Prayer & Preparation for Easter 2023
This Lord's Day
Hey church,
Here are some details about this week's service:
Songs: "Shout Hosanna," "Living Hope," "Christ Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed," "The Lord Almighty Reigns" (Getty), "He's Alive Medley" (arranged by Jenn Carey), "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," and "Happy Day"
Sermon text: Acts 2:22-41
Sermon title: "God Is Great; God Is Good!"
The Lord willing, I am preaching tonight from Acts 2, based on the apostolic preaching of the cross. Please pray for my time, and I hope you can come to Parkside Bible Church in Brownsburg at 7:00 (and please remember that there is no childcare). And this Lord's Day I hope to show something of the apostolic preaching of the resurrection in that same text. I wasn't really sure what I'd find as I tried to survey all of Acts to see how the apostles first preached the resurrection. What I concluded is that their point seemed always to be that the resurrection proves that Jesus is the Christ, that he is God, that he is who he says he is. Then I tried to think about how I most often preach the resurrection. I'm wondering if I usually preach WHAT the resurrection accomplished for us, and kinda skip over WHO the resurrection proclaims. I'm excited to focus on the person of Jesus this week. Please pray for me and with me. Please pray for our church and for our guests. Please pray for yourself and your own response to the resurrection. Please pray for the glory of the risen Son of God.
In pursuit of preaching for God's glory, I returned to a quote I love. Murray Capill (in Preaching with Spiritual Vigor) said this:
"The immediate tendency when we think about preaching to the heart is to begin with man-his needs, state and condition. A more direct and biblical route to the heart, however, is to begin with God himself...This concern to ennoble and uplift people by drawing their focus to God is of supreme importance. We minister to people who spend much of their time immersed in the things of the world. They rush from one task to another, amid constant noise and stress. To give them more of the same-noise and stress-when they come to worship God is completely counter-productive. They need to be lifted above the level on which they usually live. They need to have their minds filled with something glorious, beautiful, majestic. They need to be re-focused. They need to be captivated by something beyond themselves and the demands of life. They need to meet God! The preacher's task is to lead people into another world-a world of peace, joy, hope, love, light, grace and power. That world is not found within but found in God. It is in preaching him, his attributes, works, plans and purposes that we uplift people's souls. They are drawn to worship God because of the preached Word. Preaching is worship...For preaching to uplift the soul in this way it must center on great biblical truths. The best preachers usually make you feel that they are dealing with something of immense importance, and that the text they are about to open is of massive significance to you. They are not preaching on mere technicalities, abstract theological niceties, or even down-to-earth practicalities. They preach God!"
Re-reading that quote is both inspiring and intimidating. It makes me thankful that God has called me to preach, and it makes me humble to realize that I cannot do these things without him. These are no small aspirations and goals. "All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down. Children, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around."
By His Grace & For His Glory,
Jeff Tague
