Archive for the ‘Easter’ Tag
I Am the Resurrection And The Life!

Part 1A
Part 1B
Scripture: John 11:17-27
Introduction:
On this Easter Sunday, the Resurrection has something first of all, and primarily, to do with the Father-Son-Holy-Spirit God and His Activity as the Father-Son-Holy-Spirit-God, especially Revealed in Jesus Christ!
Theological Theme:
The most fundamental thing that Jesus has revealed about the resurrection is that HE, HIMSELF, is the Resurrection. We don’t want to keep mistaking resurrection primarily and only as rising up from physical death in the life of the age to come.
Christ Connection:
You don’t have to wait to until the life of the age to come to participate in rising from death. You can rise from death now, because this is meant not only physically but spiritually, and Christ shares himself with us NOW through the Holy Spirit conforming our humanity to his! Forget ONLY waiting to rise from the dead in the future. You can begin to rise and share in the life of the age to come right now, from the Father, through the Son, and in and by the Holy Spirit!
Missional Application:
Because Jesus is Himself the Resurrection, receiving and enjoying the Resurrection is primarily about receiving and enjoying Jesus Christ (along with him the Father and the Holy Spirit!) This is the Good News we seek to share with all that they too may participate actively in the relationship Jesus graciously gives!
Photos compliments: http://www.pinterest.com
Perspective On Your Present Sufferings and Future Resurrection!
Because of God – Father, Son and Spirit’s involvement in our real human lives as revealed in Jesus, and the fact that Jesus himself did not get out of sharing in our humanity without suffering, we will suffer with Him as we participate in and from Jesus.
As I like to say by analogy, sin was us missing the mark in relationship with God and rejecting him was like forcing our heads through a knothole. In undoing the mess we made, Jesus took on our humanity and pulled it back through the dark knothole, literally!, undoing the mess we made. As you can imagine, or maybe even know by experience, being pulled back out of a situation in which you’ve been stuck HURTS TOO!
This is what we see, hear and feel in Jesus as he is facing the supreme point and pain of getting us out of our stuckness, when he says in Luke 22:42, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” You might remember that the context of these words shows that an angel was sent to strengthen Jesus and he was in “great anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
This expectation of having to suffer with Jesus and share in his pain is important and is actually one way of relieving the suffering that is to be experienced by us in our participation with him. How is it relieving? Well, when you are told about something in advance, it is not as shocking to you when it occurs and, in some way, though not fully, you are more prepared for it, at least mentally. As a former human resources director, I remember that nothing was more fearful for people in the workplace than “fear of the unknown!”
One consideration for your suffering as a Christian is definitely the same reason Lazarus, Jesus’ friend, suffered:
John 11: “Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
Ultimately, your participation is with Christ and in his sufferings as one who trusts him and is being saved! Consider this awesome union with Jesus Christ we have, from the Father and by the Spirit, and receive encouragement from these words penned by George MacDonald in this light:
“But oh, my friends, what shall I say about this wonderful message? Think of being sick for the glory of God! of being shipwrecked for the glory of God! of being drowned for the glory of God! How can the sickness, the fear, the brokenheartedness of his creatures be for the glory of God? What kind of God can that be? Why just a God so perfectly, absolutely good that the things that look least like it are only the means of clearing our eyes to let us see how good he is. For he is so good that he is not satisfied with being good. He loves his children so, that except he can make them good like himself, make them blessed by seeing how good he is, and desiring the same goodness in themselves, he is not satisfied. He is not like a fine, proud benefactor, who is content with doing that which will satisfy his sense of his own glory, but like a mother who puts her arm round her child, and whose heart is sore till she can make her child see the love which is her glory. The glorification of the Son of God is the glorification of the human race, for the glory of God is the glory of man, and that glory is love! Welcome sickness, welcome sorrow, welcome death, revealing that glory!”
2 Timothy 2: 8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
12 if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
Have a glorious Easter weekend (especially if you’re suffering!), Participating in Your Share of the Sufferings of Jesus Christ, and in Hope of Your Future Resurrection and Glorification in Him!
– tjbrassell
*picture courtesy of michaelkrahn.com
You Are Looking For Jesus Of Nazareth!
This message proclaims that you have solidarity with God in even your darkest hour because of God in Christ! In Christ Jesus has joined us in our dying – Indeed in Christ, God died! – uniting us to Himself in His Resurrection. Therefore, you can live NOW IN HOPE for your human life because:
When Jesus Christ lived, he lived your life, our life. When Jesus died, he died your death, our death. When Jesus rose and ascended to his Father, you rose, we rose, and all humanity mysteriously and truly ascended to his Father in Him!
