An Easter Postcript—One Last Question

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Wake-Up Call — "An Easter Postscript—One Last Question"

Host: John David Walt
Guest: David Walt (for music segment)
Date: April 5, 2026
Episode Theme: Easter Sunday Reflection on Faith and the Resurrection

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Overview

This special Easter Sunday episode of The Wake-Up Call centers on the core question of Christian faith: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Host John David Walt invites listeners to move beyond rote responses to Jesus’s resurrection and instead consider their personal, whole-hearted response to the risen Christ. The episode is marked by a spirit of joyful celebration, candid reflection, and a lively Easter hymn singalong with John David’s father, David Walt.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Personal Significance of Easter Sunday

• John David opens with Easter greetings, references the annual sunrise service, and shares a personal note wishing his daughter Lily a happy birthday—his “Easter Lily.”
• He sets a tone of community and tradition, describing the local potluck lunch in Gillette:

  “We have no restaurants really close by. We just all bring a covered dish like in the old days.” (02:00)

2. Consecration and Centering the Heart

• John David leads the community in a prayer of consecration:

  "Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you." (03:00)

• This practice underscores the episode’s call to deep, personal faith.

3. The Question of All Questions: ‘Who do you say I am?’

• The day’s Scripture (Matthew 16:15) is the lens through which the Easter message is explored.

• John David insists the crucial issue for Christians isn't reciting correct doctrine, but making a personal, living response to Jesus.

  “Let’s not make the mistake of just copying down Peter’s answer and turning it into the right answer, as though Jesus were just looking for the correct answer.” (05:45)

  “Faith is not believing the right things about Jesus. Faith is believing Jesus.” (07:27)

Memorable Metaphor: Getting in the Wheelbarrow

• JDW recounts the illustration of the wire walker and the wheelbarrow:

  “He asked the cheering audience, ‘Who will get in the wheelbarrow?’” (07:03)

• Summary: True faith is not agreement, but active trust—stepping out and “getting in the wheelbarrow.”

Student Wisdom: “Where’s the Wheelbarrow?”

• A standout moment: When asked “Who do you say that I am?” a confirmation student, Ava Grace, replied,

  “Where’s the wheelbarrow?” (09:34)

• JDW praises this as the ultimate posture of faith: “I’m all in.”

4. Call to Personal Reflection

• Encourages listeners to examine their own spiritual journeys over Lent:

  “So are you ready to get in the wheelbarrow?” (11:21)

• JDW asks the community to reflect and respond via a feedback link, inviting stories from their Lenten walk.

5. Looking Forward & Community Life

• JDW previews the next series—a deep dive into Ephesians leading up to Pentecost.
• Promotes community learning:

  “The word of God goes better together.” (12:10)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Living Easter Faith:

  “Faith is not the right answer. It is the right response.” (07:55)
  "Where is the wheelbarrow? We’re going all in with you." (10:10)

• On Hope in Hard Seasons:

  “No matter how bad things may be, how hard things may be, it’s going to be okay. Because Jesus is risen from the dead.” (16:02)
  “No matter what, we have won. He has won the victory, and he’s giving it to us.” (16:23)

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Memorable Segment — Easter Hymn Singalong

[12:26]
JDW and his father, David Walt, sing “Low in the Grave He Lay (Christ Arose)” with enthusiastic, joyful vigor.

• They encourage listeners to sing along loudly—“loud enough for them to hear it in Jerusalem at the empty tomb itself.”
• The hymn, complete with verses and chorus, creates a powerful sense of shared worship and celebration.

“We’re going to sing it loud enough for them to hear it in Jerusalem at the empty tomb itself.” — JDW (12:37)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00–02:00]: Easter greetings, family note, potluck tradition in Gillette.
• [03:00]: Consecration prayer.
• [05:30]: Introduction of the “one last question” (Matthew 16:15).
• [07:03]: The wheelbarrow metaphor for faith.
• [09:34]: Student’s response: “Where’s the wheelbarrow?”
• [11:21]: Call to Lenten reflection and listener feedback.
• [12:10]: Preview of Ephesians and community study.
• [12:26–15:47]: Easter hymn singalong with David Walt.
• [16:02]: Closing encouragement and benediction.

