Mount of Olives Church

Easter The Christian faith stands or falls on the validity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus was not truly raised from the dead, then everything He promised cannot be fulfilled and everything He proclaimed is a lie. Some like to say they only see Jesus as a great moral teacher. But if a great moral leader is all He was, and He had not risen from the dead, then He was a liar. And you cannot be a great moral teacher if you are a liar. There are many who have come up with theories to explain away the resurrection of Jesus. One is called the “Swoon Theory”, which claims that Jesus never really died on the cross but only passed out or “swooned”. This theory goes on to state that the cooling effects of the tomb revived Him, and He then appeared to His followers as one who conquered death. Yet, if you believe the “Swoon Theory”, you will have to believe some other things as well. You will have to believe that Jesus pushed a one-ton stone from the entrance of the tomb, He fought o...

Holy Saturday So, what was going on the day after the Crucifixion of Jesus? The governmental and religious leaders were debating how to secure the tomb of Jesus (Matthew 27:62-66). The disciples were in hiding for fear they would be crucified next. In addition, I am sure they were trying to make sense out of all that had happened. They thought they understood what Jesus was teaching. They were hopeful Jesus was the Messiah and would usher in the Kingdom of God as He always talked about. They were wondering what they didn’t get right and what they had missed. But Jesus predicted to them what would happen on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. John 16:20-22 NRSV Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the ...

Good Friday An old Christian drama depicts a little boy working in his parent’s carpentry shop in first century Jerusalem. He protests his chore, which is to assist in building a cross. The parents insist that he help because Rome has given them a contract for the construction of crosses. In another scene, the boy is weeping. "What is wrong?" his parents ask. He responds, "I went to the market place and I saw Jesus of Nazareth, the Man we love to hear preach, and He was carrying my cross! They took Him to Golgotha and nailed Him to MY cross." The parents insist, "Oh no, son, that wasn’t your cross. Other people in Jerusalem build crosses. That wasn’t your cross." "Oh yes, it was! When you weren’t looking, I carved my name on the cross I was making. When Jesus was carrying His cross, He stumbled right beside me, I looked, and my name was on His cross!" This little boy felt responsible for the death of the Lord Jesus. The truth is we are all respon...

Maundy Thursday Just before Jesus was arrested, He prayed for His disciples and you. Read how Jesus prayed for you just hours before the Cross: John 17 NRSV After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.” “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know...

“Childlike surrender and trust, I believe is the defining spirit of authentic discipleship.” – Brennan Manning Brennan Manning is describing humility. Throughout the ministry of Jesus, He is elevating the principle of humility as the key to spiritual growth and development. He condemns the religious leaders of His day for their misuse of power. The rich young ruler who is told to sell everything because he was trusting in his wealth, was really being given a lesson in humility. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7, He contrasts spiritual pride with humility in how people pray and serve. During Holy Week, it is a good time to examine our own lives and ask ourselves where we need to let go of our pride and embrace greater humility. Mark 10:13-14 RSV And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant, and said to them, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to su...

Pastor Mark Daniels is Senior Pastor of Living Waters Lutheran Church in Springboro, Ohio, and told this story about Frederick the Great in one of his sermons: “He was a king of Prussia, the nation that formed the core of what later became Germany, back in the eighteenth century. The story, which may or may not be true, says that Frederick was inspecting a prison in Berlin. Most of the prisoners, as prisoners usually will do, told him they were innocent and begged to be released. One man, though, was silent. Frederick asked the man what crime he had been accused of and if he was guilty of it. “Yes, your majesty," the prisoner replied, "I deserve my punishment." Frederick called for the warden and ordered the immediate release of that man. "I will not have him kept in prison," he said, "where he will corrupt all of its innocent occupants." This is a part of what repentance looks like, when we are honest about our sin and broken condition. When we fa...

The Legend of the Lenten Pretzel: Legend has it that the modern pretzel actually has its origin in the ancient Lenten celebration. The established church at the time did not allow the eating of meat or dairy products during the observance of Lent. As such, people would make bread from a simple mixture of flour, water, and salt. As the legend unfolds, it is purported that a monk in a monastery was looking for a way to make use of the leftover scraps of dough that didn’t fit into the loaf pans. He wondered if he might be able to use it to bless the hungry children to whom the monastery ministered. His idea was to roll the dough scraps into long thin ropes, which he would then shape into the image of hands folded over the heart in prayer. He called them “pretiolas” (which means “little rewards” in Latin). He then distributed them to the children in exchange for a recitation of a memorized prayer; explaining the pretzel’s shape and reminding the children to always pray and trust God. While...

