Monthly Newsletter
April 2025
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
Many holidays make up our calendar year. Usually they also involve plans, purchases, certain types of meals and such. But not Easter! This holiday doesn’t require any special types of foods. This celebration does not involve endless shopping and running around. This holiday doesn’t necessarily demand that we schedule the whole month around it to sneak in every family member and activity we can. Sure there are baskets and bunnies and Peeps and new outfits and some activities. But those do not overshadow the reality of what we celebrate. For us as Christians we realize that Jesus Christ dominates this celebration and in return He brings meaning to everything!
This holiday does however make a far greater demand on us! Contrary to our cultural beliefs, you CANNOT celebrate the true reality of Easter and remain unchanged! You cannot “check” Easter off your list once a year and truly embrace it’s reality. This holiday demands that we face the reality of who God is, who we are and what we are to do in light of that!
Who is God?
Go ask the average person who God is and you are likely to get a plethora of answers. Typically people think of God in terms of what THEY would do if they had unlimited power. They think to themselves, “If I were God I would do such and such.” Unfortunately, this also spirals down into what they think God should do for them. People tend to have “belief” and then inevitably they believe that God affirms that. The sad reality is that this kind of thinking can even infect “Christians.” Take some time to read the passage before the one above. Philippians 2:1-8 shows us who God truly is. He is exalted, all powerful, holy, loving and merciful. It is He who laid aside His heavenly splendor to be among us. Why? Because we needed enlightenment, peace, affirmation, instruction? No! Because we needed a Savior!
God has a name and that name is Jesus Christ!
Who are we?
Again, humanity has a basic presupposition about themselves. People are thought to be basically good with only a few flaws here and there. And whatever flaws happen to be exposed typically find their fix in some form of self-help, victim mentality or scapegoat blaming! Beloved, the Bible paints a very different picture of humanity. We are rebels, enemies of God, prone toward wickedness and pride. And we see that when we look at the Cross! When God emptied Himself and came all the way down here to us, what did we do? We crucified Him! But that was the plan because through death, He defeated death! Through our sinful actions, He took our punishment!
What should we do?
One simple word! Bow! Bow before the risen King of kings. Bow before the risen sin defeater. Bow before the One who defeated death. Bow before the Creator God who became a part of His creation in order to save it! You say, “How do I bow to Him every day?” Read Philippians 2 sometime. You’ll see that we are to put others in the body before ourselves, grow in our salvation, stop complaining about things not going our way, and pour ourselves out for this amazing King! Everyone, no matter who or where, will one day bow to King Jesus. We either bow in faith now, or in shame later.
I close this with an encouragement and a challenge! WBC, this is the King we serve. Aren’t you glad that He gives us the grace to not only be in His family, but also to make Him known! What a privilege, what a God!
The challenge: Let’s represent this King rightly! You know, if people celebrate Christmas they aren’t necessarily expected to live that holiday out. But if we live in the light of the Resurrection Message, we better be living it!
Following our Risen King,
Pastor Brandon
Philippians 2:9-11
Many holidays make up our calendar year. Usually they also involve plans, purchases, certain types of meals and such. But not Easter! This holiday doesn’t require any special types of foods. This celebration does not involve endless shopping and running around. This holiday doesn’t necessarily demand that we schedule the whole month around it to sneak in every family member and activity we can. Sure there are baskets and bunnies and Peeps and new outfits and some activities. But those do not overshadow the reality of what we celebrate. For us as Christians we realize that Jesus Christ dominates this celebration and in return He brings meaning to everything!
This holiday does however make a far greater demand on us! Contrary to our cultural beliefs, you CANNOT celebrate the true reality of Easter and remain unchanged! You cannot “check” Easter off your list once a year and truly embrace it’s reality. This holiday demands that we face the reality of who God is, who we are and what we are to do in light of that!
Who is God?
Go ask the average person who God is and you are likely to get a plethora of answers. Typically people think of God in terms of what THEY would do if they had unlimited power. They think to themselves, “If I were God I would do such and such.” Unfortunately, this also spirals down into what they think God should do for them. People tend to have “belief” and then inevitably they believe that God affirms that. The sad reality is that this kind of thinking can even infect “Christians.” Take some time to read the passage before the one above. Philippians 2:1-8 shows us who God truly is. He is exalted, all powerful, holy, loving and merciful. It is He who laid aside His heavenly splendor to be among us. Why? Because we needed enlightenment, peace, affirmation, instruction? No! Because we needed a Savior!
God has a name and that name is Jesus Christ!
Who are we?
Again, humanity has a basic presupposition about themselves. People are thought to be basically good with only a few flaws here and there. And whatever flaws happen to be exposed typically find their fix in some form of self-help, victim mentality or scapegoat blaming! Beloved, the Bible paints a very different picture of humanity. We are rebels, enemies of God, prone toward wickedness and pride. And we see that when we look at the Cross! When God emptied Himself and came all the way down here to us, what did we do? We crucified Him! But that was the plan because through death, He defeated death! Through our sinful actions, He took our punishment!
What should we do?
One simple word! Bow! Bow before the risen King of kings. Bow before the risen sin defeater. Bow before the One who defeated death. Bow before the Creator God who became a part of His creation in order to save it! You say, “How do I bow to Him every day?” Read Philippians 2 sometime. You’ll see that we are to put others in the body before ourselves, grow in our salvation, stop complaining about things not going our way, and pour ourselves out for this amazing King! Everyone, no matter who or where, will one day bow to King Jesus. We either bow in faith now, or in shame later.
I close this with an encouragement and a challenge! WBC, this is the King we serve. Aren’t you glad that He gives us the grace to not only be in His family, but also to make Him known! What a privilege, what a God!
The challenge: Let’s represent this King rightly! You know, if people celebrate Christmas they aren’t necessarily expected to live that holiday out. But if we live in the light of the Resurrection Message, we better be living it!
Following our Risen King,
Pastor Brandon
