Sunday's Coming - Day 75 Month 3-16 Week 11-5

Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)


Leviticus 14:1-32 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%2014%3A1-32&version=NASB1995

Psalm 63 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2063&version=NASB1995

Mark 16 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2016&version=NASB1995


Sunday’s Coming


There was a preacher that regularly visited the first church I attended where I was also employed.  The preacher's name was Anthony (Tony) Campolo.  He was a master story teller but more than that he focused all his messages on moving people's hearts towards Jesus.  Sylvia and I once sat in the congregation and happened to sit beside Tony’s wife.  She told us it was funny when someone would ask him to preach a specific message.  She said he’d always end with what the theme of the sermon was based on but she never heard him speak the same message twice.


Tony Campolo was asked to speak a message called “It’s Friday but Sunday’s Coming.”  I’ve put a link below.  You can watch a variation of the whole sermon starting at 1:10 in the video or go closer to the end and you can watch the section where he tells a story of his church doing a “preach off.”  I’ll let Tony explain in the video.   It’s old but it is seriously worth the watch.   Tony passed away just last year.  The world lost a great preacher, but Tony is with his saviour and best friend, Jesus now.  I just watched the video.  Do yourself a favour and watch it too.  Even if you don’t understand the message yet, you will be uplifted.  Today will be a great day after watching!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9Mf5dTPeqY


The reason I’m recommending watching this video is because the message of “It’s Friday but Sunday’s coming” is that Jesus was crucified on a Friday.  When we attend a Good Friday service, we generally treat it with great solemnity because it represents a very dark day and time.  We will often leave a Good Friday service in silence because of the impact Jesus' death had on the world.  Jesus, the Son of God, one without sin, one of the trinity of who God is, “I AM” was brutally tortured and killed.  I would say it was the darkest day in the history of humankind.  Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead just as He said He would, defeating our biggest enemy - death, after sacrificing his human life for humankind.  Because of that death and resurrection, the law has been fulfilled and we only need to accept His gift of forgiveness and turn to follow Him.  Jesus fulfills all the laws that we are currently reading in Leviticus.  and you see the incredible contrast between what was required to rectify the barrier between God and us  before Jesus' death and resurrection, and what is only required now?


Mark 16:6 has the words of the angel who was in the tomb.  “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified.  He is risen; He is not here.”  I’ve known these words for most of my life but the thing the angel said that catches me is “Do not be amazed.”  Believe me, I’ll be amazed if I want to!  Jesus defeated death!!!


My prayer is that you will at some point be curious or desperate enough to ask God to speak to you in a personal way, so that you would perhaps seek Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. (Acts 17:27)


Have a great day!

Steve

steve.d.pauls@gmail.com


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