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Conclusion

JDW closes the episode with assurance and joy, reminding listeners that Easter’s hope persists in every season:

“He has won the victory, and he’s giving it to us. And he’s like, just hang on. It’s going to turn out right.” (16:23)

The episode ends in a spirit of celebration, unity, and a renewed invitation to respond personally and fully to the living Jesus—not just with words, but with faith that steps into the “wheelbarrow.”

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For further reflection:

• Are you ready to get in the wheelbarrow?
• How is the Jesus story unfolding in your life this season?
• Consider sharing your journey as invited by the host.

Next up: The community will be diving into the book of Ephesians together in the coming weeks.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Good morning Sower nation. It is Sunday, April 5, in the year of our Lord 2026. It is Easter Sunday. He is risen and you say indeed. He is risen. Indeed. Well, I'm John David Walt and this is your wake up call. And today we're gonna do something even yet different than we've been doing on the past Sundays of Lent. This is not a Sunday of Lent where we're just gonna read the text to you. I've got a full fledged, albeit short entry for you on this Easter Sunday morning. Before we get any further, I want to remember and take a point of personal privilege here and wish my youngest daughter Lily, happy birthday. Lily was almost born on 44 of 0 4, April 4, 2000 2004. And she held on for April 5. And so she's my little Easter Lily. I try to send her an Easter Lily every Easter. So yes, it is going to be a great day. We've already had a sunrise service here in Gillette and we're getting ready for our morning gathering for Easter and a fellowship potluck luncheon to follow. So that's how we can eat together in Gillette. We have no restaurants really close by. We just all bring a covered dish like in the old days. Sometimes you're going to have to join us for one of those. But let's, let's, let's, without further ado, do what we do, which is consecration, which is wake up, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you. And we're praying in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Some of you, if you're watching on YouTube, you're seeing my beautiful Easter shirt. I know you love it. I love it too. And I'll probably be wearing it every Sunday for a while. It's beautiful. Bright colors. You're noticing maybe behind me we have the seed bracket and it's empty. It was full of all sorts of vegetables and flower seeds just a little over a week ago and it's already empty. Well, guess what? We're in sowing season and we've already sown them. So we're going to get some more. We have an unlimited supply of seed in this kingdom and all we got to do is sow it. That's what we're doing here this morning. We're meeting with Jesus in the word of God to sow for a great awakening. Now, today's entry is entitled One Last Question. Right? Jesus asking one last question. And our text today is Matthew, chapter 16, verse 15. You'll see. We're back to the question of all questions with this one. Hear now the word of the Lord. But what about you? He asked. Who do you say I am? The word of the Lord. Now consider this. So how are you responding to the question of all questions now that Jesus is risen from the dead? But what about you? Who do you say that I am? Let's not make the mistake of just copying down Peter's answer and turning it into the right answer, as though Jesus were just looking for the correct answer. You are the Messiah, the son of the living God. The truth is, Peter gave Jesus something way beyond a right answer to an important question. Peter offered Jesus a response to divine revelation. Peter did not react to a teacher with a Sunday school answer. He responded to God by leaning in with his life. Remember my confirmation class from the early days of this Lenten journey? I told them the story in those days of a wire walker who stretched a wire across a treacherous canyon in front of a stunned audience. He walked across the wire and back. He asked the audience if they thought he could do it again. They cheered loudly with affirmation. And then he reached for a wheelbarrow and put it on the wire. He asked the cheering audience, who will get in the wheelbarrow? Faith is not believing the right things about Jesus. Faith is believing Jesus. If Jesus is the Messiah, the son of the living God, the bread of life and the light of the world, the good shepherd, the way and the truth and the life, very God of very God. And if what is on offer here is to be transformed, to be remade in the image of God into his likeness, we must respond with our whole lives. Faith is not the right answer. It is the right response. When Peter said, you are the Messiah, the son of the living God, he was in essence responding with the response Jesus had been waiting for. All in. I'm all in. We ask that question of all questions every single week in our year long confirmation class. It's why I'm asking you for Jesus again today. But what about you? Who do you say that I am? Don't give the right answer. Respond to the revelation. I'll never forget how one day, months into our confirmation class, I asked the question of all questions and one of our students, Ava Grace, offered this mind blowing response to the revelation. I said to the group asking for Jesus who do you say that I am? And Ava Grace responded. Where's the wheelbarrow? About that. Where's the wheelbarrow? I'm all in and okay now. Happy Easter. It's your turn. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your son Jesus and Lord Jesus. You are our Lord and our God. Where is the wheelbarrow? We're going all in with you. We are growing. We really want to change and our desire for you is at an all time high. Come, Holy Spirit. Lead on, O King Eternal. The day of March is come. We're praying in your name, Jesus. Amen. Journal prompt today. So are you ready to get in the wheelbarrow? I'd like for you to reflect some on the Jesus story unfolding in your life these days. What has happened in these days of Lent, in these days of Jesus asking? I'm going to put a, a link, in fact today in the email. Hopefully we can get it up on the podcast platforms as well. But for sure it's in the email. I want you to click the link. I'm going to ask you two questions, three tops. But they're just going to be asking for your feedback. What's happened as we've walked together through these 40 days of Lent? What has happened? Tell me the story. And I would just treasure your response to the question. You just click on the link. It'll take you a couple of minutes or however long you want to put into it. I'll take it. You know, I'm sitting out here behind this desk in this little town and I know I'm talking to a lot of you. I know it. I sense you. And I'd love to hear what's happening. I'm, I'm yearning to know. So do it as a favor to me, just click on that link in the PS and the email today and, and let me know. And of course I'm eager for Easter Monday. Been looking forward to it now for a long time. We're diving into the great letter we call Ephesians. And we got about six weeks till the day of Pentecost together in that letter. We're going to go verse by verse. We're going to dig a deep well. We're going to be encouraged and inspired. If you haven't gotten the unpuzzled book, there's still some in the seed house. You just let us know. We'll get it in the mail and it's going to be a good time together. Encourage your friends to join us. The word of God goes better together. So we're going to sing one of the great Easter hymns of all time today. And I'm thankful Dad is with me. So brace yourself. We're going big this morning, and then we're going to church. So here we go. Hey, everybody. Dad, we are. We are getting ready to celebrate Easter today at the Gillette Methodist Church. And this is a pregame warmup. And tell everybody our favorite Easter song.

