Happy Easter!

It truly is a happy Easter!  God blessed us at the Ascension Convention (thanks to everyone for your help… you guys are awesome!) and today we get to celebrate our risen Lord and Savior!

The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith.  Some may ask what is the historical evidence that Jesus actually rose from the dead?  Christian apologist Josh McDowell provides six facts that prove the resurrection of Jesus Christ in history. 

Fact 1 – The broken Roman seal
Fact 2 – The empty tomb
Fact 3 – The large stone removed
Fact 4 – The Roman guard goes AWOL
Fact 5 – The graveclothes
Fact 6 – The appearances of Jesus after His resurrection

I don’t  have room to go into all of the powerful details of each of these facts, but if you’re serious about looking into this evidence or know someone who is, please click here Evidence for the Resurrection to get the whole story.

Easter Invite

With Easter coming up next Sunday, now is an excellent time to invite people to church.  Our mission at Christian Life is to Connect People to God.  Each of us is called to share our faith and what better way than to invite a friend, family member, or neighbor to the place where you connect with God.  Here are a few helps for inviting someone to church.

• Big days. Days like Christmas and Easter are perfect times to invite someone to church.  Also, watch for other days throughout the year that lend themselves to inviting someone.
• Special events. There maybe a breakfast, seminar, outing, etc. that peaks someone’s interest.
• Kids. We have an stellar children’s and youth ministry at Christian Life with a wide variety of regular and special activities.  
• Lunch. Don’t forget to take your guest out to eat after the service.
• Share a card.  Take a blue card from the lobby and let them know how they can connect with the church for a service, online, or on the radio.
• Check out our website.  Share our new website in order to let people know about our church.
• Just ask.  Research teaches us that most people will come to church if they are invited.  Just ask!
• Pray.  Pray about who you should invite and that God would make their hearts hungry for Him.
• Keep asking.  God honors perseverance.  

AND, remember the A, B, C’s of inviting people to church.

• A - Always look for opportunities to invite others. 
• B - Be ready to seize the opportunity when it arises. 
• C - Communicate in such a way that says you care. 
• D - Don’t be pushy; there will be future opportunities.

A Perfect Heart

The Bible tells us it is possible to walk before the Lord with a perfect heart.  God said to Abraham, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” (Genesis 17:1)  God told Israel, “Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.” (Deuteronomy 18:13)  David said, “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way...I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.” (Psalm 101:2)  Solomon fell short of having a perfect heart, “...his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father... (He) went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.” (1 Kings 11:4, 6)

The command to be perfect continues in the New Testament.  Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)  Paul wrote, “That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” (Colossians 1:28)  Later Paul added, “that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” (Colossians 4:12)  Peter wrote, “The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.” (1 Peter 5:10)

How is this possible?  Can we obtain this perfection?  Obviously a perfect heart does not mean a sinless heart.  David was said to have a perfect heart toward God all the days of his life and yet his life was marked by failure, most notably, adultery and murder.  

So what then does it mean to have a perfect heart?  The biblical definition of perfect (both in the Hebrew and Greek) begins with the idea of “completeness,” “maturity,” or being “totally obedient.”  John Wesley thought of perfection as “constant obedience.”  In essence a perfect heart is a responsive heart.  David Wilkerson said a perfect heart, “reacts to the Lord’s wooing, whispering and warnings.”  The perfect heart says, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.  Show me the path, and I’ll walk in it.”

For more on having a perfect heart listen to our podcast from last Wednesday’s prayer service at http://christianlifechurch.org/watch-now/audio-sermon-player.

Stage of Life

A BIG thank you to everyone who came to last week’s Ignite Spaghetti Lunch.  You helped raise above and beyond $2,600 to send our students to the upcoming Ascension Convention (www.theascensionconvention.com).  THANK YOU!  We are blessed with a great group of middle and high schoolers and a great team of leaders headed up by Mike Bell.  More and more they continue to come, bring friends, and grow in God.  I’m proud of our Ignite youth ministry.  

At each stage of life we have so much to learn.  I read this week from H. Jackson Brown Jr.’s delightful book, Live and Learn and Pass It On.  It’s a fun compilation of life’s little learning curves.  From the cradle to the grave, Brown reveals what we learn and when we’ll learn from them.

• Age 11, if you’re in trouble at school, you’re in more trouble at home.
• Age 13, just when you get your room the way you like it, your mom will make you clean it up.
• Age 24, nothing brings on an emergency as fast as putting money aside for one.
• Age 29, wherever you go, the world’s worst drivers are going there too.
• Age 32, the time to read the instruction book is before you put the swing together.
• Age 39, if your children feel safe, wanted and loved, you are a successful parent.
• Age 46, children and grandparents are natural allies.
• Age 48, there’s no elevator to success; you have to take the stairs.
• Age 54, you can’t hug your kids too much.
• Age 61, you can inherit wealth but never wisdom.
• Age 76, the best sleeping pill is a clear conscience.
• Age 81, even when you have pains, you don’t have to be one.
• Age 88, the days may be long, but life is short.