Called to Believe the Resurrection

April 21, 2019 Background Scripture: Matthew 28:1 – 15 Lesson Passage: Matthew 28:1 – 15 Easter Sunday is a very special day for Christians. We read the scriptures in the gospel accounts that tell of Jesus’ disciples being overwhelmed as their sorrow was turned into unspeakable joy. They had witnessed the arrest and ill-treatment of Jesus by the religious authorities as well as the officers of the Roman Empire. They recalled his badly beaten body being attached to the cross by nails driven through his hands and feet. The shame of him being put on public display between two criminals was still fresh on their minds. What would all of this mean for them as they go forward? Should they return to the occupations they held prior to Jesus calling them? As Peter had noted in talking with Jesus one day, they had left all just to follow him. Now, three years later, Jesus had become the victim of capital punishment in its cruelest form, crucifixion. Apparently, the movement was over. The religious authorities had out-foxed Jesus and gotten their way. But then they received “good news from the graveyard”. Jesus was alive! Indeed, he had died on Friday and they saw it. But the grave could not hold him! Through the operation of divine power, he who had raised the dead, was now raised by the power of the Father. Oh death, where is your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory? The one who is the life giver, had laid his life down on Friday, but he picked it back up on Sunday. I get excited every time I am reminded of Jesus’ resurrection. I am not just excited for Jesus’ sake. I get excited for my sake. Now, I have the assurance that all of the promises of Jesus are true. Jesus promised to raise up all of us who die in him. If he can raise himself up, I have no doubt that he will raise us up. This is not a question of his power. Jesus raised the dead on several occasions before his own death. He has always had the power to raise the dead. His resurrection was back to eternal life. He now lives to never die again. This is the same life Jesus offers each of us. Being a Christian is not about living this earthly life that is limited, painful, and brief! Christians have the hope of eternal life in them. The Holy Spirit is the proof, or earnest, that God will fulfill in us all that Jesus promised that we would receive. Jesus now lives forever in a glorified body and he promised to give each of us the same thing. The resurrection of Jesus is the assurance for believers. If Jesus had not been resurrected, he would be no different to us than Confucius, Mohammed, or Jim Jones. They all promised great things. They all demonstrated, to some extent, something new to people and gave them hope. But they died and are still dead. They don’t have the power to raise themselves from the dead. Their bodies have decayed, and they cannot create new bodies for themselves. They died, and all of their promises died with them. All that any can hope from their teaching is a form of peace of mind in this life with nothing to offer afterwards. But Jesus, who raised himself up, calls us to believe the resurrection that he has demonstrated in himself. Robert C. Hudson February 21, 2019

Called to Make Disciples

April 28, 2019 Background Scripture: Matthew 28:16 – 20; Acts 1:6 – 8 Lesson Passage: Matthew 28: 16 – 20; Acts 1:6 – 8 “Said I wasn’t gonna tell nobody, but I couldn’t keep it to myself.” That should be the mission statement of all professed believers in Jesus Christ. We have come through the most sacred season for us, Easter. All of the reminders of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus should have energized us afresh to spread the good news. As we focus today on the text known as the Great Commission, we should be reminded that it was given by Jesus after his resurrection. We should embrace this as the mandate that it is. This world will not always exist as we know it. One day it will all be destroyed. But if that day tarries, death will continue to raid the ranks of the living. God’s word assures us that everyone has eternal life. The question that needs to be settled is: Where will you spend eternity? There are two choices available: eternal life with Jesus in the presence of the full glory of God or eternal life in torment in the Lake of Fire, where souls are eternally tortured without end. Jesus started a movement during his earthly ministry. This movement entailed the making of disciples who would go out and evangelize the lost by preaching the gospel. All who believe the gospel and accept Jesus as their savior, would be baptized and instructed in becoming disciples who would, in turn, go out and repeat the cycle. Mission, evangelism, and teaching work together to make disciples who are constantly engaged in preaching the gospel to a spiritually dead world. This is not a task or temporary assignment for someone to fill. The calling that is upon Christians everywhere is to make disciples. Many today have taken an easy way out. Rather than deal with lost people by sharing the gospel message with them, we have made church comfortable for us. We do what we like to do, when we like to do it, if we like to do it. We comfort ourselves by making our church environment comfortable for anyone who wants to join us—not that we are going out of our way to find them! We have used comfortable, welcoming churches as a substitute for winning souls and making disciples. Mind you, if someone happens to join our church environment who is lost, we will be sure to invite them to accept Jesus as their personal savior. Is this what the Great Commission is all about? I think not. The book of Acts is a record of the early church after Jesus ascended back to Glory. When they attempted to create the type of church environments that have become somewhat standard today, God allowed persecution to come against them and scatter them. As they were scattered because of the persecution, then they carried out the mandate of the Great Commission. They preached Jesus as they went and the lost were saved. It seems that only when persecution arose against the early church that they engaged in the process of evangelism and making disciples. Sadly, things have not changed much in two thousand years. We often witness great evangelistic effort and disciple making as a result of church splits and/or unresolved church disputes that leads to a multiplication of local churches that work harder separately than they did as one congregation. Whatever method God chooses to use, we are still called to make disciples. Robert C. Hudson February 21, 2019