[B]

It is. Low in the grave he lay.

[A]

What's the number?

[B]

It's 2:52. Christ arose. It's low.

[A]

It's. It's the classic. Up from the grave, heroes. Now we're going to get loud with it, for it's all said and done. But get your great redeemers. Praise him already. Turn to page or PYM number 252. We're going to sing all three verses, and we're going to sing it loud enough for them to hear it in Jerusalem at the empty tomb itself. Good.

[B]

Amen.

[A]

All right.

[B]

Lo, in the grave he lay Jesus, my Savior Waiting the coming day Jesus, my Lord Here we go. Up from the grave he arose Heroes with the mighty triumph over his host he arose he arose A victor from the dark domain he lives forever with his saints to reign he arose he arose he arose he arose Hallelujah. Christ Sorrow, verse 2. They watch his bed Jesus, my Savior Vainly they seal the dead Jesus, my Lord up from the grave he arose he arose in right he triumphed Or Israel he arose he arose A victor from the dark domain and he lives forever with the saints to reign he arose he arose he arose he arose Hallelujah. Christ arose Last verse. Death cannot keep his prey Jesus, my Savior Ease on my bow Jesus, my Lord all you got now. Up from the grave he arose he arose For his mighty triumph O' er his foes he arose, he arose A victor from the dark domain and he lives forever with his saints to reign he arose he arose he arose he arose I hear Hallelujah. Christ, I gave that air.

[A]

That is a wrap right there. That's all we had here in Gillette. And I think they could hear us in Jerusalem today.

[B]

I know they could. In Gould. In Gould.

[A]

Gould is a town that way, about 20 miles. Well, guys, it's a great, glorious day. No matter how bad things may be, how hard things may be, it's going to be okay. Because Jesus is risen from the dead.

[B]

Amen.

[A]

And no matter what, just. No matter what, we have won. He has won the victory, and he's giving it to us. And he's like, just hang on it's going to turn out right. So let's celebrate today at church. Let's just enjoy the Lord today. And we would like to see you on the field today. We're going to see you at the the House for The Awakening. I'm J.D. walt.

[B]

And I'm David Walt.