Good Friday and Easter

 

As we do each year – and as Christians have done for centuries – we will remember Christ’s death and resurrection with special times of worship during the weekend of “Holy Week.” On Good Friday -- April 2 at 6:00 pm – we will have a Good Friday service at which we will reflect on Christ’s death on the cross. Then on Easter – April 4 at 9:30 am – we will gather for our Sunday morning worship in celebration of the resurrection.

Please invite friends and family to these services. We have flyers available in our foyer for you to pick up and use to invite them. These are great times to expose people to the central themes of the Gospel.

The cross, since the very early days of the church, has been the central symbol of Christianity. A few years ago, John Stott, a London preacher and global Christian leader, wrote The Cross of Christ, which has become an important study of the cross. In the book, he suggests that seven symbols, other than the cross, could have served as a universally acceptable Christian emblem: the manger, a carpenter's bench, a boat, an apron, the stone rolled away from the tomb, a throne, or a dove. Then he says,

"But instead the chosen symbol came to be a simple cross...central to their understanding of Jesus neither his birth nor his youth, neither his teaching nor his service, neither his resurrection nor his reign, nor his gift of the Spirit, but his death, his crucifixion."

Another London preacher of many years, David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his book The Cross described the importance of the cross of Christ with this statement:

"During these twenty-six years in my Westminster pulpit there have been times when in my utter folly I have wondered, or the Devil has suggested to me that there is nothing more for me to say, that I have preached it all. I thank God that I can now say that I feel I am only at the beginning of it. There is no end to this glorious message of the cross, for there is always something new and fresh and entrancing and moving and uplifting that one has never seen before."

The message of the cross runs deep, but the resurrection validates what Christ did on the cross. The resurrection is proof of Christ’s victory over sin and our hope of salvation.

So we turn to each as a means of focusing ourselves whenever we gather to worship. At this time of the year, we give them each a special focus in our times of worship, as we let the cross once again draw us to Christ and as we realize the hope contained in the resurrection. There is no more important message with which to encourage your friends and family to experience Christ.

Westwood Message – 3/11/2010

Lisa McCullum Is Baptized

Lisa McCullum has been attending Westwood for a couple of months, and had recently made known her desire to commit her life to Christ. On March 7, we were privilege to share her baptism into Christ as a part of our worship service. Pray for Lisa’s new walk with Christ and, if you haven’t already, be sure to get to know her.

Christ In the Passover, Good Friday, Easter

On March 26 at 7:00 PM, Jean Hanson, a volunteer with Jews for Jesus, will present Christ in the Passover at Westwood. Her presentation will be followed with a feedback/question and answer time as we seek to gain a better understanding of the background out of which Jesus offered himself as the Passover Lamb.

Please consider inviting family and friends to this event, and to our Good Friday service on April 2 at 6:00 PM and our Easter Sunday morning service on April 4 at 9:30 AM. Flyers are available in our foyer that you can use to invite people. Pick some up and give them out to people you know.

Rock River Christian Camp Church Representatives

As most of you know, we support Rock River Christian Camp through our Missions budget and promote the camp to our youth and adults for attending church camps and retreats. As a camp supporter, we are entitled to have up to three representatives on the camp’s partnership board which meets two times a year, in March and October. We currently have one member, Mike Younglove, on the board.

If anyone from Westwood would be interested in filling one of our other slots on the partnership board, we would be glad to have you do so. Let either Chardel or I know of your willingness, and we will be glad to give you the details you need to serve.

Register for Summer Camps at Rock River Christian Camp

We have information available for all the summer camps at Rock River. You can also find the information on the camp’s website: www.rockrivercc.net, along with registration forms. If your children have never attended a summer Christian camp, consider sending them this summer. It will be an experience they will never forget, and it will change them forever.

Rock River begins with two-day camps for those in 1^st and 2^nd grade, then has three-day camps for those in 3^rd and 4^th grades, and week-long camps for older elementary children and junior high and high school youth. They also have specialty camps including wilderness, adventure, equestrian, volleyball, and paintball in addition to the main camp program.

See a Special Exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum

The Milwaukee Public Museum is currently exhibiting, in a limited engagement, “Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible: Ancient Artifacts, Timeless Treasures.”

We are planning a group trip to see the exhibit on May 3. Put the date on your calendar, and plan to go. We will arrange group transportation and will announce further details next month. Keith Schoville, our “resident biblical archaeologist” has agreed to see the exhibit. He will be able to answer some of the questions people in our group might have.

