Yesterday for Easter service the teens in the church put on a mini-passion play accompanied by the song “The Via Dolorosa.” The morning message followed up on the drama by exploring The Three Ways of Easter that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 16:21:

“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Matthew 16:21)

The main idea of the message was that although we celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter, for Jesus the way of resurrection required that he first walk the ways of suffering and death. And so there are really three ways of Easter.

    1) The way of suffering and sorrow.

    2) The way of death and judgment.

    3) The way of resurrection and life.

These are the three ways that Jesus had to walk, and they are three ways that we also walk as Christians. Being a Christian means following Jesus. And following Jesus means walking the path that he walked, following in his ways.

This third way, the way of resurrection and life, is what we normally focus on at Easter. This is the way that we all want to take. But you can’t get there from here. There are three ways of Easter, and you cannot walk the way of resurrection and life without passing through the other ways first.

Jesus rose triumphant from the grave. The good news of Easter is that he offers to share his victory with you. Will you accept his offer?

Note: To read the complete message, go to the Sermons tab at the top of the blog.

(Continue reading for the song lyrics to “The Via Dolorosa” as sung by Sandi Patti.)

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Here is a poem I wrote for Easter a number of years ago. I hope you enjoy it, and I wish you a very happy Easter!

“EASTER” – by Ray Fowler

Weave a crown of thorns; spit on love incarnate;
Stretch his flesh against the splintered surface and
Strike the nail’s head. Crushed for our sins,
The Savior breathes ever slower.

Breath of Spirit pierces the tomb’s dark chamber;
Blinding flash illumines the corpse now rising,
Standing, dancing, joyfully living love for
Those who had slain him.

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Click here for technical notes on the poem “Easter.”
Click here for more poems by Ray Fowler.

“Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.” (Matthew 27:59-60)

Today is Holy Saturday. It is a day when Christians around the world find themselves caught between remembering the crucifixion on Good Friday and celebrating the resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is a day of mixed emotions. It is a day of waiting and anticipation.

It is good to remember that we are merely caught between the observances of these two days. On that first Holy Saturday, Jesus’ followers were caught between the actual events of Good Friday and Easter. They had to go through the full day with Jesus their Lord and Master crucifed, dead and buried. On Easter we celebrate the empty tomb. But on that holy and sacred day the tomb of Jesus was woefully full.

Jesus’ followers did not know that Easter was coming (although they should have!). We do, and that makes all the difference. We live on this side of the resurrection. On this Holy Saturday and every Holy Saturday we serve a risen Savior.

So let us rejoice in Christ who died and rose again. But let us also remember this day when Jesus’ body lay buried in the tomb. Let us feel for the disciples whose hope was buried along with him. And let us marvel at the incongruent wonder of God in the ground.

Fred Sanders has an interesting post at the Scriptorium today on Narnia and Holy Saturday. First he draws the comparison between Aslan’s delayed arrival to help Peter and the Narnian army in their battle against the White Witch to the disciples’ waiting for Christ’s resurrection on Saturday.

One of the most interesting decisions Lewis makes in establishing the chronology of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the way he keeps Aslan out of the picture long enough that the armies of Narnia have to face the White Witch in his absence. The film adaptation handles this very well, I think. Dramatically speaking, it makes for a great story to have the heroes bravely fight against overwhelming odds with no hope of rescue. They give their all and face real martyrdom, before the risen Aslan comes over the hilltop at the last possible second, leading a re-animated army he has gathered from the dungeon of the Witch.

Then he goes on to compare the waiting of the disciples on Holy Saturday to our waiting in the present for Christ’s return.

Since Jesus ascended into heaven and left us waiting for his return, we are in a position strikingly similar to the disciples: for them, Jesus had descended into the earth and left them waiting for his return. The two returns of Jesus –from the grave and from the Father’s right hand– are different. But the waiting should feel familiar. Welcome to the meantime, where we have God’s promise and live by faith that Christ will be back, keeping all God’s promises. Welcome to Holy Saturday in Narnia.

As a big Narnia fan, I really enjoyed this one. You can read the full article here.

Click here for more Narnia related posts.
Click here for Narnia sermon series.

Water baptism by fire . . . hose. I have heard of water baptism, and baptism by fire, but never water baptism by fire hose. The United House of Prayer congregation recently held an outdoor baptism in the streets of Los Angeles where they baptized participants from the church and community by fire hose. The service was meant as a symbol of prayer for healing for the community rather than as an actual baptism.

Judas go home. I am getting a little tired of people releasing books and movies attacking the Christian faith in the weeks just prior to or following Easter. The latest offering? “The Gospel According to Judas Written by Benjamin Iscariot.” This is a fictional work rewriting the gospels from the narrative viewpoint of Judas’ son.

Preschool admissions wars. Never mind getting into the college of your choice. It’s hard enough getting into preschool these days. Slate Magazine addresses the hurdles and hassles of getting your two year old through the admissions process at high stake preschools.

Albert Mohler has two great back-to-back posts on the importance to Christian faith of the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus. He cites both a Jewish rabbi and a secular historian to make his point. Although some people would claim that it doesn’t matter to Christian faith whether or not Jesus actually rose from the dead, the Bible says differently, and both of these writers agree.

Rabbi Marc Gellman: “I know many Christian clergy who have told me that the main truth of Christianity for them is to love as Jesus loved and that no archeological discovery can change that spiritual lesson. I love these folks but, as an outsider, I just don’t agree that decisive refutation of Jesus’ resurrection would have no effect on Christian faith. Unlike Judaism and Islam and Hinduism and even Buddhism, which are built on God’s teachings, Christianity is built both on God’s teachings as well as on an historical event proving a transcendental miracle.”

Gellman continues: “The divide separating Christians from non-Christians is not between those who think loving all people is good and those who think loving all people is bad. The real divide is between those who believe that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day as proof that he was indeed the Messiah sent by God, and those who do not believe this article of faith and this audacious historical claim.”

And here is historian A. N. Wilson weighing in on the supposed find of Jesus’ lost tomb: “Long ago, Paul the Apostle wrote to his friends in Corinth that if Christ did not rise from the dead, their faith was in vain. No doubt, if Cameron’s find were proved to be authentic, it would destroy the Christian religion. The Pope could shut up shop. The Church of England could be absorbed by the National Trust as just a collection of medieval buildings. Unbelievers in the resurrection would feel that their scepticism had been justified and the vast majority of Christian believers, who profess their faith in Christ risen from the dead, would be compelled to admit their faith had been based on a mistake.”

Make no mistake about it. Without the resurrection of Jesus, there is no true Christian faith.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day . . . If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4,14)

You can read Mohler’s two commentaries here:

• Rabbi Gellman Gets It — The Resurrection Really Matters
• A. N. Wilson Gets It Too — No Resurrection, No Christianity

Here is a classic quote from Billy Graham that bears repeating in light of the recent “Jesus Tomb” special:

“There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived or Alexander the Great died at the age of 33. It is strange that historians accept thousands of facts for which they can produce only shreds of evidence. But in the face of overwhelming evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ they cast a skeptical eye and hold intellectual doubts. The trouble with those people is that they do not want to believe.” – Billy Graham, Peace with God

HT: Minister’s ToolBox