I was reading this poem by Aaron Lee Soon Yong which to me conveys an important truth about prayer. It is self-explanatory so I will not make any comment.
On Prayer
“Of course He can.”
“But will He?”
“He will.”
“He will?”
“He will. Be God.”
(poem from Coastlands)
One of the tasks that pastors find challenging is to find fresh sermons to preach during Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
In the past, attendance increases during these special days in the Christian calendar, but nowadays more Christians are taking the opportunity to get out of the country for a break. This is sad because these are high days for followers of Christ to be present to receive the full significance of Christ’s death and resurrection. These high days mark the great turning point in the salvation history of the world.
The forty days of Lent before these high days are preparation for a more meaningful remembrance and experience of Christ’s death and resurrection. Look further back and there is Advent, with its theme of hope in the midst of darkness. Advent and Lent point us to this pivotal point in salvation history. It is meant to be the high point, the climax of the Christian year. Christians should all be geared to honour, celebrate and worship our God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Preaching sermons about Christ’s death and resurrection can be forbidding for some pastors. Partly because expectations are higher. Partly because there are usually special programs like evangelism and baptisms planned around it, and these can be tiring. Partly because the members half-expect and know what’s going to be preached. They can guess what the preacher’s next point is. Partly because the pastor has already preached so many Good Friday and Easter sermons in the past, that he or she is now scraping the bottom of his creativity pot.
My suggestion is to use a resource I have put up. They are actually a first draft of a book I have written titled, “A to Z of Christ’s Finished Work”. Here are my suggestions:
You can do a series on “Blessings of Christ’s Death & Resurrection” or some title like this and choose three points for each sermon. That’s a total of six points out of 26 points available. Use the ones that resonates with you, or that the congregation can be blessed with, or because it suits your purpose (eg. evangelistic sermons have to focus on facets of salvation).
Alternatively you can preach A, B, and C for Good Friday, and then D,E, and F for Easter and end it by encouraging cell groups to do the rest of the alphabets in their Bible discussion groups.
Or if the response and feedback is good, you can continue the series for the following Sundays. It only takes seven more Sundays to finish all the alphabets. It will give the congregation a good grounding and understanding of the whole gospel.
Well, have a look and pray about it. You can look at all the material HERE. You have full permission to use whatever you wish without acknowledgement, and add or subtract to make it suitable for your purposes and for the feeding of your people.
Have a great and exciting Good Friday and Easter.
I noticed that it has been almost a month since I last posted. I have been away in Arizona, USA visiting my son’s family for a month. We had a great time with his family, especially quality time with our grandchildren, who we missed greatly for two years. However, this joy was soured by a strange debilitating back pain that my wife suffered from. She is currently making a recovery from this after a few weeks in the hospital – glory to God and the prayers of church members and many pastor friends. God willing, I will write a blogpost about my vacation in Tucson, and about this medical emergency and God’s timely intervention. May his name be glorified always through our lives, both in joy or in suffering.
I have been in and out of hospital these several weeks, caring for my wife, as well as taking on the care of her older brother. It’s been tiring, challenging and frustrating at times but most times the grace and strength of God kept me going day by day. Sometimes anxious, sometimes full of faith, sometimes blur. The Bible readings during this period fell on Isaiah 40 to 55 and there were so many verses that spoke to my heart, encouraged me and my wife, and gave us faith and hope. The word of God feeds our soul with faith, hope and love. The rhema word helps me move from meditation into prayer seamlessly, and always lifts me up when I set my heart on his promises. The word is strengthening and in this trial I find myself on my knees with the open Bible and asking God to open my eyes and ears to his word.
I am learning how tough caregiving can be. I am now an admirer of all the church members who had to give care to their elderly or/and sickly parents, spouse or siblings. I salute them wholeheartedly with great respect. Now I experience for myself how much grace and strength and patience is needed to do this well. How we need to do it as though to the Lord himself. So much to learn. For one I have taken a day off ever so often to rest completely from caregiving and turn my attention to life-giving and life-lifting activities to attend to my needs. Can be as simple as cycling to Jurong Lake and having a picnic with myself. Take a walk at night with my camera and take pictures. Or having a leisurely breakfast at my favourite coffee and hawker fare. Or do chores and physical labour at home. Or idle and chill. Or learn to draw.
It is also a time I can focus on prayer and the word and some ideas for future books. I began to write out possible outlines for books on the subjects like: A to Z of Receiving God’s Word; the A to Z of Communicating God’s Word, A to Z of God’s Promises. Good ideas but I will see how these ideas develop. In the meantime, I have yet to edit and refine my first draft of the first book: A to Z of Christ’s Finished Work. Hmmm….need to do all these on my knees. Really need to pray for God’s enabling help.
Right now my concern is with some commitments I have made to lead a retreat, and to preach in my home church and other churches. WhatsApp a prayer to God for me in my endeavours and in my continued learning to be a caregiver.