The exhibit brings together archaeological objects and manuscripts to tell a story 2,000 years in the making. You will witness actual Dead Sea Scrolls and other early biblical artifacts to learn how transmission of these early writings has shaped the beliefs of Judaism and Christianity and influenced aspects of Islam. This is the largest temporary exhibit ever produced by the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Young at Heart at Rock River

While I am giving you information about Rock River, let me mention that Christine and I will again lead a Young at Heart one-day retreat at Rock River for senior citizens on May 11. The theme this year is “Our Prodigal God,” and the speaker will be Brian Henry from First Christian Church in Kenosha. Cost for the day is $25.00. Place the date on your calendar and plan to attend. We will get a count of those planning to attend next month and will again share transportation.

Red Kettle News from the Salvation Army

We are volunteers from Westwood ring bells for the Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle campaign for two days in December. We had volunteers handle twelve two-hour shifts at the Copps store on Whitney Way Dr, and collected $1,001.49 during those shifts. Overall, the campaign in Dane County raised $578,000. There were 2,624 volunteers in Dane County filling 5,835 shifts for a total of 11,607 hours.

DECIDING ON THE FOCUS OF YOUR CHURCH

I heard several years ago about a town in Pennsylvania that had trouble with their fire hydrants freezing over in the winter. The town council came up with a solution: they passed an ordinance that all fire hydrants had to be thawed out three days before a fire.

I doubt if the story is true, but it does illustrate a persistent problem in many churches (and other organizations for that matter): It is far easier to recognize the problems we face than it is to design workable solutions. Many solutions we come up with in the church to solve the problems we face are either unworkable or they solve the wrong problem – often one that does not even exist.

The root cause of this ineffectiveness is normally that we have the focus of the church directed to the wrong things. That is, we fail to focus the church’s efforts on those things that Scripture calls for us to focus on. Normally when we get the church’s focus wrong we have focused on ourselves and make decisions based on how those decisions will impact the members of the church, instead of focusing on reaching out and ministering in the name of Christ within our communities.

I consider this to be a critical problem for the church, because in less than a generation our culture has gone farther away from God. We have changed morally, demographically, and technologically – leaving God behind in the process. Our culture’s “doctrine of salvation” has become if you are good enough and do not do many bad things, you will get to heaven. In order to really be the church in that environment, we should focus like a laser on the matters that Scripture calls for the church to focus on.

I find three areas of focus for the church in Colossians 1. Is your church focusing on these matters as a priority in the way you organize and operate your church program?

(1) Focus on the supremacy of Christ. Colossians sets out the nature of Christ in chapter 1, verses 15-20. Paul says Christ created all things, is before all things, and holds all things together. Then comes verse 18: “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” When I consult with other churches, I find it important to really get them to think about the implications of the supremacy of Christ for what we do in the church. That is, do we really, in a practical way, understand that Christ is the head, the leader of the church? Do we really seek his wisdom rather than our own when we have decisions to make? Is Christ the heart and soul of every sermon that is preached, every worship service, every program, every event in the church? Our focus should start there, with Christ.

(2) Focus on our reconciliation through Christ. In Colossians 1:21-23, Paul discusses how we were once enemies of God, but now, through Christ’s death, we have been reconciled to God. Can there be any doubt – if we hold to the Scriptures – that our only means of salvation is to trust in the death of Christ? There is no other message for the church to preach. There is no other reason to bring people into the church than for them to experience the saving work of Christ in their lives. Donald Wildmon, founder and recently retired president of the American Family Association once said, “"At the very heart of the Christian gospel is a cross – the symbol of suffering and sacrifice, of hurt and pain and humiliation and rejection. I want no part of a Christian message which does not call me to involvement, requires of me no sacrifice, takes from me no comfort, requires of me less than the best I have to give."

(3) Focus on the commission of Christ. Paul closes Colossians 1 by discussing how he had become the servant of the church by the commission God had given him. He said, “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” I wish I had room to tell you about some of the people I know who have gone into some of the hardest places in the world to preach the Gospel. That is the call of every church, of every believer.

Does the focus of your church need to be re-examined? Try checking your church’s focus against these three areas.