Indeed, you are looking for Jesus, Who promised to draw all men to Himself! You, we, truly do live in Jesus The Resurrection and The Life! So, do you live in Him???? 🙂
*photo courtesy of pinterest.com
Why Jesus’ Church Fellowships More And More! pt.5(c)
On this 6th Sunday after Pentecost, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship of Baltimore, Proclaims the GOOD NEWS of The God Revealed in Jesus Christ through Hebrews 10: 1-26, in the continuation of pt. 5 of this Gospel Series, entitled, “Why Jesus’ Church Fellowships More And More!” This is a series designed to help us re-think WHO and WHAT we are in light of Jesus Christ, and who and what we are called to be and do AS THE BODY OF CHRIST!
We understand more clearly in this message:
- The FIRST thing we Christians MUST do when we are faced with any “WHY?” question!
- How challenging and exciting it can be to work through our civic and Church responsibilities in this time between the present evil age and the age to come!
- What a Christians PRIMARY Job is as a citizen of both heaven and earth!
- 9 “down-to-earth, on-the-ground-and in-the-flesh” 21st Century practical Job and Civic reminders that will help you as you think through participating more creatively and properly with Christ in your various roles in this world!
Check it out!
Why Jesus’ Church Fellowships More And More! pt.5(b)
On this 4th Sunday after Pentecost, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship of Baltimore, Proclaims the GOOD NEWS of The God Revealed in Jesus Christ in the continuation of pt. 5 of this Gospel Series, entitled, “Why Jesus’ Church Fellowships More And More!” and continues to show through Hebrews 10: 1-25 and 1 Thessalonians 2 that the historical context of Hebrews demonstrates that living in God’s image (in relationship together!) is SO CRUCIAL to our well-being that we ARE CALLED to FELLOWSHIP WITH EACH OTHER, all the more, even in the middle of persecution!
We hear in this message:
- Through a quote by Deitrich Bonhoeffer that “the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation. He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ. The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother; his own heart is uncertain, his brother’s is sure.” – Life Together, p.22-23. This is why we meet. We were meant to hear the Gospel proclaimed to us!
- There are many pressures placed on us, especially on fathers, because of society’s myth which is that the primary goal of life is the American work ethic and how it will give you power and save you, especially since our jobs are where we get our paychecks, or livelihoods.
- A more detailed answer to the question: “How do we sort out our calling to the Body of Christ and our calling to our Civic Responsibilities including our jobs?” Specifically we understand the responses to that question to be that:
- (1) In this world we have dual responsibilities and they relate around one true center – JESUS CHRIST, so we should NOT rank our responsibilities but prioritize CHRIST IN ALL OUR RESPONSIBILITIES!
- (2) We should NOT conceive of our job or the Body of Christ as independent of one another because in Christ, the Kingdom of God has broken into THIS AGE so that Jesus has the SAME END RESULT for BOTH YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE AND YOUR WORK LIFE!
- Jesus IS our Work and our Ethic even if that appears confusing or troubling to us! Our Identity IS in Him! The right thing to do is whatever God is doing through us, in participation with Jesus and in the Holy Spirit. We not only live FOR Jesus, but we also live FROM Jesus!
Listen and understand more clearly that we can and need to think of our participation in life as DUAL CITIZENS who relate in our dual roles around the One Center of reality: Jesus!
Why Jesus’ Church Fellowships More And More! pt.5a
On this 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Pastor Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship of Baltimore, Proclaims the GOOD NEWS of The God Revealed in Jesus Christ in pt. 5 (a) of this Gospel Series, entitled, “Why Jesus’ Church Fellowships More And More!” and shows through Hebrews 10: 1-25 that the historical context of Hebrews demonstrates that living in God’s image (in relationship together!) is SO CRUCIAL to our well being that we ARE CALLED to FELLOWSHIP WITH EACH OTHER, all the more, even in the middle of persecution!
We hear in this message:
- Simply, and positively, that, the reason we meet together more and more is simply because we have Trinitarian “DNA”! God through Jesus Christ, by the Spirit, shares HIS RELATIONAL LIFE with us and Relating together in the Spirit is what HIS LIFE looks like! Christianity IS Union with Christ!
- We can only be who we are in Jesus, the New Humanity, as we relate WITH Jesus AND other people – The Great Commandment: Loving God, and Loving our neighbors as yourself! This is especially true of the Body of Christ of which Dietrich Bonhoeffer has said: “The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself …. He needs his brother man [or sister girl!] as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation.”
