ServeTour Dallas makes Gospel impact; Christian leaders react to Biden proclamation; Learning to wait in prayer

A group of local churches joined the Send Relief Serve Tour event in Dallas to serve those in need and open doors for Gospel conversations.

Over the course of the weekend of March 15-16, 48 churches from across nine states convened in Dallas to make a tangible impact in the community.

Serve Tour Dallas generated more than 520 Gospel conversations, which led to at least 34 people professing faith in Christ.

On one of the projects, volunteers partnered with Bartimaeus Baptist Temple, a church serving individuals with disabilities, as the congregation hosted its first outreach event in at least 15 years. The project resulted in five new believers and created a lasting partnership with the church.

Send Relief Serve Tour projects spanned a wide range of activities, from providing material assistance to schools, churches and homeowners to other forms of outreach in the community.

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President Joe Biden is facing backlash from religious conservatives for proclaiming March 31 – which coincided with Easter Sunday this year – as “Transgender Day of Visibility.”

Biden issued the proclamation on Good Friday, calling on “all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.”

On his daily podcast “The Briefing,” Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler said Biden’s long proclamation juxtaposed with his very short one about Easter make the White House’s priorities “abundantly clear.”

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Every day, hundreds of thousands of people die without the hope of Jesus. Your faithful prayers will make a difference. That’s why the IMB created a free 18-month calendar, called “Impacting Lostness Through Prayer”. It provides guidance, reminders and encouragement as you pray for individuals and communities who have yet to hear the gospel. Learn more about this free resource at IMB.org/prayercalendar.

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In our Toolbox, scholar Malcolm Yarnell gives us seven reasons the resurrection brings joy to Christians. Here are three of them.

1. Justification: Paul writes that Jesus was raised from the dead to justify believers (Romans 4:25). In other words, we can come into the presence of the divine throne of judgment and know that we will be declared righteous. We can be declared to be right, not because of who we are and what we have done, but because of who Jesus is and what he has done.

2. Transformation: Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we know that believers will also be physically raised from the dead. Indeed, all of creation is even now being fundamentally and permanently changed by the impact of his resurrection from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20-27).

3. Access to God: The resurrection of Jesus and his ascension to the right hand of the Father show that God has given Jesus Christ total rule over the present age and over the age to come (Ephesians 1:20-23). Brothers and sisters, we have direct relationship to the God-Man who rules on the very throne of heaven! And that means we never need to fear coming to God for forgiveness and restoration.