Hello world!  Well, unless you’ve been living in a cave with no access to media or a calendar, you know that in just three days we will be celebrating the Easter season that culminates in Resurrection Sunday.  For the Christian, Easter Sunday is at the heart of organized worship, for without the empty tomb, Christianity would be no different than other world religions that claim to have a martyr as the central figure of their faith.  The fact that Christ rose from the dead, something that no other martyr could do, was and remains to this day, a game changer.  Christ did what is considered to be impossible.  He defeated death, and through that victory, He gave us victory over doubt, despair, and darkness!!!!  Hallelujah!!!! 

However, it seems to me that for many people, Easter is just another day.  For these people, it carries no celebration or message of victory.  These people continue to live with doubts and continue to dwell in despair and darkness.  The doubts are like an albatross around their neck, weighing them down at every available opportunity.  Christianity is just like every other religion to these folks, full of empty promises that deliver no real change in their life. 

This mindset is more prevalent than you might imagine, and it reminds me of Jesus’s post-resurrection appearance to His disciple Thomas, as recorded in John 20: 24-31.  Let me give you a synopsis of what takes places in this account.  Several of the disciples run to Thomas, who for some unknown reason was not with them, claiming that they have seen Jesus alive.  What glorious news!  But Thomas was not convinced.  He says in verse 25, “’Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe it’”.  It’s interesting to me that Thomas would be so quick to doubt, as he no doubt spent countless hours praying, teaching, walking and talking with Christ as one of His twelve chosen disciples.  Thomas represents a large group of people who require visual verification in order to believe in someone or something.  Like most people during that time period, Thomas had two names” “Thomas” is Aramaic, “Didymus” is Greek, and they both mean “twin”.  Now who Thomas’ twin was, we don’t know, but I wonder if his name was meant to refer to centuries of people after Thomas as his twin.  How often have we refused to believe and have instead insisted that God prove Himself to us?

After a week passes, the disciples were again together behind a locked door when Jesus came and stood among them.  The effort that John takes to describe the fact that the door was locked tells me that Jesus did not attempt to come through the door but rather suddenly appeared in the room.  He immediately approaches Thomas, which is who He was there for in the first place, and command him to “Put your finger here; see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into my side.  Stop doubting and believe”.  What grace Jesus shows us to stoop to our level of experience in order to lift us to where we need to be!  Jesus’ words literally translate in this verse “stop becoming faithless but become a believer”.  What an indictment upon Thomas, someone that had actually walked and served alongside Christ!!! 

I wonder though if this isn’t an indictment upon us as well.  Many of us have seen Christ actively work in our lives, but yet we still doubt.  We continue to demand proof.  What more proof can Christ provide after the cross and the empty tomb???  Through the cross and the empty tomb, Christ defeated all doubt!  He is who He said He was!  He did what He said He was going to do!  He is faithful, even as Thomas is not.  Even as we are not.  Yet, what an encouragement it is to see that the Lord had enough concern for “Doubting Thomas” that He went straight to him, even in the face of his ridiculous demands. 

I don’t know what you are currently dealing with in your life, but I am sure that some of you are facing a crisis of doubt.  Perhaps you have always doubted and never, like Thomas, placed your hands in the nail-scarred hands of Jesus.  What love they hold.  Let me encourage you as we approach the culmination of this Easter season to stop doubting and place all of your faith, trust, and hope in Christ.  Christ, through the power of His resurrection, defeated doubt, and can do so in your life if you allow Him to.  Remember that this Easter season, and let me also remind you that everybody lives by faith.  The difference is in the object of that faith.  Christians put their faith in God and His word, while unsaved people put their faith in themselves.  Where is your faith? 

I hope to see you Sunday at our Sunrise Celebration at 7:00 a.m. at Peltier Park in Thibodaux or at our 10:45 service at 904 Menard St., also in Thibodaux. 

I Love You,

JP

Hello, blogosphere!  I’m back!  Don’t you just love when God seems to take the events of your life and arrange them in perfect symmetry to the point where they just blend together?  Let me give you an example of what I mean.  I have been preaching through the book of Genesis on Sunday mornings, and this past Sunday, my sermon was focused on Genesis 12:1-9 and the calling of Abram.  In verses 2-3 of that passage, God lays out a striking responsibility to Abram:

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (NIV)

It suddenly occurred to me that God is laying out to Abram the missionary mandate not only for him but for generations to come.  The missionary mandate for believers does not originate with the Great Commission in Matthew 28, nor does it originate in John 3:16.  It doesn’t even start in Acts 1:8, though that verse does lay out the missional strategy for believers.  No, the missionary mandate begins with the call of Abram in Genesis 12.  Why?  Well, it’s very clear.  The Lord tells Abram that He is blessing him in order for him to be a blessing to others.  In other words, we are all blessed so that we can be a blessing.  Wow, what a thought!  Now, this is the part of the story where God just kind of lines everything up in a connective way.  Later that Sunday night, we had scheduled our church wide missions fair.  This was an event where our church’s missions committee, known as our Acts 1:8 team, would roll out our church’s missions strategy for the upcoming year.  When I scheduled the missions fair a few months ago, I had no idea that I would be preaching on the calling of Abram and the missionary mandate for all believers earlier that day.  That is nothing but the hand of God working everything in unison and harmony!  He wants to do the same thing in your life!  The question is, are you allowing Him to move in such a manner in your life?  Are you giving Him every aspect of your life, or are you holding something back?  Let me encourage you to give Him every detail of your life, both the big and seemingly small details, and watch how He weaves everything together to serve His purposes.

