Read this scripture

Matthew 27:62–66.

You might say that having done the work of the cross, Jesus rested. He was exiled. He was
His body lay in the grave, silent, unseeing, without speaking, or moving. The heart was still, and darkness covered him like a blanket.

We know now that it was just a pause. Like a gathering of strength before a great leap.
But his disciples did not know this. They too were exiled. They hid

Read this article

Waiting on Saturday for Sunday’s Redemption

“…what about Saturday?

What did the disciples feel on Saturday? Sorrow? Numbness? Disbelief? Hope? Did they intuitively sense any of tomorrow’s approaching grandeur? Did they think their past three years were wasted? Did they yearn for a miracle? Before we skip to the “He is risen” of Sunday, it’s important to reflect on Saturday—to consider the sorrow, the disappointment, and, above all, the waiting.”

Listen to this song

Just as I am / I am broken

“I come broken to be mended
I come wounded to be healed
I come desperate to be rescued
I come empty to be filled
I come guilty to be pardoned
By the blood of Christ the Lamb
And I'm welcomed with open arms
Praise God, just as I am”

Pray this prayer

O God, Creator of heaven and earth:

Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day,

and rise with him to newness of life;

who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Read these scriptures

Matthew 27:1–61 / Mark 15:1–47 / Luke 23:1–56 / John 18:28–19:42

Jesus was arrested around midnight on Thursday, but there was no sleeping. Thursday bleeds over into Friday as Jesus is driven from place to place. He is questioned. He is mocked. He is falsely accused. He is tortured. Ultimately, he is condemned and executed.

Throughout this ordeal he refused to either back down, or to be provoked. He put himself in the hands of his enemies and let them do their worst – and they did.

Listen to this song

He is Exalted

You were despised
You were rejected Lord
Those who passed by
Even averted their gaze from your sight
Such was the suffering you bore for us
Led like a lamb, lamb to the slaughter
You spoke not a word
Chose to be silent
Though you did no wrong
Nor was deceitfulness found in you
Yet by your wounds our salvation has come
Yet by your suffering our freedom is won

Pray this prayer

Almighty God,

we pray you graciously to behold this your family,

for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross;

who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Read these Scriptures

Matthew 26:17–75 / Mark 14:12–72 / Luke 22:7–71 / John 13:1–18:27

A lot happened on Thursday. Of the greatest significance, our Lord demonstrated his humility by washing the filthy feet of his disciples. He then commanded us to do likewise for one another. How are we doing at that?

He then gave us the gift of the memorial meal we call the Lord’s Supper. It is the gospel enacted in a morsel of bread and a sip of wine and it brings us into true communion with God and one another through the death of Jesus. If we only did this because Jesus told us to, it would be enough. And yet, how much better is it when we do it from a desire to receive his gifts for us by faith?

And then he went to the garden to pray. It was there they found him, the mob bristling with swords and spears and their sharp daggers of anger and hate. May we be as trusting of the Father at the hour of our disaster as our Lord was that night.

Listen to this song

Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away [Communion hymn]

Stuart Townend, Keith & Kristyn Getty Copyright © 2007 Thankyou Music

The blood that cleanses every stain of sin,
Shed for you: drink and remember
He drained death’s cup that all may enter in
To receive the life of God.
So we share in this Bread of Life,
And we drink of His sacrifice,
As a sign of our bonds of grace
Around the table of the King.

Pray this prayer 

Almighty Father,

whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood:

Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life;

and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Read these scriptures

Matthew 26:6–16 / Mark 14:3–11 / Luke 22:3–6

On the Wednesday before his death, in the midst of swirling controversy and growing tension, Jesus rests. He is in Bethany, just a few miles outside of Jerusalem, in the home of Simon the Leper. Think about what it means that Jesus is eating with a man whose reputation is built on his debilitating disease.

But while there, the sister of Lazarus comes to him. Lazarus, you may recall, is the man Jesus raised from the dead some days previous. She pops the cork on a $50,000 bottle of perfume and uses it to anoint the feet of Jesus. The reactions of those present were varied and startling. Most telling was the reaction of Jesus himself. It causes us to consider our own reaction.

Listen to this Song

Mary’s act of anointing our Savior’s feet was an act of humble adoration. Let us adore him also.

Behold our God

Who has felt the nails upon his hands?
Bearing all the guilt of sinful man
God eternal, humbled to the grave
Jesus, Savior, risen now to reign

Pray this prayer

Lord God,

our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon:

Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We are continuing to offer these devotional aids during Holy Week. After entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus performed many actions that culminated in his crucifixion. During these last days of his earthly ministry he seemed to have a unique urgency to his teaching. During this long talk that Jesus had with his disciples, he was trying to help them understand that the events of this week would just be the beginning. His final arrival to deal with the evil of the world and establish his dominion in full were yet to come.

