Matt Henslee

The God who saves His people is the God who will keep His people and finally present His people in joy.

The church survives falsehood by becoming spiritually healthy.

Counterfeit Christianity divides the church while apostolic truth steadies the church.

The return of Christ will expose the ungodly and vindicate the righteous.

What looks spiritual isn’t always of the Spirit, and what isn’t from the Spirit will always lead to destruction.

If we forget how God has judged rebellion in the past, we’ll grow careless with His grace in the present.

Because our unchanging faith will always be under attack, we must steadfastly contend for the truth with conviction and care.

Before we’re called to contend for the faith, we must be grounded in who we are in Christ.

Every pastor knows.

Easter often comes with full rooms and parking lots, and a kind of energy that feels almost electric. You preach your heart out, watch people respond, and go home exhausted and grateful.

And then… the Sunday after comes.

The crowd is thinner, the room feels quieter, and momentum seems to dip. If you’re not careful, discouragement comes calling, so let me encourage you, pastor.

Christ is still risen.

Not “was risen last Sunday.” Not “risen when attendance peaks.” He is risen. Present tense; an ongoing reality. The empty tomb is not a moment we celebrate once a year, but is the foundation we stand on every single week.

That means this Sunday matters just as much as last (Easter) Sunday. The same gospel you preached to a packed room is the same gospel you preach to a smaller crowd, and it has not lost an ounce of its power.

Jesus still saves.

The Spirit is not more active when the room is full and less active when it is not. He is still drawing, convicting, and softening hard hearts. The miracle of salvation does not depend on your crowd size.

Sometimes we forget that some of the most significant moments in ministry happen in the smaller rooms, the simpler conversations, and the seemingly normal Sundays.

That family that came on Easter and came back? That matters. That member who needed steady encouragement more than a big moment? That matters. That person wrestling with faith who didn’t respond last week but is still listening? That matters.

Do not underestimate what God is doing simply because it feels less visible. God still uses your faithfulness in extraordinary ways. Week in and week out, you pray, proclaim the Word, and show up when it’s hard and when it feels unseen as a faithful under-shepherd.

And here’s the truth we need to remember: God does His deepest work through consistent, ordinary faithfulness. Anyone can ride the wave of Easter, but the kingdom is built in the quiet perseverence through the gift of each and every Sunday.

The kingdom of God is built when you preach with the same conviction to 80 as you did to 180. It’s built when you love your people, not as a crowd, but as souls. It’s built when you refuse to measure success by attendance alone and instead trust that God is at work in ways you cannot always see.

So, pastor, don't lose heart.

You are not called to produce results, you're called to be faithful. The risen Christ walks with you into this Sunday just as surely as He did last week, and He'll do so again next week, and the week after, and the week after that.

The risen King turns confusion into belief and sorrow into mission.

Holy Week begins with celebration (click here to hear a sermon all about that).

On Palm Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna!” as the King is welcomed with palm branches and praise (Luke 19:38). Yet even in that moment, He knows what lies ahead. The same city that cheers Him will soon jeer Him.

As the week unfolds, we see the heart of our Savior:

He cleanses the temple, calling people back to true worship.

He teaches with authority, confronting empty religion.

He shares a final meal with His disciples, preparing them for what’s coming.

He prays in Gethsemane, surrendering fully to the Father’s will.

Then comes the cross.

On Good Friday, Jesus is betrayed, beaten, and crucified. The sinless Son of God dies in the place of sinners. But what looked like defeat was actually the fulfillment of God’s plan: “It is finished” (John 19:30). Our sin, our guilt, our judgment, all laid on Him.

He is buried, silence falls, but Sunday changes everything.

The tomb is empty because Jesus is alive, death is defeated, and hope is restored. The resurrection declares that sin has been conquered and eternal life is now offered to all who believe (Luke 24:6).

This is the message of Holy Week: The King who was rejected is the Savior who reigns.

If you have never trusted in Jesus, turn to Him today. Repent of your sin and believe in the One who died and rose again for you. He is not just a figure in history; He is the living Lord who saves.

But if you have trusted in Him, don’t keep this hope to yourself. Invite someone to come with you for worship this Easter. Sit with them, pray for them, and share with them. The empty tomb is too good a message to keep quiet, why?

You can be close to Jesus, exposed to Jesus, and even impressed by Him, but it doesn’t matter unless you truly receive Him.

Jesus is the King, but when He doesn’t meet our expectations, we reveal whether we’ll truly receive Him or try to redefine Him.

Experiential and real Christianity is lived out face to face in truth, friendship, and peace.

Since who you imitate reveals whose child you are, our Big Idea this morning is short and to the point: The life you imitate reveals the God you know.

When the desire to be first overtakes the call to love one another, the church begins to fracture.

A worthy witness partners with God’s mission by supporting God’s people for the sake of God’s Name.