- A 4TH MYTH EXPOSED! THAT MYTH?: The Primary Goal of Christianity is the American Work Ethic! Get a bit of the context about why the American Work life puts such a negative pressure on you the way it does and a little handle on what you are up against and why!
- A good first response to the question: How do you sort out your calling to the Body of Christ and your calling to your civic responsibilities, including your job, in a world that runs at the pace of 24/7?!
- A more REALISTIC picture as to the conflict and cost involved in being a Christian in this world, living between “The present evil age” and “The Age to Come.”
- An invitation to respond to Jesus calling you to His Body and you having the greatest kind of hope because, in the Spirit, the Father and Jesus bring the future into the present through those in union with Jesus!
Why Jesus’ Church Fellowships More And More!, pt.4 (or WHO Baltimore Needs!)
In pt. 4 of this Gospel Series, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship of Baltimore, Proclaims the GOOD NEWS of The God Revealed in Jesus Christ with a new message entitled, “Why Jesus’ Church Fellowships MORE And MORE!” pt.4 (WHO Baltimore needs!).
As you grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ learn:
- How much the current Baltimore troubles and the book of Hebrews in scripture have in common!
- That the one way forward in the middle of the current passion and protest in Baltimore, MD. is for the body of Christ to BE the Body of Christ!
- How to think out and share Christ-centered responses to current pressing questions such as: What does Baltimore need? and Who does Baltimore need? and Where is God in all of this?
- the importance of remembering that behind every law and system is the person or persons who created or promotes those laws or systems!
- What it means that we are made in the image of God and why this is important for addressing Baltimore’s current issues and the issues in your city, and even in all the world!
Also get Gospel insight and learn:
- More about the myths and idols concerning marriage, singleness, sex, celibacy and family life and be reminded that ANYTHING we idolize WILL kill us!
- That in God’s Grace we have been given various forms of living in relationship but these are ONLY ways of living in Christ now in our present form but are NOT fully the end goal for our lives in relationship!
- Why we all struggle so much and how WE CAN LIVE MORE IN THE RECONCILIATION worked out it in the entire human life of Jesus!
- What process God uses to strengthen families in the world, bringing the future family of God into the present!
Hear in this message that ___________________ in Christ is the goal of Christ no matter your station in life or your current status as the Father’s Child. You CAN receive every day as a gift and receive it BEST by _______________ ! And that it isn’t ____________ that is wearing you out but ______________!
Tune in and participate by filling in all the blanks! 🙂
Photos compliments: http://www.telesurftv.net, http://www.whnt.com
Why Jesus’ Church Fellowships More And More! pt.3
In pt. 3 of this Gospel Series, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship of Baltimore, Proclaims the GOOD NEWS of The God Revealed in Jesus Christ with a new message entitled, “Why Jesus’ Church Fellowships MORE And MORE!” pt.3.
In this message you’ll:
- Hear the Truly Good News in two awesome quotes that will fill your soul with God’s Goodness – one VERY OLD and one more recent!
- Learn more of what the Church actually is and reconsider thinking of it the way the Apostle Paul does!
- Have THREE MODERN MYTHS about the Church exposed in the Light of what the Church actually is!
- Start to learn the place and importance of marriage, singleness and friendship as they relate to the Church and be challenged by missionary Gracia Burnham’s statement that “The point isn’t to grow old with your mate. That’s not the point. The point is …”
Tune in to hear the rest of that statement and MUCH MORE!
Why Jesus’ Church Fellowships More And More! pt.2
In this Gospel Message Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship of Baltimore, Proclaims the GOOD NEWS of The God Revealed in Jesus Christ through his Part 2 series entitled, “Why Jesus’s Church Fellowships MORE And MORE!” pt.2. He explores the Church in the Light of Jesus by reading through Hebrews 10: 19-39, including comments and discussion with the congregation!
In this message you’ll learn some Church “basics” and things you can consider if you’re interested in being Jesus’ disciple or encouraging others to be His disciples, including:
- The main positive of the Church in this world AND some of the challenges the Church faces as it stands for and against this world!
- Who and what your main enemy is and why you absolutely CAN BE COURAGEOUS AND NOT AFRAID!
- The fatal error in the old phrase which says “I think, therefore I am!”
- The fact that as you take part in and with Jesus there is definitely Some One to say YES to, and some one to say NO to!
- What Heaven REALLY is!
- That the “The Church may have a building but that is not its place. The building may be the Church’s location, but it’s space is in ….”
Listen in as the rest of that last sentence is given and clarity is shed about the Church’s Life, including one major myth we have about Church!