Pastor Bob’s Eastertide Lessons
Each Sunday of Eastertide I have introduced a new foundational lesson for moving forward in our faith lives. Below is a summary of each Sunday’s key points.
WEEK 1: The 3 legs of your faith stool – these time-tested practices, since ancient days and across faith traditions, have proven to be the most effective way for human beings to “get closer to God.”
- Prayer: Not the “normal” prayers that you may be used to praying (blessings at meals; Lord’s Prayer at church; spontaneous prayers for things to go your way; etc.), but instead a real life open and honest ongoing conversation with God about your life and how God can become a bigger part of it. And be sure to “keep it real.”
- Word: Immersing yourself in the holy words of God, contained in our Christian Bible, on a daily basis. Coming to God through the Words of the Bible brings your life into sync with the ways of scripture, Jesus, and his disciples. You will find your life in the living words of the Bible.
- Worship: Not just every Sunday at 10:00am, but through the assistance of the Holy Spirit, your life can become one continuous worship for God, giving God all praise and glory for each and every minute of the day.
WEEK 2: 3 truths about living for Jesus that you may never have been told. These are fundamental aspects of a Christ-like life that often get lost in all the church teaching about do’s and don’ts.
- It’s not how “good” you are; it’s how close to God you are. First of all, you can never be “good enough” for God. God is perfect. You’re not. But God isn’t asking you to be perfect. God wants a close personal relationship with you. That’s all. If you have that, the “good enough” stuff will take care of itself.
- You don’t have to like somebody to love them. For our entire lives we’ve been taught how love works. It comes after you’ve “liked” someone for a while, and they have proven themselves to be worthy of your love. Jesus proposes just the opposite. Like he did, Jesus calls us to love everyone first. Make love your initial response to anyone you encounter throughout the day. Let the “liking” stuff take care of itself.
- The Peace of Christ is the true desire of your heart. Despite what we are taught to believe by the peddlers of worldly cures, the only thing that’s really lacking in the lives of seekers is the “peace of Christ.” All humans are longing for this, whether they know it or not. And, it is the remedy for whatever ails us on any particular day.
WEEK 3: 4 aspects of living a life for Christ that you may never have been told about.
- You may never have been taught that the sacrificial life of Jesus, resulting in his own crucifixion, is one that followers of Jesus today are called to model. Jesus calls all of his followers to be selfless servants of God and others. It’s a simple plan for living, and it’s the key to our happiness, but living a sacrificial life like Jesus did is hardly ever taught in our churches.
- You may never have been taught that Jesus actually meant what he said. The teachings and life of Jesus is our model for living and our source for all truth. Thus, the things that Jesus says to us are the most important messages in the Bible. But too often we turn these messages into nice and comfortable suggestions for living, when it may be convenient. On the other hand, Jesus calls us to love our enemies (for example) all the time – especially when it’s very hard and inconvenient to do.
- You may never have been taught that God doesn’t want to leave us unchanged. Living a stagnant safe life of comfort and ease is not what Jesus came for. He came to set us in motion, to be led by the Holy Spirit daily, and to be ready and willing to adapt to any and all circumstances we may encounter. Change is the reality of God. God is revelation, a constant revealing of who God is and how God is moving in our lives. We are always called to change with God. Everyday.
- You may never have been taught that God calls us to a simple, quiet, God-centered spiritual life. In the heyday of the social church in America, Christians were taught that a “good citizen” means a good Christian. Thus, in middle-class churches across America, Christians strove to look good and act good in their daily lives. Jesus teaches the opposite. Being “good” and looking good have nothing to do with the life of Christ. Instead, Jesus calls us to a simpler, quieter, God-centered life based on the life that Jesus led.
Eastertide is a “decision-making time” for us. We have walked with Jesus all over the Holy Land; we have accompanied him to Jerusalem; we have seen what the world’s authorities have done to him; and we have experienced the Christ who rose from the dead.
If we keep our focus on Jesus instead of other things in the world, including religion, we will discover the power of God’s spirit working in our lives, and in the life of our church.
Let’s do this!
Keeping the focus on Christ, I am,
Pastor Bob <><