Today we kicked off a new sermon series titled “24: Journey to the Cross.” As we prepare for Easter, we’ll look at four scenes from the 24 hours of Jesus life leading up to the cross. This morning we looked at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and His submission as the Son of Man to the will of His Father. During His earthly ministry Jesus taught us to seek God’s kingdom first and obey God’s will no matter the cost. During the intensely dark moments in the garden, He practiced what He had preached.

During the invitation people prayed at the altar, several people joined the church, and hundreds of us placed our first offering to the “Six In 6” capital campaign in the “Chest of Joash.” Several new commitments to the campaign were also turned in this morning.

Commitments to the campaign are off to a really good start. Even though attendance was down 25% last Sunday due to the weather and many people were not able to make commitments because they were not present, those who did make commitments demonstrated great faith and sacrifice. I announced this morning that before today, commitments were already just shy of $1.5 million. I want you to know that your Pastor is excited about the response and I am very proud of our church family. Keep praying for God to bless us with six million dollars in six years so we can pay off the remaining debt our campus.

Based on the reaction I’ve gotten today, a lot of people enjoyed seeing me wear the “cool” glasses Holly Matthews had given me to promote the Easter Egg Hunt (photo below). Remember we need 10,000 candy filled plastic eggs donated because we are going all out in promoting the egg hunt in our community. This morning we also had “drive through difference” cards in bundles of five available. These cards advertise the egg hunt and are to be given to a family or individual when you pay for their meal at the drive through or even inside a restaurant. Plenty of cards remain and you get yours this coming Sunday.

Finally, I encouraged everyone to be praying daily starting now for the specific individuals you want to invite to Easter services at FBC. Easter is the best Sunday of the year to invite lost and unchurched friends. It’s also a great Sunday to invite those who used to be in church but have stopped attending for whatever reason. Don’t wait until the week before Easter to pray for them. Start now. Pray every day. Ask God to prepare their heart for your invitation.

Pastor Steve Hogg