Resources for Holy Week

Starting Monday, April 6 we usher into Holy Week - the time in the church calendar where we slowly reflect on the last days leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Below are some sermons from Desiring God to better prepare your heart this week.

Also check out our sermons from our Luke series:

• Unholy Week - Hated, Mistreated, Rejected, and Mocked

• Unholy Week - Let Down and Disappointed

• Unholy Week - Oppressed, Marginalized, and Cast Out

Palm Sunday:

Reflect today on these messages.

"Hosanna" - John 12:13

“...when we sing "Hosanna" now, let's make it very personal. Let's make it our praise and our confidence. The Son of David has come. He has saved us from guilt and fear and hopelessness. Salvation! Salvation belongs to our God and to the Son! Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!”

"The Sovereign Sacrifice: Foreknown, Foretold, For Faith" - John 13:12-20

“Believer, be strong. There is good reason to stand with Jesus and to live for him this week.”

Maundy Thursday:

Reflect today on this message.

"Being Loved by Christ" - John 13:1:

“This is what we long for, and this is what we have by faith—an experience of being loved with a love that lasts, that is not fickle, or uncertain, or capricious, but durable, constant, stable.”

Good Friday:

Reflect today on this message.

"The Third Word From the Cross" - John 19:26-27 

“If Jesus could provide for the needs of his own in the moment of his greatest weakness and humiliation, how much more can he provide for your need in his present wealth of power and exaltation”

Easter:

For Easter Sunday, we invite each LifeGroup to participate at 6:15am via Zoom or Google hangouts to have a watch party together. At the end of the Easter Sunday sermon, we will invite everyone to go outside to enjoy the sunrise together as a church family.

In addition, you can reflect on these messages. 

"Jesus is Alive to Serve" - John 11:15:

“...because he has overcome death, we can overcome death by faith in him.”

"Irrevocable Joy" - John 16:22

“Joy in being with Jesus is an unbroken line from now to eternity. It will not be cut off by his death or ours.”

"I Have Seen the Lord" - John 20:1-23

“...this world that we love so much, compared to [the new heavens and new earth], will be like a candle compared to the sun”

Below are some extra teachings out of the Gospel of John that connected to pain and suffering and the call to love one another. We found this encouraging and applicable in light of the pandemic.

Additional Resources:

Below are some extra teachings out of the Gospel of John that are connected to pain and suffering and the call to love one another. We found this encouraging and applicable in light of the pandemic.

Look at the book (3 parts) John 11

Part 1: "How Do We Read the Bible Stories" 

Part 2: "Why Did Jesus Let Lazarus Die?" 

Part 3: "God's Love Allows Pain and Loss" 

Sermons:

"Even When it Hurts: How God Reveals Himself in Pain and Loss" - John 11:1-6 

"This Illness is for the Glory of God" - John 11:1-16

Handling Finances in a Pandemic

If you haven’t been already, each of us will in some way be affected by the economic decline caused by the novel coronavirus. Jesus calls us not to live in fear, but to trust that He will provide all that we need to glorify Him (Philippians 4:19). In light of this, how should we think about the finances that have been entrusted to us by the Lord in the days ahead?

A. If you have lost or are expecting to lose income

1. Let your LifeGroup know and visit our needs page to request financial assistance. We are here to come alongside and support you.

2. In the coming days, depending on your level of income and the number of people in your household, you will be receiving a stimulus check as a result of the recent CARES Act passed by Congress. Use this money to meet your basic needs (i.e. food, housing, utilities, healthcare, transportation).

3. If you have not already, use this tool to rebuild your budget for a crisis.

4. If you have an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months of essential living costs saved, now is a good time to use this money. If you don’t have an emergency fund, save as you are able to build one.

5. Leave any retirement or other investment accounts alone. Although some penalties are being deferred on early retirement withdrawals right now as a result of the CARES Act, this should be avoided. Ultimately, withdrawing money early is putting yourself into debt and will be harmful to you in the long run.

B. If your income level has not changed

1. The temptation to hoard and self-protect is even greater now than it normally is in our culture. This is a great time to be a light to our culture that our hope is not in money, but in Jesus. Our desire is to be like the church seen in Acts 2:42-47 and 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 where the church was sharing and meeting one another’s needs as anyone had any.

2. Many of us are working from home, which has decreased our overall cost of living expenses. This is a great time to increase generosity in your life and make cuts on nonessential spending. Continue to tithe or start tithing if you aren’t already. Visit our needs page to see additional ways you can offer support. Share what you have with others around you that are in need. Support local small businesses that are struggling financially. Reach out to a missionary to see if they need additional support.