Read the scripture

Matthew 21:23–26:5 / Mark 11:27–14:2 / Luke 20:1–22:2 / John 12:37–50.

The “Olivet Discourse” is so named because it is an extended teaching given by Jesus to his disciples as they sat on the Mound of Olives just outside the walls of Jerusalem. It is a dense teaching, full of frightful imagery, warnings of judgment, and stacks of obscure allusion to the writings of the Hebrew prophets.
The most important ideas come through. There will come a time of great tribulation, when all who live will be faced with a choice – to own God’s Messiah as king, or to reject him.

The question is, what will you do when everything falls apart?

Listen to this music

Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending

Congregational singing by the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London.  Text: John Cennick | Tune: HELMSLEY

Every island, sea, and mountain,
Heaven and earth, shall flee away;
All who hate Him must, confounded,
Hear the trump proclaim the Day:
Come to judgement!
Come to judgement!
come away!

Pray this prayer

O God,

by the great suffering of your beloved Son, you transformed an instrument of shameful death into the means of abundant and boundless life for us.

Grant us glory in the cross of Christ so completely that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We are providing these devotional aids over the coming days so that you can take time daily during Holy Week to remember and meditate upon the events of the days leading up to the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Use all of what is offered here, or a portion.

We encourage you to do this with someone if possible, either in your home, or by telephone or online meeting. Just because we are physically apart, does not mean that we need to be socially distant. Either way, there is nothing more profitable than time spend giving our attention to the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. May the Holy Spirit use this time to shape your heart and draw you closer to him.

Read the Scriptures

Matthew 21:12–22 / Mark 11:12–19 / Luke 19:45–48.

Having received his acclamation as King as he entered Jerusalem, Jesus now takes on the work of a Priest, cleansing the temple of profiteering merchants. In so doing, he struck at the heart of the “Temple-Industrial Complex” that lined the pockets of many of the rich and powerful.

Jesus was also like a prophet, in that he called Israel back to covenant faithfulness. Even so, prophets are one thing when they are out crying in the wilderness. They are entirely another thing when they are physically interrupting the cash flow.

But Jesus was unconcerned about any of that. He was concerned that the worship of God’s people actually reflect God’s character. In a few short days, Jesus was about to reveal God’s character in a whole new way that demonstrated the ultimate meaning of every aspect of the temple: the architecture and design, the work of the priests, the sacrifice of animals, etc.

Questions to consider:

What does the death of Jesus on the cross show us about the kind of God we have?

How does our way of worship line up with the character of God as revealed in Jesus on the cross?

How can we pray that God will help us worship in Spirit and in truth?

Listen to this music

Lamb of God
by Bob Kauflin, David LaChance, Jr., Jason Hansen CCLI: #7052986

O Lamb of God, in filthy manger lay
In humble dress You entered earth
O Lamb of God, Creator bows to save
The needy ones, helpless from birth
Incarnate Word, gift of the Father
To take our place and bear our sin
Incarnate Word led to the slaughter
You conquered death and rose again

Pray this prayer:

Almighty God,

Your beloved Son only went up to joy after first suffering great pain.

He only entered into glory after he was crucified: Have mercy, and grant that as we walk in the way of the cross, we may find that the cross is the only true way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Aon our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Maybe fasting isn't your thing, but you still think it might be a good idea to do something to spiritually prepare for Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday. Maybe you don't want to do anything that you would call "Lent" but Good Friday always seems to come up on you before you know it. You'd like to do something to put yourself into the right frame of heart to honor the day of our Lord's death on the cross, and his rising from the dead. After all, every Christian has to admit that those two days changed everything forever.

How about this: commit to read the Bible for the next 46 days. Not the whole thing, but some of it. Every day. How about focusing on the life of Jesus? Or perhaps read passage from a variety of books that survey the breadth of inspired writings about sin and repentance, judgment and grace, mortality and holiness. Maybe a couple chapters a day.

Does that sound good? If so, then I have a couple of suggestions.

First is a Bible reading plan I found on Biblegateway that was originally created by Central Presbyterian Church of Baltimore MD. This plan will help you read through all four of the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus in the next 46 days.

The second is a plan offered by the American Bible Society. This is one that samples scriptures from Genesis to The Revelation, giving you a good nugget to meditate on each day as you consider what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and this wild world.

Of course, if you are one of those overachievers, you could read one of these in the morning, and then the other in the evening. Either way, adding Bible reading to your Pre-Holy Day routine is a good thing. It might even become a habit. If so, its a pretty good habit.

