Tag Archives: easter

Worship the King! Celebrate Jesus!

   As believers, we are called to worship.  Both corporately & individually, we are expected to worship the Lord in spirit & in truth.  So, what is worship?  Is it singing a couple of songs on a Sunday morning?  Is it reading our Bibles?  Communicating with God through prayer?  Lifting our hands?  Bowing our heads?  Kneeling?  The answer is yes—all of these & so much more.  True worship is everything—anything that is praise, honor, reverence, adoration, & celebration of God.  Anything that glorifies Him.

   What we really need to remember, what we really need to focus on, is not the how we express our worshp; rather, it’s the motivation behind it — the who we’re worshiping.  Yes, worship absolutely should mean something to us individually & be offered in a way that is meaningful to us, but what matters more is the focus.  The genuineness, the authenticity, the God-centeredness of the worship. 

   Because the truth is, real worship is not about us at all.  It’s not about our personal preferences, musical abilities, scriptural knowledge, or prayer warrior-ness.   True, genuine, authentic, heartfelt worship is all about God.  It’s about who He is—Alpha & Omega, King of kings, Lord of lords, Almighty Redeemer, our Heavenly Father, our Best Friend.  It’s about everything He has done, is doing, & will ever do.  Real worship is all about God.

   So, this year, especially as we are celebrating Easter – our King’s glorious resurrection, let’s check our hearts.  Let’s watch our focus.  How genuine is our worship?  What is the main drive behind it?  Are we thinking more about what we like & if it “speaks” to us?  Or are we looking to God—is our worship bringing honor & glory to Him?  Is He finding it a pleasing aroma?  Are we seeking God’s pleasure first & foremost?  And let’s remember that worship is more than just what happens in a Sunday morning church service.  It can, & should, be an integrated part of our daily lives.  As we do our regular devotions & prayers, let’s do them with an attitude of worship, & let’s live our lives that way too.  Let’s worship the Lord in all that we say & everything that we do.

   Most of all, let’s be sure to keep God at the center of every bit of our worship.  Because, really, He is what it’s all about.

A Reason to Celebrate

(Matthew 21-28;  Mark 11-16; Luke 19:29-24:52;  John 12-21)

   There are two major things Christians typically observe every year.  One occurs in the winter, which is Christmas, when we rejoice over the birth of Jesus, the Messiah.  The other happens in the spring, which is Easter, when we celebrate the death & resurrection of Christ, our Lord & Savior.

   Most Christians recognize three main days in their yearly Easter commemorations:  Palm Sunday, Good Friday, & Easter Sunday.  What makes these days so special?  Why do they matter so much to us?

Palm Sunday    (Mt 21:1-11; Mk 11:1-11; Lk 19:29-44; Jn 12:12-19)

   This is when we celebrate Jesus fulfilling prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) & riding into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey.  The people there recognized the fulfillment & praised & honored Jesus as the long awaited Messiah, the Anointed One, the promised King, by shouting “Hosanna” & tossing their cloaks & freshly cut palm branches on the path before Him, carpeting His way into the city. 

   When we praise God on this day, we do the same as the people then, but with the added blessing of knowing the end of the story.

Good Friday    (Mt 27; Mk 15; Lk 23; Jn 18-19)

   This is one of the most difficult, heartbreaking, gruesome days in the Christian faith.  This is the day that we remember how Jesus was betrayed, arrested, abandoned, put through a mockery of a trial, brutally beaten, treated like dirt, nailed to a rough wooden cross like the lowest criminal, & died.

   So, why to we celebrate this?  Why do we call this “good”?  Because He did it all for us.  Jesus loved us so much, that He sacrificed Himself in our place, as a payment for all of the debt owed God by every human for every possible thing that breaks God’s perfect law & separates us from Him.

Easter Sunday    (Mt 28:1-10; Mk 16:1-14; Lk 24:1-49; Jn 20:1-23)

   This is the day we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  It is the defining moment of our faith where Jesus proves He is who He said He was & provides us a way to spend eternity with God.  We rejoice that Jesus Christ is bigger & stronger than death, that the grave could not hold His almighty power.

   Jesus’ resurrection proves that His sacrifice was enough—that He is the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life for us to have a close, personal relationship with God forever.  All we have to do is believe.  As Paul tells us, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  (Romans 10:9)  Jesus’ arrival, death, & resurrection made this possible.  That’s why we sing praises!  That’s why we celebrate every year! 

CHRIST IS RISEN!  HE IS RISEN INDEED!  HALLELUJAH!