For all of us, death is the final word; the full stop of all our lives. Yet, Easter Sunday morning changed everything. The script was flipped. Jesus was no longer dead – He had risen! John shows us through his, Peter’s and Mary’s response to the empty tomb how the resurrection brings us from doubt to faith, weeping to joy and fear to courage.

John 18:1-11 explains why Good Friday is ‘Good’ Friday and not ‘Horror’ or ‘Tragic’ Friday. John shows us that at the heart of all the awful, dreadful things that will unfold over the next 24 hours, culminating in Jesus’ crucifixion, is the Saviour who purposes all these things for the salvation of his people.

Tragedy is a reality that confronts us in a fallen world. In Luke 13:1-5, Jesus answers the 'why' of tragedy by urging us to turn to Him.

Judgement is an uncomfortable word; the most-sure-to-kill-a-conversation topic in our culture. The idea of God judging is laughable; it’s just a made-up scary story to make us more compliant – nice and good. Far better to be depressed about how the world is and live in denying the reality that there is a holy God who will hold us all to account. Jesus, however, won’t let us live in a virtual reality. God’s judgement is real and it’s coming. In Luke 12:49-59, Jesus confronts us with the reality of God’s judgement and teaches us how to respond to it.

What’s your Second Coming plan? Are you ready for a loud trumpet to sound, the sky to be unrolled like a scroll and Jesus, in all His glory, come on the clouds of heaven? What if it happened on your way to work tomorrow? Jesus teaches that if we’re ready or not, He is coming. The certain future of Jesus’ coming again, thus, shapes the way we live our day to day lives. In this passage, Jesus calls us to be ready and describes what it means to be ready.

Jesus commands, “Don’t be anxious.” Yet, Jesus isn’t being trite or insensitive to our worry. Instead Jesus digs into our anxiety’s cause, provides a cure and shows us the alternative to anxiety - generosity.

Jesus tell us that a wasted life is one spent in the pursuit of possessions. He tells us that things don't satisfy and don't save. He also explains the things that ultimately matter.

Jesus addresses a fear that is common to us all: a fear of man. Think about how often you’ve asked these sorts of questions: what does he think of me? What will they do to me? What if she rejects me for what I say? Like any fear, fear of man cripples us and as Jesus explains, it has eternal consequences. Yet, Jesus anticipates our fear in order to give us confidence to face it. This confidence stems from fearing God over fearing man.

In this passage, Jesus prosecutes the religious lawyers of Israel. In so doing, he also brings us to the bar to reveal the danger of legalism and the hope of the gospel.

Looks can be deceiving! Jesus says that just because you appear to be a Christian, doesn’t mean you are one. You can be a fake follower of Jesus. Jesus gets us to go beyond the externals and into our hearts through explaining the danger of hypocrisy and the deliverance of sincerity.

How we handle the truth about Jesus – who He is, what He said and what He did – has eternal consequences. Thus, Jesus takes us through two tests to see how we’ve handled the truth: the reflex or ‘response’ test and the eye or ‘reception’ test. 

As Jesus is confronted by sceptics, He teaches that in His arrival the kingdom of God has come. Jesus is the strong man who came to plunder Satan's kingdom and deliver our souls. We are forced to asked the question: what kingdom do we belong to? Whose side are we on?

Jesus encourages us to boldly make our requests to God, being assured that He is a Father that is ready, willing and able to provide for the needs of His children. We can also be assured that as a good Father, He always answers our prayers to His own glory which is for our good.

Prayer was a regular pattern of Jesus' life that caught the attention of His disciples. His communion with His Father was a joy they also desired. Thus, Jesus teaches them - and us - how to pray. In the Lord's Prayer, we learn to call God our Father, hallow His name and ask Him for daily provision, pardon and protection.

We live in a busy world and our own lives can often be hectic. With endless to-do lists and booked up calendars, Jesus reminds us that there is one thing necessary: to sit at His feet and listen to His Word.

Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan reminds us who our neighbour is, while also calling us to worship the One who supremely showed neighbourly compassion by rescuing sinners from their sin.

The foundation of joy is our salvation by the God who delights to save. Whatever the season – the ebbs, flows, valleys and mountains of our walk with God – this is one joy that will never disappear and never disappoint. 

Being on mission, proclaiming the kingdom of God's arrival in Jesus and calling people to peace with God in Him - this is labour. Yet, we have the assurance that the harvest is plentiful and God is in the business of raising up workers and redeeming souls. The fallout of people's response to our witness will either be judgement or salvation.