I have made both of these available in printable .pdf documents for you so that you can download and print them right from here. Enjoy your time in God's word, and let me know how he blesses you over the next weeks.

At the regular business meeting of United Baptist Church on October 15, instead of offering my usual written Pastor’s report, I offered some pointed remarks on what I see as the future and direction of UBC. I did this because I feel the need these days to speak very plainly about the state of our congregation, and where we are headed. I am concerned that UBC is approaching a crisis point, and that it is coming more quickly than we like to think. While this is true, I also believe that God is at work in us, among us, and through us to bring about great things for his kingdom, and I suspect that he is not done with us.

So, I want to lay out before you a map of what I am see up ahead. Then I want to pose several very important questions for the congregation to consider, and then along with the Deacon Board, call the congregation to Spirit-led conversation, and intensive prayer to seek God’s face and his will for UBC.

Why Aging Matters
Let’s look at where we are headed, framing it simply in terms of numbers and time. We know that numbers aren’t really the point, and the most important things about church cannot be measured or quantified. Nevertheless, looking at numbers can sometimes warn us of spiritual problems, and even point us in the directions we should look to understand and address those problems.

If we start with one simple demographic figure, we see that our average age right now is almost 60 years. It’s a little lower than that if you count the kids under 18. If we do some basic math, we see that in 10 years the average age will be almost 70 years old. Keep in mind, that is the average. Many of us will be well beyond 70, and into our 80s.

Moreover, this means that the last of our few children will be graduating and moving away. If trend continues, these children will leave, and they will not come back. At least, they will not come back to the church.

Now 10 years may seem like a long time, but it really is not. You know how it is. A year goes by, then another, and another, and pretty soon, there you are. For instance, consider this. In January of 2019, I will have been serving as your Pastor for 5 years. Did it seem like 5 years? No? That’s what I mean. It goes by fast.

There are lots of ways to interpret those numbers, but let’s just say it in plain unvarnished terms. It is reasonable to assume that within 10-15 years, at least half of those currently attending UBC will be either in Florida (or some other retirement destination), in a nursing home, or with Jesus. It might happen sooner than that. It might happen later than that. The precise timing isn’t really the issue. This is the direction things are headed. It is happening, and it is happening quickly.

Of course, this has very important implications for ability of members to participate in the life of the church; to attend, to serve, to carry out many operations of church life and ministry. It has huge implications for giving and budgeting, paying our bills, supporting missionaries, investing in new programs and ministries.

Therefore, I can foresee a day coming, in a not-that-far-away future, when UBC becomes unsustainable. We won’t be able to pay utilities or keep the building in repair. We won’t be able to pay staff to lead our music, keep the building clean, or manage the office. We won’t be able to pay a pastor. On our current trajectory, if nothing really changes, the day is coming when everything will change.

Why People Aren’t Coming
There is another part of this picture, related to wider social trends in our society. Most of us remember what things were like 10, 20, 30 years ago. It used to be that people would come to church simply because that is what ordinary decent people do. There was no shortage of people to carry out all kinds of work in the church from washing dishes to leading Bible studies. Today, people see no need to participate in church or religion of any kind. The world outside sees the church we love as mostly irrelevant and church is no longer part of their lives.

It also used to be that if someone was seeking some kind of spiritual help, their first thought was to go to church. These days, those who seek spiritual connection or help go to yoga classes, or meditation practice, read books and attend workshops on personal development. It’s even worse than that. Many people see church as a burden on society, even a dangerous place full of alarming archaic values, where abuse hides, and greed for power and money rule.

The upshot of this is, United Baptist Church no longer can simply sit inside our brick clubhouse and wait for people to come to visit us. They aren’t coming. If we simply hope they will come if we have the right music, or a certain way of ordering our service, it won’t work because they aren’t coming in the first placed. Some churches manage to attract people by putting on a big show with exciting music, and bright lights and projected images. Mostly, they end up attracting people from other churches, often small congregations like ours. I don’t think this sort of approach is really the right path for us. Our personality has never been about putting on a big show. Our strengths (and we do have strengths) lie elsewhere.

So the old way of thinking that says, “If we are attractive enough, people will be attracted,” doesn’t work anymore. The old ways of thinking about church and how church relates to the world don’t work anymore. We must adopt new models of how we relate to the world around us. These models must be immovably grounded in the power of gospel proclamation, in sacrificial love of our neighbors, and intensive cultivation of loving relationships with those outside the church.
If we don’t do this, then our future is dim.

