Burns Church of Christ

When do you talk about Jesus?

Do you talk about Him at work? Do you talk about Him in your free time? What about with your family? Outside of our worship assembly and Bible study periods, how often do you speak about Jesus with the church?

I’m convinced that one of the great plagues of the modern church is our inability (read: unwillingness) to speak about Jesus! I’m not great at talking about church events or programs. I tend to get worse at talking about church in general, and far worse when it comes to talking about God. Isn’t this backwards?

It’s not a cat that has our tongues, I’m afraid!

My challenges for you this week: don’t leave this assembly without talking about Jesus to someone here.  Second, continue your normal foyer conversations-but move them forward. It’s time to get past small-talk and move to spiritual talk within the family! Third, intentionally talk about Jesus away from the assembly. Talk with your family, your friends, or your fellow employees.

You don’t have to say something profound, but you do need to say something!

I’ll tell you one thing I know for sure: He loves you!

The Bible says, “With the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10) What will you confess this week?

James’s annual pilgrimage to New Zealand to teach in the South Pacific Bible College always makes me think about traveling. It’s something everyone does; it’s a healthy thing to experience. You pack-and realize that yes, you can actually survive out of the belongings of just one suitcase for a few days. You plan a route (or at the very least, a destination and a GPS), book accommodations, anticipate your trip, leave, and a thousand “are we there yet?”’s later, you arrive!

Journey has been used as a spiritual metaphor since the days of Abraham. In his case, it was a literal journey when God called him to leave Ur to head towards a land which God would show him. For Moses, it was a journey to free the Hebrew slaves, and then again they journeyed on towards the promised land. A few detours and wilderness wanderings later-they finally arrived. While there is much to be enjoyed and gained from the journey, the destination is the motivating goal.

Some of our old hymns capture this sentiment best: Do you remember “My heavenly home is bright and fair, I feel like traveling on! No pain nor death can enter there, I feel like traveling on! ” What about “I am a poor wayfaring stranger while traveling thru this world of woe! Yet there’s no sickness, toil, nor danger in that bright world to which I go!”  We sing “To Canaan’s Land I’m On My Way” and “We’re Marching to Zion” and proclaim over and over again that our lives have a destination.

When Jesus comforted his disciples, he said in John 14:1-4: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that g I go to prepare a place for you? [...] And you know the way to where I am going.”

Thank God that we know where we’re headed. Thank God that we know Jesus, the Way! We live with packed bags and a goal in mind. By his grace, he’ll bring us home! Will you help someone find their way this week?

He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Hebrews 1:3

      Several years ago Ed Fudge wrote a commentary on the Book of Hebrews and called it Our Man In Heaven.   Sounds like an appropriate title for the work of the risen Lord as he completed his work on earth and went back to heaven and finished offering his blood before the real mercy seat in heaven. Hebrews 9:12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

      As Jesus left the disciples on the earth and ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9-11), He goes back to the Father and completes the offering of his blood for the remission of our sins.  His journey to earth and his journey back to the Father are now complete and he always lives to intercede for us.  He is truly our man in heaven.  He sent forth the Holy Spirit and he now is our advocate in heaven and will one day return to take us home with him.  What a day that will be?!!!

      By sitting down on the right hand of the Father he has. now finished his work of bringing salvation to men.  He will bring about full redemption of our bodies when he returns for us. By the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, (he) will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Phil. 3:21)

      The resurrection of Jesus from the tomb is our assurance that we can also be raised.  As we arise from the waters of baptism through faith in the power of God who raised him from the death we can know that as children of God we have eternal hope.

      When Jesus took his seat at the right hand of the Father, Things were ready for the world to be redeemed.  Now is the time for all of us to be on board the good ship to heaven. 

Don’t forget–our first guest speaker for the Examine the Evidence Campaign is this Sunday night at 6pm. Steve Cantrell will be presenting “A Medical Doctor’s Look at the Resurrection.” You’ll be blessed by joining us!

He is not here. Mark 16:6

             The words above were spoken to a group of women who had come to the tomb of Jesus to give the body of dead Jesus a special anointing.  When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. (Mark 16:1) They wanted to show their love and devotion to Jesus.

             The body was not there!  Where was it?  What had happened to the dead Jesus? Why was the tomb where Jesus had been buried now empty?  It had been only three days and the grave was guarded by trained solders who would watch carefully that nothing happened to that body.

The chief priests and Pharisees were afraid that his disciples may come and steal the body. After the body went missing, they paid the soldiers large sums of money to say His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.

Now when I am asleep it is difficult to identify people who come and go during the night.  These soldiers can identify the disciples, and testify that they stole the body of Jesus while they are asleep.  Quiet a testimony for the day.  Certainly answers all the questions about why the tomb is empty.

If he is not in the tomb, where is he?  If the disciples have not stolen the body maybe his enemies did?  When Jesus was proclaimed as risen from the dead would not his enemies bring the body and say “you believe a lie”.

If he is not in the tomb, where is he?  Maybe the angel was right when he declared, “He is risen from the dead.” But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.

If Jesus is no longer in the tomb, he is alive and working to get us to the place where he is now.  He is not here, he is alive and working all things out for His people to come and be with him forever in our new resurrection body.

So give the order for the tomb to be made Secure until the third day.Matthew 27:64

Before Jesus was killed on the cross he had several times predicted that he would rise from the dead. Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days. (John 2:19)  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)  He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:31)

Those who were responsible for the death of Jesus knew about his claims that he would rise the third day. They go to Pilate and say, “Sir, we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ (Matthew 27:63)

They wanted to be sure that the tomb of Jesus was secure enough that the body could not disappear.  Trying to out fox God is always a disaster.

We know the rest of the story.  The “secured” tomb was found empty on the first day of the week.  Imagine that.  To detractors it is still the nemesis of the unbelieving world. To us who believe it is the power of the Living God.  When you believe in an almighty God, Resurrection is a piece of cake for Him.

Little minds think in little ways and do little things that accomplish little good.  It is tough for little minds to get a grip of big ideas like the resurrection. Little people try hard to negate the power of God but all attempts still fail miserably. Evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (II Timothy 3:13)

They made it as secure as they could but Jesus came forth as he had said, Come and see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:26)