3. Again, depending on your level of income and number of people in your household, you will also be receiving a stimulus check from the government. If your essentials are met and you have money saved for an emergency, consider giving to someone who may be in greater need than you at this time.

Regardless of your current financial situation, we would encourage you to use Midtown’s daily Lent Guide as we practice fasting corporately during the Lent season. Make a daily practice of thanking God for his specific provision to you each day and for his ultimate provision in giving us his best in Jesus.

Additionally, here are a few resources to help you think through how to manage your finances in the midst of a crisis:

1. Steps for Preparing a Crisis Budget (Crown Financial)

2. What to do if you’re out of work or miss a paycheck (Financial Peace)

3. Generosity in a Time of Hoarding (Gospel Coalition)

4. Generosity | Following Jesus Together

How to Socially Distance without Social Isolation

In the midst of a pandemic, an economic recession is not just a distant concern for many people, but rather an imminent reality. Unfortunately, just as social distancing can lead to economic recession, it can also lead to a “social recession.” As our governments debate drastic measures to curb an economic recession, how can we as a church family fight to keep the necessary social distancing measures from leading to a “social recession” in our community? 

1. Make a Plan 

It can be easy in this season to drift into isolation. To fight our natural inclination towards apathy, it’s important to make a social plan for your day. If you haven’t yet, check out our “Developing a Rule of Life” resource to help get you started. Some things to make a plan for include:

• Who will I reach out to daily? (coworkers, LifeGroup, family members, missional friends)

• How can I regularly spend time with Jesus? (reading Scripture, listening to worship music, journaling, prayer)

• How can I use my time well? (going on walks, activities with children, cleaning, virtual hang outs)   

You and your LifeGroup might also use this time to make a plan to check in on one another. Ideas can include:

• Ask LifeGroup members to call two people in the group per day

  • You or a core group member could set up assigned dates and people or the members can develop their own system

• Alternatively, create “check in” partners so everyone is connecting with someone on a daily basis 

  • Mix them up on a weekly or half-weekly basis so your group gets to know each other better

2. Get Creative with Technology

Social distancing is hard, but today we have the unprecedented advantage of technology. Here are some ways to use technology to continue to gather with your community. 

• Video Chat Software: There are several great video chat softwares available, including Zoom, Facetime, Google Hangouts, Marco Polo and Skype. You can play a board game, have a children’s play date, do an exercise video, or even have a virtual coffee date with friends all over video chat.

• Rhythm Substitutes: Even though we can’t physically be together, here are some current ways you may substitute your time together. (If you have more ideas, we’d love to hear them.)

  • Netflix Party Extension: This browser extension allows you to watch Netflix together with a group chat. 

  • House Party App and JackBox: You can video chat with a group while playing a variety of games, including trivia and a game similar to “Apples to Apples.”

• Be Tech Support for the Vulnerable: The truth is that some of the most vulnerable people in our community are also the least technologically savvy. The poor and the elderly are statistically less likely to have internet at all, much less have experience using apps or software. Reach out to the vulnerable people in your life and offer to walk them through how to use the technology available to us, including everything from video chat to online food and grocery delivery.

3. Be Honest with God and Others

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together talks about the danger of misplaced, uncommunicated expectations in community: "Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial." [1]

In other words, we are wired to be relational creatures and sin can easily have us drift into unspoken expectations that can easily fester into resentment, bitterness, and social isolation. If you feel loneliness creep in ask yourself, “Am I taking my relational needs to God first?” “Are my relational expectations I have on others biblical,  realistic, and has been previously communicated to them?” “Am I doing my part to actively engage with others as well?” “Is there any resentment that I need to repent to God before I communicate my relational need to LifeGroup?”0

As we struggle in the fight against loneliness, the Lord promises us that he not only sees our sorrow, but that he is there with us in the midst of pain and suffering (Psalm 56:8). We also know that whatever happens in this broken world, one day we will spend eternity in a place with no suffering, loneliness, or depression. Right now we’re running the race and encouraging others to run with us (Hebrews 12:1), but our victory is already won. By being “alone together,” we can not only prevent the spread of disease, but also prevent the spread of social isolation in our church family and community.

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[1] - For more on this, check out our resource “The Five Stages of Community (or Why the Unicorn Must Die)” at FollowingJesusTogether.com