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Although Christmas feels like it was just last week, here we are in April and looking quickly at the most significant day on the Christian calendar: Resurrection Sunday. Although there is no doubt that Easter Sunday is not the day Jesus actually rose from the dead more than 2,000 years ago, it is a day of celebration for Christians around the world. Some Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ on the Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox, so the date follows a lunar calendar. This is when most Christians in the western world (North America, Central America, South America, Western Europe) celebrate the resurrection. Some Christians in other parts of the world (Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Russia) celebrate the resurrection of Christ on a different Sunday because they follow a different calendar (Julian vs Gregorian). Interestingly, in the early church in Acts, the day of worship was changed from Saturday to Sunday after the resurrection occurred to celebrate the resurrection taking place on Sunday. So, in early Christianity, every Sunday was Resurrection Sunday. Every Sunday was Easter. Indeed, now more than 2,000 years later, although “Easter Sunday” only happens once per year, the New Testament offers a great corrective for us that Resurrection Sunday is to be celebrated every week as Christians gather for worship. The resurrection of Christ is nothing more or less than the central focus of all of Christianity. In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, Paul writes of the importance of the resurrection and notes in 15:17, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” The resurrection of Christ is the core belief in Christianity and it, along with other doctrines, separates us from other faith traditions. So, as April 20 approaches, remember that Sunday is not about rabbits, chocolate, or eggs. Every Sunday, not just April 20, is about the resurrection of Christ, the one who died in our place so that we might have the opportunity to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. As we continue looking to the same book of Scripture as an Association in order to set our minds together on a regular basis, our study brings us this month to 1 John 4:7-11. Before our quick study through these verses, I have to admit something: I am always amazed at God’s sovereignty and providential control over all things. As soon as I opened my Bible to see the next section of verses for our monthly study, I realized our passage for April is focused on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as the foundation of our love for other believers. It really is amazing that we started 1 John in May, 2023 and in April, 2025, the month when the world will focus on Easter, our focus passage is about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. God is truly an amazing God and His Word is truly an amazing book. God, nor His Word, can be matched. So, as we turn our attention to 1 John 4:7-11, we see that John is here continuing his discussion of living the Christian life. The beginning of chapter 4 shows John’s instruction for how we are to determine truth from error (the theological Christian life) and now he turns to how we are to determine if another person is a believer (the practical Christian life), based primarily on love. Interestingly, as John writes these verses, every occurrence of the Greek word translated “love” is the Greek word agape. This is a love that knows no bounds, no end, and has no caveats. So, as you read this passage, keep that in mind. In verse 7, John commands that we, as believers, love each other because, as those who have been born again, we have the capacity to offer godly love to each other. Conversely, verse 8 declares that those who do not love others cannot be born again. So, determining another person’s state of belief in Christ can be easy. However, we must offer a slight nuance here. If you notice, John’s directive is that believers are to love each other, not necessarily like each other. You might have a personality difference with another believer and not like him. You might have a disagreement with another believer and not like her. You might have differences of opinion with another believer and not like him. Although we may not like other believers, we are commanded to love them, regardless of whatever differences we may have. As my preaching professor at Southern Seminary, Dr. Danny Akin, used to tell us in class quite often in reference to other believers, “You don’t have to like them but you have to love them.” As John moves into verse 9, he shows how God showed His love: by sending Christ to die on our behalf so that we might have life. Then, in verse 10, John wants to make sure we don’t get the wrong idea about God’s reason for sending Christ. It could all too easy for humans to think that God sent Christ because we deserve Him or because we are owed Him. Quite the opposite is the case. John writes that God first loved us and because of that love from the Father, Christ came as the propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins. Finally, John puts the pieces together and proclaims the practical result of God’s display of love for us as it relates to our relationship with others: we should love because God loved us first. As we have been doing, please continue praying for each other (1 Thess 5:17) and for the other churches in our Association. I want to encourage you strongly to pray for each other, other pastors, and sister congregations in our area as we work together to encourage pastors and equip churches to engage lostness for the sake of fulfilling our part of the Great Commission. Lift each of these pastors and congregations to the Father, asking for His providential care for them and for His mercy and grace to work mightily through them. Holly Springs, Inman, Ben Whitmire
Iglesia Bautista de Greer, Greer, Waldier Duenas
Lake Cooley campus, Church at the Mill, Wellford, Dylan Baxter
Lifesong, Greer, Jeff Hickman
Living Way, Greer, Chad Howard
Lima, Travelers Rest, Derrel Robinson
Locust Hill, Travelers Rest, Michael Hodge
Lyman First, Lyman, Bill Morris
Manantial de Vida, Greer, Maciel Marques
Marietta First, Marietta, Brian Spearman My prayer for you for April is the same as always. May the Lord grant each of us opportunities to share the message of Christ with unbelievers and disciple believers in the message of Christ. As an association of churches, we partner together for the sake of encouraging and equipping each other in order to engage lostness for the sake of fulfilling our part of the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20).
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