Jesus Alone Is Mighty to Save

Jesus Alone is Mighty to Save

Tom White, Director of The Voice of the Martyrs, writes about watching an interview of four religious leaders — a Catholic, two Protestants, and a Muslim — speaking in Chicago. They were discussing youth violence after a Chicago student was beaten to death at his high school. The Muslim leader, referring to the outreach of his own mosque, said we could fight youth violence with “the gospel … the church … the word of God.” White says, “He pirated these Christian terms for his own Islamic use. Throughout the entire program, Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was never mentioned, unless it was edited out.”

White goes on to say, “Is it easy for me to substitute my own witness for Jesus with politically correct terms like “moral code” or “family values”? The public does not resist these terms because these are not life changing words. These words have no power to save or transform. These generic words, when purposefully divorced from Jesus, become meaningless.”

This is exactly the message we have been considering this winter as I have preached from the miracles of Jesus. The miracles not only tell us that Jesus is Mighty to Save, but that he is the only One who is Mighty to Save.

Jesus broke into people’s lives when he lived on the earth to heal lepers, the paralyzed, the blind, the deaf, to drive out demons, to calm the storms, and to raise the dead in order to show us that he can deal with all the issues of life that we face. Then ultimately he rose from the dead to demonstrate his power over the greatest enemy we have. He alone can solve the violence in our schools and every other problem our culture faces. We need to point people to Jesus.

In the same column, Tom White told about the founder of Voice of the Martyrs, Richard Wurmbrand, who took many dangerous trips into communist countries to tell people about Jesus “the sin killer, the transformer.”

The newsletter went on to tell about a North Korean who escaped to China in search of churches that were rumored to be giving away food. He was given a Bible to take home with him, read it, believed it, and gave his life to Christ. He would later risk his life to return to China to take more Bibles back to North Korea. In China, he met a North Korean army commander who had also given his life to Christ, but continued to serve in the army. They risk their lives everyday if they are even caught with a Bible because they believe, as we do, that Jesus is Mighty to Save.

Jesus is powerful beyond imagination and can work even in the most anti-Christian nation in the world. If he can work there, he can work within us.

Westwood Message – 2/18/2010

Invite a Friend to Westwood

You can always invite a friend or family member to come to Westwood with you, but in the next few weeks we will have two events to which I would like to encourage you to invited others.

First, we will hold an outreach event on March 26 at 7:00 pm when we host a presentation from Jews For Jesus titled Christ In the Passover. Jean Hanson, a volunteer with Jews For Jesus will make the presentation, and we will follow it with a feedback/question and answer time. While the presentation focuses on the Jewish Passover, it is relevant for everyone seeking to know Christ as it shows how God used the Passover to prepare people for the coming of his Son into the world.

Second, we will celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday, April 4. On that day, I will conclude my current sermon series with a message on the resurrection by looking at Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead using the theme, “Discovering the One Who Defeats Death.” Our worship planning team is discussing ideas for an uplifting worship service that Sunday. It will provide you with another great opportunity to invite a friend or family member to attend with you.

By early March, we will have flyers ready for you to use to invite people to these events. You can begin now to pray about who you can invite.

See a Special Exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum

The Milwaukee Public Museum is currently exhibiting, in a limited engagement, “Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible: Ancient Artifacts, Timeless Treasures.”

We are planning a group trip to see the exhibit and will be announcing a date soon. Keith Schoville, our “resident biblical archaeologist” has agreed to see the exhibit. He will be able to answer some of the questions people in our group might have.

The exhibit brings together archaeological objects and manuscripts to tell a story 2,000 years in the making. You will witness actual Dead Sea Scrolls and other early biblical artifacts to learn how transmission of these early writings has shaped the beliefs of Judaism and Christianity and influenced aspects of Islam. This is the largest temporary exhibit ever produced by the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Free Showing of ”Sophie’s Choice”

Care Net Pregnancy Center is hosting a special screening of the newly acclaimed film, "Sarah's Choice" starring Rebecca St. James. This inspirational movie is about a young woman who experiences an unplanned pregnancy and is torn about what to do. With financial pressures mounting and her career at stake, she must make a choice. This free viewing of the film can be seen on February 28 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at High Point Church. You can sign up for free tickets at Care Net’s web site.

JESUS CAN CALM THE STORMS IN YOUR CHURCH

On November 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald, one of the largest carriers on the Great Lakes, found herself in the worst storm to hit Lake Superior in more than thirty years. She had sailed the lakes for seventeen years when the storm with wind speeds of 80 miles per hour and gusts of 96 miles per hour and with waves running thirty feet high struck the mighty ship. Shortly after 7:00 pm in the looming darkness the Edmund Fitzgerald's long hull bent, then bent further, then snapped like a broken bone. Her two great pieces foundered momentarily and began their tragic descent some 500 feet, settling 170 feet apart on Lake Superior's bottom. Some say that the breakup happened in ten seconds. One instant she was plowing through waves as high as a three-story building, the next she was gone.

