When it comes to patriotic holidays, we usually don’t make much of a fuss about them at OneLife. While I’m sure it sounds too apathetic and unappreciative of the sacrifice our veterans have made (which is not the case at all!), I simply don’t believe Jesus died on a cross so we could march flags down the aisle and shoot streamers in the air while singing about our country. So on days like the Fourth of July and Memorial Day we always take a moment to pray and thank God for the freedoms we have, and then we focus the rest of our service on Jesus.

But this Sunday is different. In fact, I believe it is so different that it is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of Sunday. Could it have been God’s plan all along that the 10th Anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history would fall on a Sunday? Definitely! (Acts 17:26) And more than ever a focus on Jesus and what this day represents intersects perfectly.

So this week, on September 11, 2011, we will worship Jesus like we do each Sunday. Then we will devote the sermon portion to this monumental day for several reasons:

• People have questions. This is a relevant issue that still has people asking “why?” The attention that the 10th anniversary brings is raising many of these questions again.
• This day of tragedy reminds us all that life is fragile. In the last 10 years we’ve all faced our own personal tragedies. What does the Bible say about this?
• The past 10 years have brought great healing to our nation, but the healing that Jesus can bring is even greater! We’re going to find out how that can happen in all of our lives.

I’m actually really excited to use a story about Jesus to bring some answers to tough questions this Sunday! No flags down the aisles, no dramatic videos of collapsing buildings, and no sensationalism. Just Jesus, hope, and healing.

Be there, and don’t come alone!

We sing a song a lot at OneLife called “God is Alive.” It’s fast. It’s fun. It gets people clapping. And we believe it.

But do we really?

Something interesting hit me reading Acts 1:1 today. Luke, the writer, is talking about the first letter he wrote (his self-titled, debut album – “Luke”). Look at what he says:

In my first book I told you about everything Jesus began to do and to teach.

That word “began” jumped off the page and slapped me up beside the head! If I had been Luke, I would have said “I told you about everything Jesus did and taught.” But not Luke. He understood something that we sing and that we say we believe. He knew that Jesus had only just begun! All the things that he wrote about in the book of Luke weren’t history. They were current events! Jesus may have since gone back to heaven, but his work was still alive and strong. It was only the beginning of seeing what Jesus would accomplish.

Here we are, thousands of years later, and that one word – began – fires me up. Jesus is STILL at work! In fact, this is just the beginning of what he wants to do in our lives! The same power that healed the blind, raised the dead, fed thousands, and kicked the teeth out of death is still living and moving.

The only questions is this: do I live like I believe the Bible is just the beginning of all that Jesus would do or merely a history book of events long ago?

I’m ready to choose the first and realize that Jesus has only just begun to change my life. I don’t want to live in the past. I want this to be the beginning.