Palm Sunday Matthew 21:1-11NRSV When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion, look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes i...

Dr. Billy Graham wrote: “An Eskimo fisherman came to town every Saturday afternoon.He always brought his two dogs with him. One was white and the other was black. He had taught them to fight on command. Every Saturday afternoon in the town square, the people would gather and these two dogs would fight and the fisherman would take bets. On one Saturday, the black dog would win; another Saturday, the white dog would win—but the fisherman always won! His friend began to ask him how he did it. He said, ‘I starve one and feed the other. The one I feed always wins because he is stronger.’ This story about the two dogs is apt because it tells us something about the inner warfare that comes into the life of a person who is born again. We have two natures within us, both struggling for mastery. Which one will dominate us? It depends on which one we feed.”(Billy Graham. The Holy Spirit. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1988, pp. 92-93). We do have a war going on inside of us (Romans 7). This is why it i...

Opportunities Missed There was a very cautious man Who never laughed or played. He never risked, he never tried He never sang or prayed. And when one day, he passed away His insurance was denied For since he never really lived They claimed he never died. Too many people live very shallow lives. Scores of people live for a great deal of petty things. Others live for materialism and other temporal matters. It has been said that some people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Countless people, if they live for anything, live for themselves. Lent is a good time to ask, “For what am I living?” I would proclaim that living for Jesus Christ brings a depth and a richness nothing else can provide. This is what Jesus Himself offered in John 10: John 10:10 NRSV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. The word used here for “life” in the New Testament is the Greek word “Zoe”. The word “Bio” could have been used...

Two young engineers applied for a single position at a computer company. They both had the same qualifications. In order to determine which individual to hire, the applicants were asked to take a test by the department manager. Upon completion of the test, both men missed only one of the questions. The manager went to the first applicant and said, "Thank you for your interest, but we’ve decided to give the job to the other applicant." "And why would you be doing that? We both got 9 questions correct," asked the rejected applicant. "We have based our decision not on the correct answers, but on the question you missed," said the department manager. "And just how would one incorrect answer be better than the other?" the rejected applicant inquired. "Simple," said the department manager. "Your fellow applicant put down on question #5, ‘I don’t know.’ You put down, ‘Neither do I.’" One of the very important lessons we must always r...

The Philistine’s Goliath was nine feet tall – truly a “giant of a man”. As a result, the army of the Israelites were very frightened of him. It has been said: “King Saul thought Goliath was too big to fight, but David thought he was too big to miss.” As we face problems in our lives, too often they seem too big for us to solve. We are sometimes defeated before we even try. This is how Saul, the King of Israel, saw the battle with the Philistines. He was only evaluating the strength of his army compared to Goliath and the Philistines. But David had a different perspective. He had faith that God would keep His promises, and this caused David to look at the same situation with different eyes. While King Saul saw only an impossible problem, David saw an incredible opportunity. In the days ahead, as you face the “Goliaths of life”, be sure to keep your eyes focused not so much on the problem, but the promise. Psalm 54:4 NRSV But surely, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my l...

D.L. Moody was an American evangelist in the late 1800’s. Once, a committee of ministers in a certain city was discussing the possibility of having D. L. Moody serve as the evangelist during a city-wide evangelistic campaign. Finally, one young minister who did not want to invite Moody stood up and said, “Why Moody? Does he have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit?” There was silence. Then an old, godly minister spoke up, “No, he does not have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit; but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly of D. L. Moody.” Does the Holy Spirit have a monopoly on our lives? This is the mission of our Lenten season. When God calls us, through the Church, to serve or go deeper in some way, we often say “no”. How about in this period of preparation for Holy Week and Easter, we turn our “noes” into “yeses”. This is a great deal of what Moody did, and we can do it too. What can you say “yes” to? Write it down right now, and then start to carry it out. Galatians 5:24-25 NRSV And those who belong ...

Everybody longs for freedom. But for many people, its pursuit leads to bondage. The greatly loved Bible teacher, Henrietta Mears, knew the secret of true freedom, and she wanted her students to know it, too. With young people in mind, she said: "A bird is free in the air. Place a bird in the water and he has lost his liberty. A fish is free in the water, but leave him on the sand and he perishes. He is out of his realm. So, young people, the Christian is free when he does the will of God and is obedient to God’s command. This is as natural a realm for God’s child as the water is for the fish, or the air for the bird." One of the great spiritual battles we face on a consistent basis is the desire to be the god of our lives. Because of our sinful condition, we want to be the ones in charge. However, with our limited ability to understand everything around us, we think we know better than the God who created us as to what is best for us. As a result, we often do things which, ov...

“Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.” — Samuel Smiles We really do have a choice. We can travel toward hope or away from it. We travel toward it when we are looking for the good in our situations. We travel toward it when our outlook is to believe things can always get better. We move away from hope when all we can see and talk about is how terrible things are. When we expect things to fail and not work out, we are migrating away from hope. Which journey will you take? I promise – you do have a choice in which direction you go. And I firmly believe, if you travel toward hope, things are bound to become better. They almost have to. Simply because, at least you are on the road to hope, and this, in and of itself, is better. Samuel Smiles says when we journey toward hope, it casts a “shadow of our burden behind us.” This could also be said of our Lord Jesus Christ. Moving toward Him will result in greater hope and will create a s...

A sculptor once fashioned a magnificent lion out of solid stone. When asked how he had accomplished such a wonderful masterpiece, he replied, “It was easy. All I did was to chip away everything that didn’t look like a lion.” This is what God wants to do with us. He wants to chip away everything that doesn’t look like Jesus. Can we allow Him to do this work? Too often, we get stuck in the way we have always done things. We often develop what I would call the “routine of religion” and we never change. And yet in God’s great love for you and me, He wants to change us and shape us as He wills. Here is how the Prophet Jeremiah describes the process: Jeremiah 18:1-6 NRS The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to ...

“We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.”- Dr. Martin Luther King Hope is not about ignoring the setbacks and difficulties of life. It is not about being in denial in relation to the “finite disappointments” of life. Rather, hope is knowing there are problems, but knowing all the more the Almighty and Everlasting God will keep His promises. He has promised to always stand with us and walk with us. The cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the proof. Hebrews 10:23 RSV Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. Pray with me: Heavenly Father, our hope in You is never “wishful thinking”. It is built and based on a certain reality. The reality is You can never lie, and in Jesus, You have come to rescue us. Because of these truths, give us greater hope. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Yours because of Him, Pastor John R. Steward Senior Pastor Mount of Olives Church

A well-known English deist of the 17th century, Anthony Collins, was walking one day when he crossed paths with a “commoner”. “Where are you going?” asked Collins. “To church, sir.” “What are you going to do there?” “To worship God, sir.” “Is your God a great or little God?” asked Collins. “He is both, sir.” “How can He be both?” “He is so great, sir, that the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him; and so little that He can dwell in my heart.” Collins later declared that this simple answer had more effect on his mind than all the volumes he had ever read about God and all the lectures he had ever heard. We especially know this is true because of the incarnation – God took on human flesh and came into our world in Jesus Christ. This is our evidence. This same Christ is able to come now and live in our hearts. As a Christ follower, know that you are not alone but that Jesus lives in you. Ephesians 3:17 RSV And that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted ...

I heard a story of a ship sinking in the middle of a storm, and the captain called out to the crew and asked, "Does anyone here know how to pray?" One man stepped forward and said, "Yes sir, I know how to pray." The captain said, "Wonderful, you pray while the rest of us put on life jackets--we're one short." Many people are like this captain who doesn’t believe in the power of prayer. They see prayer as something nice to do but not something essential to their lives. This kind of outlook is unfortunate because it robs people of not only a great resource of strength in their lives, but also opportunities for closer relationships with the God of heaven and earth. I want to encourage you to have a different outlook concerning prayer. Here is God’s promise to you and me when we humbly come to Him in prayer: 2 Chronicles 7:14 RSV If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I wil...

“Discipleship is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if He were you.” ― Dallas Willard This is a powerful definition of discipleship. Dallas Willard calls it a “process of becoming”, which is exactly what happened to the first disciples of Jesus. From the moment Jesus called them to follow Him, a “process of becoming” was launched. While we never truly arrive, being a disciple of Jesus must mean we change and grow to be more like Jesus. As we examine the lives of all of the first disciples, we see significant growth in their outlook, faith and service. Lent is a good time to stop and seriously examine our own spiritual growth. Take a moment and write down on paper how you are different as a Christ follower today compared to where you were ten or twenty years ago. If there is no significant growth, then perhaps the time has arrived to take the steps to grow. Read your Bible and pray daily. Join a small group or serve somewhere in the church. Certainly, making the commitment to go...