He is risen indeed.

Matthew 27:

³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is Jesus, the king of the Jews.

³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

Yesterday, I shared with you what happened at our church last Sunday evening.  A friend and member of the praise team had asked the question:

A ten minute segment stretched into 50 minutes and nobody cared that it did.  It was one of those moments that a person never forgets.

I went to bed that night and was soon asleep.  And then I woke with the question in my mind.  Sleep did not return.  I looked at the digital clock: 2:22 AM.  Head back on pillow I tried to sleep.  Sleep would not cooperate.  It was now 2:47.  I got up, put on my glasses and came into the office.  The scene outside my window invited a long look.  Then I began to compose some thoughts.

The Question

I stood the midnight watch atop the rampart
Sleep who wrapped me in her arms had fled
And loving mercy withheld slumber

The year was not yet three weeks old
In the frosty silence above the sleeping world
The hunter made his nightly circuit of the sky

The gibbous moon veiled the scene in ghostly light
And that weak light diminished the stars’ shine
Though its glory is but a poor reflection of the greater

A friend had shared from sincere heart
The thought with which he wrestled
The burning question in his mind

What does it look like to be a Christian
How do you know, how can you spot
That which is real from what is not

As I pondered on the thought and on my friend
My thoughts were bent toward persistent grace
And along side is untiring love

The fruit is borne on the inside
Outwardly, the form and fashion vary
Each of us a Work in Progress

What would your answer have been?

Sunday evening, our church held a special worship service.  Once a month we set aside our usual schedule and have an evening of mostly praise music.  Lately praise-team members have taken 5 to 10 minutes to share their personal faith journeys.  Last Sunday was different.

You would have noticed that something was different when you drove into the parking lot.  There were only a few vehicles sitting out in the cold.  Inside the 6-member praise team and their 5 families outnumbered the rest of us.  A singing group’s concert had drawn several to a nearby community.  Four additional families sat in the congregation.  It would be an intimate group.

The live music was great!  Guitar, bass, keyboard, drums and singers were our guides.  And then the time came for a team member to share.  That member asked questions, such as:  Have you ever felt betrayed?  Then followed a story of a pastor who left the church and took most of the congregation with him to form another.  Next came a pastor who lost his faith and left the church — not to go to another but left it in his past.

Then came the big question:  What does it look like to be a Christian?

I expected to hear some trite answers.  I did not.  A different spirit was at work within the quiet intimacy of that setting.  Most of the adults shared from their hearts their experience and observations.  Ten minutes turned into 50 and no one seemed to notice.

The praise group led us in a couple of songs and then we went home.  Night over, right?  Wrong!

Come back tomorrow for the rest of the story.