Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”
Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’
“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Help me to live for you today – one day, one choice, at a time. Amen.
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Make us your ambassadors here and now… people who speak your Word of mercy and grace – “Come back to God!” Holy Spirit – Bring to our mind, at this moment, the people we know who need to be made right with God… (name them). Heavenly Father – we plead for them. Make them new creations in Jesus Christ – body, mind, soul, and spirit. Make this Easter the day that they know, without a doubt, they have been born again. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hymn:“Born Again” – Third Day (YouTube)
Today I found myself / After searching all these years / And the man that I saw, he wasn’t at all who I thought he’d be / I was lost when you found me here / And I was broken beyond repair / Then you came along and you sang your song over me
It feels like I’m born again / It feels like I’m living / For the very first time / For the very first time / In my life
Make a promise to me now / Reassure my heart somehow / That the love that I feel is so much more real than anything / I’ve a feeling in my soul / And I pray that I’m not wrong / That the life I have now, it is only the beginning
It feels like I’m born again / It feels like I’m living / For the very first time / For the very first time / It feels like I’m breathing / It feels like I’m moving / For the very first time / For the very first time
I wasn’t looking for something that was more / Than what I had yesterday / Then you came to me and you gave to me / Life and a love that I’ve never known / That I’ve never felt before
It feels like I’m born again / It feels like I’m living / For the very first time / I’m living for the first time / It feels like I’m breathing / It feels like I’m moving / For the very first time / I’m living for the first time / In my life
Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy. The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!
“Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.
“What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
“I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels. But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
“And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”
Prayer: Come Holy Spirit – Chase away the darkness in us and around us. Expose all things to the Light of heaven – the secrets, the cover-ups, the evil words whispered in the darkness behind closed doors. Open it all to the scrutiny of heaven. Forgive us and cleanse us – make our hearts whiter than snow. And give us a holy boldness to tell others that Jesus is our Savior and Lord. In His name I ask it. Amen.
As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table. His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy — full of greed and wickedness! Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.
“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces. Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.”
“Teacher,” said an expert in religious law, “you have insulted us, too, in what you just said.”
“Yes,” said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden. What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago. But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments! This is what God in his wisdom said about you: ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them, but they will kill some and persecute the others.’
“As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God’s prophets from the creation of the world — from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will certainly be charged against this generation.
“What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.”
As Jesus was leaving, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees became hostile and tried to provoke him with many questions. They wanted to trap him into saying something they could use against him.
Prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139.23-24) I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Search me, O God, and know my heart today; Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray. See if there be some wicked way in me; Cleanse me from ev’ry sin and set me free.
I praise You, Lord, for cleansing me from sin; Fulfill Your Word and make me pure within. Fill me with fire where once I burned with shame; Grant my desire to magnify Your name.
Lord, take my life, for I would live for You; Fill my poor heart with Your great love so true. Take all my will, my passion, self, and pride; I now surrender; Lord, in me abide.
O Holy Spirit, revival comes from You; Send a revival, my own heart renew. Your Word declares You will supply our need; For blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.
As the crowd pressed in on Jesus, he said, “This evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah. What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man will be a sign to these people that he was sent by God.
“The queen of Sheba will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.
“The people of Nineveh will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father – you made us a little lower than the angels and gave us freedom to love you – totally, completely, with abandon. But we have gone our own way – looking for love in all the wrong places. Still, you haven’t abandoned us, and desire that none should perish – no, not one. Lord Jesus – sent from the Father to show us true Love – you suffered cruel torture and death so that we might be set free from our captivity to sin and death – once again, to live and love you with abandon. Holy Spirit – you set before us today life and death, heaven and hell – and, once again, you call us to cry out to Jesus and “choose life.” Forgive us and set us free – truly free – to love you with all our heart soul mind and strength. In Jesus’ name I ask it. Amen.
Spiritual Song:“There is No Other Name” – Robin Mark (YouTube)
There is no other name / By which man can be saved / There is no other Name under Heaven / There is rest for my soul And the wounded made whole / And the captives set free and Forgiven
There is no other name / By which man can be saved / There is no other Name
Under Heaven / There is rest for my soul And the wounded made whole / And the captives set free and Forgiven
Such love as I’ve never known / I’ve found in the grace that Flowed to me / In my unrighteousness / This is why my heart and soul / And tongue confess
Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
The Peanut Gallery 