2 Peter 3:18

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

From Background Notes [BN] for April 21^st & 22^nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

The historical Church has recognized many different means of grace through the centuries. Of the means of grace, the church defines some as sacraments.   The Catholic Church recognizes seven sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Communion, Confession, Last Rites, Ordination, and Marriage). The Protestant Church typically recognizes two sacraments (Baptism and Communion)...

Exodus 29:33

They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred.

From Background Notes [BN] for April 21^st & 22^nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

The term “sacrament” is often misunderstood, and I have had to answer questions about whether the word has anything to do with what happens to the bread and the wine during communion. In fact, the term comes from the Latin, sacramentum, which has to do with making something sacred...

Luke 24:25

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

From Background Notes [BN] for April 7^th & 8^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

“Are we better off because we believe in the risen Lord Jesus, than if we did not?” In phrasing the matter this way, we need to clarify that to “believe” in the sense used here means strong faith that has its basis and grounding in an honest process that asks, seeks, and knocks…

Luke 11:9

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

From Background Notes [BN] for April 7^th & 8^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

When faced with the incredible story of the risen Jesus, we stand in need of faith to believe it. For that daunting challenge, God is our Father who wants to give us the Holy Spirit if we ask Him to do so. Ask, then, for faith through the Holy Spirit, and God will also give you truth, passion, and understanding as well. The work of the Spirit is to make the risen Jesus accessible to those who ask.

Luke 24:12

Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

From Background Notes [BN] for April 7^th & 8^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Have you noticed how the Easter morning people had to remain engaged, and had to be active in their efforts to make sense out of what they experienced? We might be tempted to say, that they needed to do something in order to know something.

Luke 24:4

While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

From Background Notes [BN] for April 7^th & 8^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

The word “wondering” comes from the Greek root aporeō, meaning “be at a loss, be uncertain, or be disturbed.” They were “without resource” to explain what they saw or to do what they came to do.

Luke 24:6-7

He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.

From Background Notes [BN] for April 7^th & 8^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

We say, “He wasn’t just an ordinary man who became a great moral teacher.” We say, “He died and rose again.”