Why this Hurts
It is a grim thought that UBC could disappear. It seems like a real downer. We love United Baptist Church. Many of us have invested decades into this congregation. We have invested immeasurable energy and time into United Baptist Church. Some of us were raised here. Many of us raised families here. We have made friends, lost friends, and made new friends. We have spent time in one another’s’ homes, eating together and playing together. We have worked side by side, or sometimes just sat with one another, through so many tragedies and long tough times.

Even more important than that, week after week we have met together to worship the One True and Living God, proclaiming our hope in Christ and in our resurrection in him. In this way we have literally made this into a holy place, and that is not to be dismissed lightly. Our shared history runs deep and is shot through with many beautiful and memorable blessings.

Nevertheless, the consensus of the people to whom I have spoken is this. The way we have been doing things does not seem to be energizing any real change in these trends. We are not seeing other Christians wanting to join our church. Most important, we are not making new disciples. It has been perhaps 10 years since we baptized a new convert. That is a tragedy.

What is the option?
If we simply continue to do things the way we have been doing them, we face slow, steady and implacable attrition. The end of UBC is possible, and it may not be that far off.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. With God's help we can change direction. It will be a step of faith, making changes trusting that God is in control. This change is very clear to me, although not necessarily easy. To continue and thrive, we must obey the mandate of our Lord Jesus to make disciples.

We can find ways to quietly and consistently reach outside our walls, to befriend and love our neighbors, and share Jesus with them where they are. As they become part of our Jesus-family, then they will become part of our church family. The question is, are we ready and willing to trust God?

A Call to Conversation
Now, I’m not ready to call this a crisis, but (as our friends in Texas say) it is fixing to be a crisis. It is dangerously close to being a crisis. Therefore, it seems to me and the leaders that some kind of response is needed. This response cannot be limited to the work the I do as your Pastor. It cannot be left up to the leaders like the Deacons or Trustees alone. It must be a congregational response.  
So the deacons and I have been discussing how to foster a fruitful response. Our first thought is that we need everyone to put all our cards on the table through serious, truthful, and candid conversations about the future and direction of UBC. We need to do this openly and we need to do it together as a community.

And we need to be praying together, actively and zealously seeking God’s face, crying out for his intervention, and asking for his wisdom, courage, and power.
To that end, spearheaded by the Deacon Board, we will be engaging in these conversations along three pathways.

1. Deacons will be calling or inviting each one of you individually to have personal conversations regarding your thoughts on the future and direction of UBC.
   
   
2. We will be sponsoring several meals where we can eat together and openly discuss our thoughts and ideas.
   
   
3. We will be offering a channel of written communication so that if you prefer to offer your thoughts in writing, you are welcome to do so.
   
   

A Call to Prayer
Let me also invite you to what (in my estimation) is the most important component of these efforts. Come to pray with us on Thursday nights at 7:00. We will pray first for a spirit of repentance, and spiritual awakening and renewal in our own hearts.

Beyond that we will also be asking God to show us what he is doing and how we can join him in it. We will ask him to provide us with the means to carry out his mission in our neighborhood. We should pray for new members, and for new disciples. We should pray that God would bring people across our path who are ready to hear the gospel and respond. We should pray that God will give us the word to give those he brings to us. We should pray that God will use United Baptist Church to advance his kingdom.

We should pray, because unless the LORD builds a house, the work of all those who work on it will be useless and for nothing. We should ask the LORD to use us as his living stones to build his spiritual house anew, a group of his holy priests, so that with the help of Jesus Christ we may continue to offer sacrifices that please God for decades to come.

Does this sound like you sometimes?

Church doesn’t always feel fun. I have wanted to quit church more than a few times. I have had some serious doubts about Christianity that I have had to work through, and I am not always excited to show up to church on a Sunday morning.

Chances are if you are older than 2, you have gone through times like this. Maybe you are in this sort of situation right now. Well, you are not alone.

So why keep doing it? Because there is something there for you -- or actually, there is someone there for you. Someone who is worth meeting, worth knowing better, and who gives you what you really need most. It might not be what you think you want, but it is what you really need.

Of course, his name is Jesus.

Silverio Gonzalez wrote a timely article reminding us about how church is a place where we can find grace from God, by remembering and clinging to his gift to us in Jesus, and by relying on his help from the Holy Spirit. It may not seem like it sometimes, but that really is what church is especially made for.

Read Silverio's article and hold onto his reminder that "you may feel weak and needy yourself, but God has promised to be with you and to love through you." That's the promise of God that he made to us in Jesus, and we can take that anywhere.

American Baptist World Missions Offering is going to help make disciples for our Lord Jesus Christ all over the world. Listen to a short video that demonstrates what we can do when we band together for the sake of the gospel.