGHFC2t3deE

Here is a picture of our Sunday Morning Worship service from yesterday. It was taken from the balcony.

Easter Day is such a meaningful time. Family and the worship of the Risen King Jesus are the priority as they should be. I’m already looking forward to this coming Sunday to do it again!

This Thursday our church is having a special Lord’s Supper Service at 6:30 pm. We encourage you to be here. This service will prove to be very powerful in your life as you begin preparing for worship this upcoming Easter Sunday.

One of my dearest friends and brothers in the whole world is Tanner Turley. He is now living in Boston, MA and planting a church. He is one of my favorite preachers, and I post this to let you know that his sermons are now available online. I love listening to them.

Go to www.redemptionhillchurch.com/resources and you can listen to his sermons. So good!

This week in our Mens and Womens Bible Studies we walked through Revelation 6. Both groups stood in awe of the Sovereignty of God and His redeeming plan to lovingly and graciously save disobedient sinful people by the work of Christ on the cross.

Revelation 6 is the opening of the seven seals. (well, at least the first 6 seals.) The sixth seal, verses 12-17, is the second coming of Christ.

Notice how very similar Rev. 6:12-17 is with Matthew 24:29-31. Thats because it is the same thing. What Matthew is writing about what Jesus is saying on the Mount of Olives is the very thing that John is seeing at the opening of the sixth seal in heaven.

Remember that in Matthew 24:3 we learn that the disciples (that includes John) were there privately listening to Jesus teaching. So in other words, what God is revealing to John in Revelation, John had already heard Jesus teach about on the Mount of Olives.  The Bible is so incredibly masterful. It is truly God’s Word.

Don’t be those folks of Revelation 6:15-17 who are so scared of the Wrath of God that they run to the mountains crying out for the mountains to collapse on them and kill them. Instead, be those folks of Revelation 7:10 who know that salvation belongs to the Lamb (Jesus) and that His death on the cross satisfied God’s wrath for all time of those who believe.

Amen! 1 Corinthians 16:22!

This little nugget is so rich and powerful! Paul closes his letter to the Corinthians with such a bold statement.

“If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!”

This verse is 1 Corinthians 16:22. O God, give us more and more men and women with hearts like that!

Yesterday several young guys spent some awesome time praying. It was awesome!

It is common these days to hear a young person say that they are “about to go beast mode” on something. And I am not so sure, but I think it means that they are going to go wild and lose control on something.

So I found it very interesting this week when I noticed one of the Biblical authors saying this very thing about himself.

Asaph, the author of Psalm 73, says to God that he “was like a beast toward you”. (Psalm 73:22)

What is Asaph talking about? Well, Psalm 73 is amazingly beautiful and applicable to so many of our lives. Asaph is recalling a time in his life when he had become so self-absorbed. It was awful and pathetic. His thoughts were all me, me, me. It was a little pity-party, and you can read that in verses 4-14.

But then something changes in Asaph’s perspective- He starts to focus on God. Verse 17 he says “until I went into the sanctuary of God.” His focus and perspective changing from selfish to Godward made all the difference.

Then once Asaph is able to look at his bad attitude and outlook on life in a healthy way, he says in verse 22

“I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.”

Asaph admits that when it came to God, he was totally out of control with his life and focus. He was like a beast. It was selfish, wayward, depressing, and scary. See verses 2-3.

As I think of how few of people I know who will honestly admit being beastly, I realize that only God’s grace can cause someone to deny themself and be honest. I encourage you to read and re-read Psalm 73. It is good. When it comes to your life and God, Don’t go beast-mode against him.