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Preacher
to Preacher
From Dan Copp Clergy Development Director
As I write this I am experiencing some wonderful fatherly
feelings . . . in just a few days I will be walking our “baby,”
Megan, down the isle to be married. It seems like just yesterday Megan
was our little girl running up to us as she was learning to talk and excitedly
describing things in her own sweet language. Like the time one Lent/Easter
season as Megan was learning the story of Jesus at church, we sat her
down in front of the television at home to watch a children’s video
that told the story in wonderful animation. Vicki and I watched Megan
from the kitchen as she sat alone on the carpet right in front of the
television intently caught up in the story. Her face expressed profound
sorrow when she saw how Jesus was treated. She slouched and seemed to
lose her breath when the stone was rolled in front of the tomb. As the
stone was rolled away and Jesus’ resurrection was depicted Megan
jumped up and ran into us exclaiming “Jeduh id AYIVE!” (Parent’s
interpretation: “Jesus is ALIVE!”). In those moments we watched
our little girl experience the sorrow and celebration of the Lent/Easter
season. We have watched her become a wonderful young woman living in the
forgiveness and resurrection hope of Jesus.
This Preacher’s Magazine is intended to resource you
and your church as you celebrate the upcoming Season of Lent/Easter. Traditionally,
Lent spans 40 days, not counting Sundays. Lent culminates in Holy Week
with Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) and Good Friday, concluding the Saturday
before Easter Sunday. The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday, the seventh
Wednesday before Easter Sunday, a somber day of reflection as the people
of God embrace mourning and sorrow at the death that sin brings into the
world. Today, Lent is usually a time of encouraging our people to fasting
and praying as we reflect on the consequences of sin and death, considering
how our lives may be more conformed to the image of Christ, and a growing
anticipation towards Easter Sunday. Lent is an intentional time of preparation
for celebrating the profound hope of the Resurrection. Our hope and prayer
is that Preacher’s Magazine and online resources (www.preachersmagazine.org)
will help inspire and equip you to proclaim the message.
Our preaching resources for Lent/Easter 2010 come from Dr.
Ernest Peets, Jr., pastor of the New Life Church of the Nazarene in Smith’s
Parish, Bermuda. Rev. Georgia Patton provided Lent and Palm Sunday sermons.
Georgia and her husband, Chris, serve as co-senior pastors at the Cuyahoga
Falls Church of the Nazarene in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Our Easter sermon
was written by Rev. Edward Frost, senior pastor of the Londonderry Church
of the Nazarene in Hudson, New Hampshire. Rev. Bob Yates provided sermons
for the remaining Sundays after Easter. Bob is the senior pastor of the
United Church of the Nazarene in Orlando, Florida. In addition to the
sermons for Lent/Easter, Dr. Corey MacPherson, Director of Spiritual Development/Chaplain
at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts, submitted an article
based on his doctoral research: The Use of Internet Sermon Resources:
A Study in Christian Preaching Among Nazarene Pastors in the United States.
Corey presents us with information provided by pastors like yourself—an
article you will not want to miss reading.
I want to close by inviting all of our clergy (Ordained
and District Licensed) to plan to participate in PALCON 2010. You can
register at www.nazarenepastor.org. I look forward to seeing you on one
of our campuses!
May 11-13 TNU, Nashville, TN
May 17-19 ONU, Bourbonnais, IL
June 1-3 MNU, Olathe, KS
June 8-10 ENC, Quincy, MA
June 28-30 SNU, Bethany, OK
June 6-8 MVNU, Mount Vernon, OH
July 19-21 PLNU, San Diego, CA
July 27-29 NNU, Nampa, ID
August 23-25 AMBROSE, Calgary, AB, CANADA
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