KEEP PREACHING EASTER
Dr. Michael Trammell, president of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware
Dear pastor friend,
I know you have just preached the resurrection of Christ in your pulpit. That wonderful message never gets old. Allow me to offer a word of challenge today as you plan your preaching calendar for the remainder of 2018. Keep preaching Easter!
As has been said by many, “Every Sunday is Resurrection Day.” We come together as New Testament churches on the first day of the week because of His resurrection. In every sermon, in one way or another, using one theme or another, keep bringing your people back to Jesus’ victory over the grave. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:54-55, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, death is your victory? Where, death, is your sting?” (CSB)
You know, in my thirty-nine years of pastoral ministry, I have never heard of a single church that tired of hearing about the life-changing power of His resurrection. Not one!
Dear pastor, there is no truth like that truth. It sets people free. It changes lives. It brings hope to the hopeless. May I suggest a series of messages on the post-resurrection appearances of Christ? There is plenty of material there to bring a fresh word from a new text for a number of weeks that emphasize the truth that He’s alive!
That profound theological principle needs to be shouted from the rooftops – in cities, in rural communities, in larger churches, in smaller churches, in established churches, and in newer churches. This is far too great a doctrine just to preach once a year.
And as you know, without the resurrection of Christ, there could be no freedom from the penalty of sin, no changed lives, no hope in this life or the next. So preach it, pastor! Again, and again, and again – preach Jesus as the “risen” Savior. Your people will be blessed, and the kingdom will grow. I promise, you will be glad you did!