During his ministry, Jesus encountered a sudden storm one evening while crossing the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. Given the much smaller size of their boat and of the Sea of Galilee compared to the Edmund Fitzgerald and Lake Superior, the storm was just as dangerous for Jesus and his disciples. Storms can strike fast and hard on the Sea of Galilee. This one was of such proportions that the disciples were afraid for their lives – even the veteran fisherman in the group who had no doubt navigated many harsh storms on the Sea of Galilee.

Matthew says this terrific storm blasted them “without warning.” Luke calls it a “squall,” which literally means “a hurricane wind” that came down on the lake and swamped the boat. Matthew uses the word “earthquake” to describe the storm. It was as though the lake was being shaken.

I have seen storms come up like that in people’s lives and in the church. One day everything is going fine when without warning a storm hits. Sometimes the storms are personal, but they strike at the heart and soul of a congregation because of the nature of the storm and who it strikes. I have seen this happen when a leader in the church or a member of a leader’s family falls into sin and the entire church is affected. Other storms can be congregational in nature when a major disagreement erupts in the church or a physical calamity strikes. Whether it is personal or congregational, the storm can make it feel like the entire congregation has been shaken.

When the storm struck the Sea of Galilee that night as Jesus and his disciples crossed, Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat – but he had not left them. When they awakened him, Jesus instantly calmed the wind and the water. Just as suddenly as the storm appeared, it disappeared. Here is a compelling thought: the storm did not disturb Jesus, but the unbelief of the disciples did. He said to them, “Where is your faith?”

The disciples should have known Jesus could calm the storm. At this point in his ministry they had already see him perform several miracles. He had touched an “untouchable” leper and healed him, healed a centurion’s servant without even going to his home, and raised a widow’s son from the dead.

If we have followed Jesus for any length of time, we have seen him do some amazing things. Yet in the midst of the storms that disrupt our personal and congregational lives, we do not always believe that Jesus is there in the midst of us. We think he is asleep, not in the boat, but at the switch. Our faith falters, and we wonder if he will wake up. Then he stands in the midst of us and calms our worried souls. He can and does act to bring stability to our lives and the church.

When he calmed the storm that night, the disciples were once again amazed at what he did. People were constantly amazed at what Jesus did. Just read the Gospels again, and notice how often the word is used. The disciples said, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

Who is he, indeed! He is the Master of the universe and the one who loves us deeply. When a storm hits your church, he is the one you need to turn to. He is the one who can calm people’s lives and empower the church to carry on her mission no matter how terrific and threatening the storm is. The next time a storm threatens your church, allow him to work. Then watch in amazement and say, “Who is this? He calms the worst of our storms.”

Invite a Friend to Westwood

When Jesus called his first disciples, Peter and Andrew, Matthew’s Gospel tells us he saw these two fishermen brothers casting a net into the Sea of Galilee. He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Shortly afterward he saw two other brothers, James and John and called them. All four immediately left their nets and followed him.

Jesus calls all of his followers to be fishers of men. One way to encourage your friends and family to follow Jesus is to invite them to events and services at Westwood.

We have been working to turn Westwood into a “fishing” church. Toward that end, we have two opportunities coming up in late March and early April that will give you an opportunity to invite someone that you know to come learn about Jesus.

First, we will hold an outreach event on March 26 at 7:00 pm similar to the events we have held in each of the past two years. This year, we will host a presentation from Jews For Jesus titled Christ In the Passover. Jean Hanson, a volunteer with Jews For Jesus will make the presentation, and we will follow it with a feedback/question and answer time. While the presentation focuses on the Jewish Passover, it is relevant for everyone seeking to know Christ as it shows how God used the Passover to prepare people for the coming of his Son into the world.

Second, we will celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday, April 4. On that day, I will conclude my current sermon series with a message on the resurrection by looking at Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead using the theme, “Discovering the One Who Defeats Death.” Our worship planning team has already begun discussing ideas for our worship service that Sunday. It will provide you with another great opportunity to invite a friend or family member to attend with you.

By early March, we will have flyers ready for you to use to invite people to these events. Begin now to pray about who you can invite. Determine to be a fisher of men.