Allow me to come back to our missions fair for just a moment and share with you our church’s missions strategy, mostly for the benefit of any of our members who were not able to be there.  I mentioned earlier in this writing that while Genesis 12:2-3 lays out the missionary mandate, Acts 1:8 lays out the strategy we are to follow in fulfilling that mandate.  In that verse, Jesus says this:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. (NIV)

Jerusalem (city of Thibodaux):

Judea (state of Louisiana):

Samaria (North America):

Ends of the Earth (International):

As you can see, this is an ambitious strategy.  This is not a strategy to bring UBC glory.  This is a strategy designed solely to bring God glory.  It is a strategy that is going to take all of us being actively engaged.  From prayer support to financial support to donations to people on the ground in these areas, it will require every single one of us.  Start praying about what role the Lord would have you fulfill in order to make His name known in Thibodaux, in Louisiana, in the United States, and in the world.  You better buckle up, because it’s going to be one amazing ride!  Are you ready? 

I love you,

JP

Hello friends, I’m back!  Sorry that it’s been so long.  Time sure does fly!  Can you believe that we’re already almost in February?  This time of year in south Louisiana always ushers in the start of carnival season, commonly known as Mardi Gras.  Over the next few weeks, revelers from all over the map will enjoy numerous parades in a number of cities, all with ornate floats, shiny beads, exciting marching bands, and other elements that make south Louisiana one of the most unique places in the United States, if not the world.  Thibodaux is no exception to this madness.  In fact, the church that I have the privilege of pastoring sits right on the parade route here in Thibodaux.  Growing up in this area, I have seen firsthand both the good and bad of this season.  I have seen the families laugh and smile together over the colorful costumes and eccentric dancers, and at the very same parades, I have also seen some of the most depraved behavior imaginable.  This naturally begs the questions, “What should be the Christian’s response to Mardi Gras?” “As a believer, should I participate in Mardi Gras?”

No doubt that these are questions that you have likely heard a multitude of responses on, and they might even be questions that you yourself have wrestled with.  I too have heard the countless arguments on both sides, and I have determined that after years of listening to said arguments very little good comes from these “discussions”.  Therefore, I’m not going to get into the ramifications of whether one should attend or not attend a Mardi Gras parade.  While I certainly have some thoughts on this, such matters are ultimately left to the individual under the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Having said that, I do believe that we as the body of Christ have a responsibility and a mission to fulfill.  When I consider that responsibility along with UBC’s strategic location in carrying it out, I feel compelled to respond.  The question that keeps popping in my head is “How can you sit back and do nothing?”  So, the question that I want to try to answer for you is not “What should be the Christian’s response to Mardi Gras?” but rather “What will be UBC’s response to Mardi Gras?”

Over the past month, the Lord has been speaking to me regarding the topic of meeting people where they are, and He has been using the story of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman from the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John in order to make His point.  This story opens with an explanation that Jesus would be leaving Judea and returning to Galilee.  Now the limited amount that I know about the geography of that time tells me that Jesus could have embarked on one of three routes in order to get back to the region of the Galilee.  The first route would have taken Him straight up the coast.  The second route would have Him going through Perea and then up to the Galilee.  The third route would have Him going straight through Samaria.  Now, for any self-respecting Jew, this third option was not really an option at all, for no Jew would be caught dead going through Samaria.  To say that these two groups didn’t get along would be a gross understatement.  Jews considered Samaritans to be half-breeds who could not prove their geneaology.  The animosity between the two factions was so bad that when the Jews wanted to insult Jesus in John 8, they called Him a Samaritan.  Yet verse four of the fourth chapter says this:

“Now He had to go through Samaria” (NIV)

Other translations say that Jesus was compelled.  Whatever your particular translation says, the thought here is that Jesus had a divine appointment and nothing was going to keep Him from missing that appointment!  Wow!  What a thought.  Jesus had to go into “enemy territory” because there was someone there that was important enough to risk persecution for.  It’s a radically simple concept, really.  Jesus didn’t invite her to go to the temple with Him.  He went to where she was.  And I don’t see anywhere in Scripture where it says that He compromised His principles by going to where the Samaritan woman was.  He simply went there because He knew that she wasn’t coming to Him, and He loved her enough to bring the truth of redemption directly to her.

As I have pondered over this passage, the Lord has solidified His conviction, His passion, and His direction regarding the issue of Mardi Gras within my heart as clear as crystal.  As I said before, our campus sits directly on the parade route.  By the time our Sunday morning services draw to a close next week, hundreds of parade watchers will be huddled in front of our building.  Now we have a choice.  We can tie up our parking lot, lock the building, and turn our lights off, turning our back on the “evil” that is Mardi Gras.  Or we can go to our Samaria.  I told you that the Lord kept on prodding me, “How can you do nothing?”  So, I choose to go to Samaria.  We are going to grill hamburgers for folks and offer portable restrooms and hand-washing stations.  Our band will be providing a little pre-parade entertainment.  Most importantly, we are going to engage folks in intentional, Christ-centered conversations.  We are going into our Samaria to meet people where they are because, the fact of the matter is that they will be out there whether we choose to be or not.  At the least, people will leave that parade having heard the Gospel of Christ and having felt His love through the people of UBC.

Now, I don’t say this to say that we are right and everyone who doesn’t do this is wrong.  I am simply sharing with you the conviction the Lord has placed on my heart, but I will leave all of you with this.  The apostle Paul speaks directly to this in the tenth chapter of Romans when he says:

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:12-15, NIV).

The bottom line is that we all need a savior, and that savior is Jesus.  We are going to go and bring Jesus to others.  Here’s praying that we all bring Jesus to our Samaria, wherever that is.  I love you.

Until Next Time,

JP