As some of you may know, I’m originally from Chicago. And while I didn’t live there very long, that’s where my sports allegiances lie. And that means I’m a Chicago Blackhawks fan. That view is becoming less and less popular around these parts as the Dallas Stars have dramatically improved. If you follow professional hockey, you know that we’ve had Stanley Cup fever for the past several years. Sadly, our dreams were cut short this season. But during that time, my youngest son Joseph has developed an interest in the sport and asked Martha and I if he could play. But there’s a special catch with hockey. You see, if you can walk or run, you can participate in almost any sport. But not so with hockey. You see, hockey is played on this real slick stuff called ice, and you’ve got to master that before you can even think about playing the game of hockey. Unfortunately for Joe, he doesn’t come from what I would call a legacy of skilled ice skaters. In fact, Martha says my ice skating ability is in the style of a “flailing polar bear”. But Joe is a real good athlete and I knew he was going to pick it up quickly.

This past Good Friday I was at my post in the Hub. Just as service was about to start a gentleman walked in, noticed my uniform of a light blue Easter t-shirt, and headed right for me. It was very clear from his movements that this guy was on a mission. He asked me “Are you a pastor?” I told him “yes” and he quickly said, “Well, I need to get saved again and I need to get baptized.”

We've come a long way since this nation was founded on the solid premise that some truths are self-evident such as, "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..." But what if you live in a culture where no truth is self-evident? No one can be wrong in such a culture and everyone can be right if you believe you're right. These students are learning a new morality unknown to previous generations of Americans that defines immorality as any act of “intolerance” that interferes with another's autonomy. All is tolerated except the intolerant and all are included except the exclusive.

It seems like the day before taxes are due is an appropriate time to remind you of Benjamin Franklin's famous observation, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Of course that's not exactly true. There are two other experiences in life no one can escape - trials and temptations. While these are used by the devil to defeat us, God uses trials to grow us up and transform us into fully devoted followers of Jesus. We will see this morning that trials and temptations have different effects depending on our response to them. After all, the same sun that melts wax also hardens clay.

Wizard of Oz clip...Isn't it amazing what a little information can do for your confidence? Dorothy and her friends were scared to death by the "great and powerful Oz" until little Toto pulled back the curtain. You saw their fear give way to bold confidence once they knew the truth about the Wizard. Today I want to pull back the curtain. I want to expose the enemy of our souls. I'll warn you in advance that we will not discover some impotent old man who couldn't hurt a flea, far from it. Satan is a formidable foe. But if we know the truth about who he is and what he is up to, we can overcome our fears and gain confidence in God's strategy to foil his evil intentions. Life is hard enough without the added burden of living in the dark about the devil.

Good morning! Welcome to Fellowship Dallas. I’m so glad that you’re here today to worship with us. Last week we celebrated Easter and we had so many people attend church here. When you combine all of the adult services with our children’s ministry, we had well over 3,000 people join us to celebrate Christ and His resurrection. We really had a great weekend. I am so thankful to serve on staff at a church that is genuinely welcoming to all who enter our doors to worship each and every week.

Isn't this a great day? It's good to be alive. That's what Easter is about - life. Life is good. Even when life is bad, it's better than the alternative. Everyone celebrates new life this time of year, even the non-religious. Last Sunday was the first day of spring, the first season of the new year when the days get longer, the birds sing louder and new life begins to appear. We all seek life. We cherish it and we hold onto it as long as we possibly can. That's why one of the worst things we can ever hear is, "You have a life-threatening illness with no possible cure and you don't have very long to live." That's what my friend, Barry Anino, heard last week.

How many of you read through the whole NT? Congratulations. Why did you do it? Guilt? Peer pressure? My guess is that you read for 8 straight weeks because you believed that reading the Bible would benefit you in some way.

This has been an amazing week for me. First, I was pre-selected to receive my bank's "very best credit card." Then I got a phone call telling me I had won 3.5 million dollars and a new Mercedes Benz. It was a good thing I had access to all that money so I could help a member of our church...Ever been scammed like that?

The Importance of Biblical Instruction