Preparatory Service - The Cross
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This is Passion Week
This is Passion Week
It is the week we recognize as leading up to Jesus’ unimaginable suffering and death… and then the resurrection
It was the week of Jesus triumphal and celebrated entry into Jerusalem
It was the week of the FINAL Passover supper - under the Old Testament law
It was the week that Jesus instituted what we now know as communion
It was the week of Jesus’ agonizing prayer in Gethsemane
It was the week of betrayal by Judas… one of Jesus 12 closest friends
It was the week of Jesus unfair trial, death sentence, and severe torture
It was the week that Jesus took His final breath - declaring “It is finished”
It was the week when it became dark in the middle of the afternoon, when there was a great earthquake, and the temple curtain was ripped from top to bottom
It was the week that Roman guards were assigned to keep Jesus in the tomb
It was the week that culminated in Jesus’ victorious resurrection
The Cross
The Cross
As we think about preparing for communion, I would like for us to briefly consider what Christ did on the cross for us… and what we can and should be willing to give in return.
The cross is central to Christianity...
What does the cross of Jesus signify or mean to you?
Without the cross, there is...
Without it, there is...
… no perfect and sinless sacrifice
… no remission of sins
… no blood to cover our sins
… no death - and therefore, no resurrection
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently,
He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
14 As many were astonied at thee;
His visage was so marred more than any man,
And his form more than the sons of men:
15 So shall he sprinkle many nations;
The kings shall shut their mouths at him:
For that which had not been told them shall they see;
And that which they had not heard shall they consider.
1 Who hath believed our report?
And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of a dry ground:
He hath no form nor comeliness;
And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men;
A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
And we hid as it were our faces from him;
He was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs,
And carried our sorrows:
Yet we did esteem him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities:
The chastisement of our peace was upon him;
And with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned every one to his own way;
And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
Yet he opened not his mouth:
He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
So he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment:
And who shall declare his generation?
For he was cut off out of the land of the living:
For the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked,
And with the rich in his death;
Because he had done no violence,
Neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,
He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;
For he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great,
And he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
Because he hath poured out his soul unto death:
And he was numbered with the transgressors;
And he bare the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 52:13-53:
Jesus died for our sins… for my sins… for your sins…
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
But he was wounded [pierced] for our transgressions, He was bruised [crushed] for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.
Our sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus…
His sinless sacrifice of Himself paid the penalty for our sins…
we all deserved the death penalty
But that is not all…
We all have committed sins and Jesus died for those sins
Have you ever been sinned against?
Have you ever been hurt deeply by someone else’s actions?
Jesus also died on the cross to take those hurts… those griefs… those sorrows… that we have suffered
Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
One way to visualize this is to think about the shape of the cross...
the horizontal crossbeam … one side covers our sins… the other side covers those deep hurts when others sinned against us
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Also, the cross is both a vertical beam and a horizontal beam...
These are symbolic of the two great commands
English Standard Version Chapter 22
when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced cthe Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 dAnd one of them, ea lawyer, asked him a question fto test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, g“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And ha second is like it: iYou shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 jOn these two commandments depend
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
The vertical beam represents our relationship to God...
Do we love the Lord God with everything we have… with ALL our heart, with ALL our soul, with ALL our mind… with ALL of ourselves?
This is the most important command and relationship we have...
The horizontal beam represents our relationships with each other
Do we love our neighbors as we love ourselves?
Do we love the people in the pews around us as much we we love our own families?
Do we love those we interact with in Christ-like ways?
Our relationships with God and others indicate something about our spiritual well-being and health
Healthy relationships with God and others (particularly those in the local body of Christ) model the CROSS of Christ to the general public
Tonight is a time for each one of us to reflect on what has been going on in each of our individual lives…
How is my relationship with God? with my brothers & sisters?
What areas of my life is God reminding I need to confess and correct?
What has God been showing me?
What areas are a struggle and you would like for us to pray for you?
Personal Testimony
Personal Testimony
I am grateful to be part of this body… grateful to be part of a group of believers commited to loving and obeying God as well as loving and caring for each other
I am very much looking forward to sharing communion with each of you … reflecting on and remembering on what Christ has done and continues to do in my life
I appreciate each and everyone of you and the value and contribution you add to this local body. To my knowledge, I am at peace with my brothers and sisters and am grateful for the peace of God that surpasses knowledge
My life is not free of struggle and frustration and God continues to remind me of these areas
One aspect that has been tough for me is the sense that there is not enough time to get done what needs to be done… and multiple things suffer as a result
Even though I feel a high degree of leadership inadequacy at times, my heartfelt desire is to rely on the Holy Spirit and put myself into it
my relationship with my family suffers
These verses from 1 Peter have been a challenge and are my desire… but I know I am incapable of living up to this in my own strength...
By the grace of God, I want to be this kind of a church leader...
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
By the grace of God, I want to be this kind of a church leader...
Shepherd the flock = feed the flock
Exercising oversight = taking the oversight
Not under compulsion, but willingly = not by constraint, but willingly
Not for shameful gain, but eagerly = not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind
Not domineering... but being examples = not being lords… but being ensamples
I welcome your input in my life and if there are inconsistencies, I would appreciate you bringing it to my attention