Spiritually Speaking

From this preacher’s perspective, Easter Sunday is a mixed bag of blessings. There is, of course, the hope that attendance will increase as “two timers” (those who only attend services on Christmas and Easter) reclaim their connections to the Christ. We’re always pleased when folks join us for worship.

My least favorite Easter of all happened in the late 1990s, not long before we moved to Alva for the first time. As it turned out, Easter was on my birthday that year and we planned to have all the little children come out to our sprawling (one acre) Texas “ranch” on Boone Prairie for a birthday party/BBQ/Easter egg hunt. I worked for weeks, digging up little cactus plants that had invaded our front lot and fighting with the fire ants that thought they belonged in the egg hunting zone.

Unfortunately, just before the weekend arrived, I came down with a terrible case of the flu. No party ... no eggs ... no BBQ ... no Jay in the pulpit on Easter morning. A good friend stepped in and addressed the largest group of attendees in the history of the Franklin congregation. (By the way, Franklin, Texas, was hit by a tornado last weekend. Please pray for that community as they recover.)

When I do get the chance to preach on Resurrection Sunday, I always wonder if I should deviate from our “regularly scheduled programming” (currently in Hebrews 11) and preach about Jesus’ triumph over the tomb. Mind you, I never want to pass up an opportunity to preach the full gospel (the death, burial and resurrection), but I tend to lean toward preaching the next scripture at hand, in whatever portion of the Word we may be studying. As I was mulling it over, I realized that I can, thankfully, do both.

Our next hero of the faith from Hebrews 11 just happens to be Abraham. He knew a lot about living by faith and more than most about receiving his One of a Kind Son back from the dead. God has provided the scripture. I will provide the commentary. Hebrews 11:8-10 and 17-19. See you Sunday.