Called to Follow

March 31, 2019 Background Scripture: Matthew 4:12 – 22 Lesson Passage: Matthew 4:12 – 22 Today’s lesson passage gives a sketch of Jesus’ movements and activities after his baptism by John the Baptist and temptation in the wilderness. Jesus left the region of Galilee to go to John the Baptist and later he returned to Nazareth. From Nazareth, Jesus traveled northeast to Capernaum, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, which was close to the edge of the northern border of the region primarily occupied by the Jews. While in the area in and surrounding Capernaum, Jesus preached repentance and announced the good news of the presence of the kingdom of heaven. John the Baptist preached repentance and baptism for the remission of sins in preparation for the coming of the kingdom of heaven. The good news Jesus preached was that the kingdom of heaven was at hand—or present. Jesus encountered many people during that time. Some he encountered more than once. There were four he interacted with on more than one occasion. They were Simon, his brother Andrew, and two sons of Zebedee, James and John. Strikingly, their activities at the time of the encounters in this passage suggest something about their future work. All of them were fishermen. Simon and Andrew were casting their net into the waters as Jesus passed by, and Jesus asked them to follow him and he would make them fishers of men. When Jesus came to James and John, they were in a ship mending their nets. Likewise, he called them to follow him. All four men followed Jesus the day he asked them to. However, the picture that unfolds as one weave together the fragments from the different accounts of the gospel suggests that it was on again and off again. In other words, they followed him that day but not necessarily every day thereafter. Sometimes, we need to be asked more than once. As far as their activities relative to their future work was concerned, Simon and Andrew were casting a net into the sea. Early church history records Simon, then called Peter, as an evangelistic preacher. He cast the net of evangelism first into the sea of Jews on the Day of Pentecost and later into the sea of Gentiles in the house of Cornelius. Peter became a fisher of men. James and John were in a ship mending their nets. James was one of the first martyrs in the church. John became the elder statesman who outlived the other apostles. Over the years, many have referred to John’s writings whenever there was strife within the body of Christ. His doctrine has been used to mend much that was torn within Christendom. All four men followed Jesus as requested by him, and their work on the day of their calling became their future ministry for the kingdom of God. We are called to follow Jesus. Sometimes it means that our heart’s desire is in the right direction, but it may not be in the right place. True ministry can take place when Jesus shows us how to take what we love and make it an asset for the kingdom. Before we can lead, we are called to follow. Robert C. Hudson February 14, 2019

Called to Remember

April 14, 2019 Background Scripture: Matthew 26:1 – 13 Lesson Passage: Matthew 26:1 – 13 People need something to jog their memory. There are some things that should not be forgotten. Some out of gratitude and others as a warning to not allow something unpleasant to be repeated. Memory joggers can range from simple handwritten notes to a listing in the registry of the National Archives. They may be something only the person can see, a group can participate in, or it can be made visible to all who care to look upon it. Memorials are a special category that serve a very specific purpose. Often, they are to convey intergenerational knowledge to ensure a lasting legacy. Such is the case in today’s lesson. As Jesus approached the impending dark hours of arrest, interrogation, and crucifixion, he repeatedly warned his disciples that the hour was at hand. His warning seemed to have gone over their heads. Things were going great so why should Jesus keep dampening their spirits by bringing up something they thought would not happen. However, there was a woman who came to Jesus in Bethany who knew that Jesus’ death was approaching. God had revealed to her that the time of Jesus’ earthly life was coming to an end. Remarkably, she was not a prophetess or even what we might consider a spiritual person. While Jesus and his disciples were dining at the table in Simon’s house, this woman came in and poured very expensive perfume on Jesus’ head. Jesus’ disciples seemed to have immediately called out her actions as a waste. She could have sold the perfume for a tidy sum of money to provide benevolent support to the poor. Jesus knew that her actions were not the actions of a wasteful person but rather that of a worshiper of him. Jesus rebuked his disciples and reminded them that the poor would always inhabit the land. They would have ample opportunity to assist the poor among them. This woman was providing some “pre-need” services prior to his burial. His disciples would not have time to do this at the time of his death. They would have to rush to stay ahead of the onset of the Sabbath. This woman was taking care of the anointing of his body days in advance of his death. What she did was so significant that Jesus turned her actions into a memorial. Jesus declared that wherever the gospel is preached, her story must be told also as a memorial to her. Christians are admonished to share the good news of salvation that God provides to all who will accept Jesus’ death as a sacrifice for sin, in their stead. God’s love invites all of us to accept eternal life through Jesus Christ. Wherever this message reaches across the globe, or even beyond, the memorial must also be erected in the telling of the deeds of this woman. Sinners are called to repent and be saved and Christians are called to share the story of the woman who provided Jesus’ “pre-need” arrangements for his burial. Robert C. Hudson February 21, 2019