How to Prepare for Easter Weekend
by Greg Wood
We have some preparation to do folks! And I’m not talking about our new building.
The celebration of Resurrection Sunday is only a couple of days away, and we need to be ready. There is no greater time in the life of God’s Church! There is nothing greater that can be celebrated than the life of our sinless Savior being given for our forgiveness on the cross, and His victorious resurrection over sin, death, and Satan. So, we will remember and proclaim that we can be with God forever by grace through trusting in His good work on our behalf – all because of what Jesus did (Ephesians 2:8).
This truly is a joyous weekend with a lot to look forward to. New City celebrates this in a big way with a Good Friday worship service to remember the cross and death of our Lord Jesus. On Saturday we will have an Easter picnic to enjoy one another’s fellowship, one of the many benefits Jesus bought for us, uniting a diverse people by giving His life for us.
But the culmination, the pinnacle will be the worship service on Easter Sunday. Gathering to worship the risen Lord through music and the preaching of His Word.
What can we do as God’s people to prepare for all of this? I am reminded of the request of the Apostle Paul to the church at Colossae, asking the church to pray for his preaching.
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4:2–6 ESV)
This is a good exhortation for us to have in mind as we approach the weekend in which we will have the opportunity to share the gospel with some for the first time. What does it tell us we can do to prepare?
Continue steadfastly in prayer. Prayer is a posture before the Lord that shows our need for Him and our gratitude toward Him. A recent event for a friend whose child was hurt has reminded me of how helpless I am to help people in their deepest needs, and that truly only the Lord Himself is enough. And through the event, how amazing it was to go from humble need to joyful gratitude as the Lord answered our prayers! For some reason, God has ordained that He will work through our prayers. Let’s take Him up on the offer to pray for His interventions this week, and watch Him work!
Pray for open doors to the gospel. This comes not only through invitations we give for people to join us to hear the good news and experience godly community but also through the inward work of the Spirit in the heart. Let’s pray that God will open doors for the gospel in the hearts and lives of our friends, family, and neighbors.
Pray for clarity in the proclamations of the gospel. You know if you’ve been at a worship gathering with NCC that the gospel is proclaimed in our kids' ministry, through the music and liturgy, and in the sermon. That’s not to mention conversations or gatherings outside of Sunday morning. We can pray for all of these proclamations of good news to go forth with clarity.
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders. Verse 5 deserves some reflection and prayer, asking God to show us how we are doing at moving toward outsiders. We will almost certainly have opportunities to practice this weekend.
Speak, remembering the grace of God toward you. Jesus has appointed us as witnesses. The grace of God changes us, and it gives us gracious speech. When outsiders reveal what it is that they are looking for, we can tell them of the hope that we have found in God’s grace to us. Let the Holy Spirit season your speech with the salt of the grace of God.
Brothers and sisters, we have such a great gospel to share with our neighbors! You and I who were once far off have been brought near by the very events we celebrate this weekend: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Because of Jesus, we have been made sons and daughters of the holy, perfect, and good Creator of all things.
This good news is also that God has given us His own enabling Spirit and made us participants in His redeeming activity here and now. That’s what Paul urges us to do in this passage to the Colossians. So, will you join me in prayerfully preparing for this Easter weekend? Let’s ask God to do wonderful things in our midst, beyond all we can ask or imagine, and that He would be glorified in Macon and Middle Georgia.