We need friendships. In Genesis, after each act of creation, we read, “God saw that it was good.” You see that phrase again and again until God said something was not good. He said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”
We were designed to be with other people. When it comes to living the full life God intended, friendship isn’t a nice option but a necessary component. So, this Sunday I’ll begin a short series called “Friends for Life.”
Easter is a perfect day to begin a study like this. In one of the most important Bible passages about the Easter hope of resurrection, Paul says you need to make friends with those who have this hope.
When you turn to 1 Corinthians 15, you read Paul’s longest chapter on the resurrection. He talks about Christ’s Easter resurrection and our own future resurrection. And right in the middle of the chapter he says, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character’” (1 Corinthians 15:33). In the context of the entire chapter, it was a warning against the influence of those who didn’t believe the resurrection.
So, it’s not enough to personally think right about the resurrection—we need to choose companions who think right about this, too. Paul was saying, “If those you choose as companions have a different understanding about the resurrection than you do, they’re going to have different goals and priorities and choices than you should have. And the more you’re influenced by them, the further and further away from the gospel you’re going to go.”
We must choose companions who help us maintain our hope in the resurrection.
This is an important place to start a series on improving our friendships. So, come begin this sermon series with us this Easter! We meet at 10am.
Here are some things you can do to help us prepare for the crowd we expect:
First: Arrive early. It will reduce congestion in the parking lot, the child check-in, and the hallways.
Second: Park away from the building. Leave lots of open spaces close to the building for visitors, seniors, parents with babies, and latecomers.
Third: When you enter the auditorium, move to the left and to the front before you sit down. Leave those pews in the back for visitors and latecomers.
--Tom
P.S., Don’t forget our Good Friday service! Our church will gather with five other congregations at the Anderson High School Performing Arts Center. Choose the 4pm service or the 6pm service. Click here for more information.
Image: Getty Images
Tom Goodman serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter. If someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, sign up here to receive Tom’s weekly devotional in your email inbox.