An Easter Message that is Nothing But Scripture

 I don't know how many times I've heard something like this in my 50+ years of ministry: "I wish you/they/pastors/etc. would just preach the Bible." If you share that opinion, you should be very interested in the message I'll be sharing at Woodland Church on Easter Sunday.

God's Story in His Own Words, is a message made-up entirely of Scripture. It begins with "the beginning," John 1:1, and concludes with the "Amen" of Revelation. It traces God's plan in between. Most of the message is accompanied with pictures, many of them black and white prints by Gustave Dore' that many of you will remember from your first Bible.

I first shared this message on Easter ten years ago. Preachers often say that when they preach they are speaking to themselves first of all. I found this to be undeniably true concerning this message. I would have been glad I had prepared and preached this message even if no one else had been there to hear it. I'm looking forward to sharing it again. From time to time it is valuable to get an aeriel view of the whole forest. It will help you understand what you're seeing when you get back examining one tree at a time.

The graphic below contains information about the Easter Service at Woodland. Below the graphic, I'll share a few more thoughts so you don't get the wrong idea.

1. While I do appreciate the sentiment that preachers should preach the word, I am not saying that every message should be verbatim recitals of Scripture. This message that I'm sharing on Easter Sunday is the only message like this that I've ever done. The messages in Scripture, the Sermon on the Mount, Peter's message on the Day of Pentecost, and Paul's messages in Acts, contain Scripture, are based on the Bible that the speaker had at the time, but they also included the thoughts of the speaker tailored to the need of the moment.
   What I am opposed to, and warn you against, are sermons like the one Charles Spurgeon commented on. He said something like, "If the preacher's text (the portion of the Bible he claimed to be preaching from) had scarlet fever, his sermon would be in no danger of catching it."
   
   
2. If you are considering joining us at Woodland Church for Easter Sunday, I need to make something clear. I don't want to disappoint, offend, or needlessly anger someone, so I share the following: Sometimes when people speak about the "Bible" they are speaking about a particular translation of the Hebrew and Greek that they regard as superior to all other translations. In this message I use several translations, The New Living Translation, The English Standard Version, The New International, the New American Standard Bible, and the King James Version. The NLT is predominant in this presentation. It's use of common Twenty-first Century English flows well for this purpose.
   
   
3. I encourage you to go to your church on Easter. If you don't have a church you call yours, and live in the Fincastle, Troutville, or Daleville area, or just want to take a lovely ride, I encourage you to join us at Woodland. You can find directions on the website.
   
   
4. Here is a Bible passage that is part of the message,
   
   
   "Don't be afraid!" he [the angel] said.
   "I know you are looking for Jesus,
   who was crucified.
   He isn't here!
   He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.
   Come see where his body was lying."

Rejoice in that reality.