This week we'll be taking a quick break from the Sermon on the Mount, but we're not leaving Matthew (I'm sure he feels relieved!). Since it will be Easter Sunday, we're going to jump to Matthew 28 and look at the resurrection and ask the questions, "What does it mean?" And "What difference does it make?" Clearly it's important, but I fear many Christians today simply take it for granted. Sure, the resurrection was foundational for Christianity, but how does it affect my life today? So we're going to look at how best to answer that question.

One of my favorite writers is Dr. John R.W. Stott and he wrote about this in the now out-of-print book "Christ the Controversialist" (I found a well-worn copy on Amazon), "The church of Jesus Christ is today facing a major crisis of faith. What is at stake is nothing less than the essential character of Christianity: is the Christian religion natural or supernatural? Various attempts are being made to rid Christianity of its supernaturalism, to reconstruct it without its embarrassing miracles. But these efforts will be as fruitless as they are misguided. You cannot reconstruct something by first destroying it. Authentic Christianity -- the Christianity of Christ and His apostles -- is supernatural Christianity.  It is not a tame and harmless ethic, consisting of a few moral platitudes, spiced with a dash of religion. It is rather a resurrection religion, a life lived by the power of God."

That's a challenging statement, and Easter (apart from the eggs, chocolates, and dressing like grown ups) forces up to ask hard questions about what we believe. So come Sunday, bring some friends, and let's work through these questions together.

Christ is risen! Dr. Dave