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Good Friday: Is it a cheerful event or a solemn time?

Some argue that it is to be cheerful; after all, it is “Good.” Jesus died on the cross procuring our salvation in time and history. Without his death, redemption and removal of God’s wrath doesn’t happen. How can we not rejoice? So rejoice together, remember his suffering, and leave being socially grateful and happy for his obedience.

Others say it should be a solemn observance. After all, eternal judgment was being dealt with. Our eternal pain or joy was at stake. Can we not for a small interval stop the noise and be quiet and still and meditate on this? On their side is the fact that while Jesus was on the cross, the land was dark for three hours. God forced men to take notice of his actions.

What to do? How to think?

The answer is our church leadership has chosen for the Good Friday observance to be quiet, reverential, solemn, and meditational. In wisdom they think it’s good for you and yours to slow down and grasp what has happened on your behalf; how Satan and death were conquered for all time and for Christ’s church. That’s not too much to ask; in fact it’s good for us to shut out the busyness for a little while so we can truly grasp what transpired and be more deeply thankful.

So leave your phone in the car, teach and train and remind your children no running, no talking, no visiting (you might try practicing this at home for ten minutes several times), and practice that yourself: come in and sit down and work through the liturgy mindfully. When it’s all over, keep your children in hand quietly and depart into your vehicles.

For sure, neither you nor them will like not speaking to their friends; but that silence may just give a glimpse of the depth of the love of Jesus for us his Bride.

It’s the Lenten season, and we are to be thinking about the sufferings of Jesus and be grateful for his sacrifices; even willing to pick up our own crosses and follow Him. Not sure he meant giving up Snickers, but that’s another week!

One thing we can and should and need to put off is this idea that our personal sacrifices add to or strengthen that of Christ’s. The New Testament authors are adamant that only Jesus’ sacrifice as the Lamb of God is sufficient for us men.

The Old Testament authors said the same; for instance Psalm 49, and then we’ll look at Revelation 17. Psalm 49:7–9 says “truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of his life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on and never see the pit.” See that? “Never suffice.” One man can’t die for the other and wipe out his sins; his own stand in the way. But in verse 15 there is hope: “But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.” The message is clear: man can’t ransom anyone, but God can, and he does, through Jesus. Romans 6:23 (you should have that one memorized!).

In Revelation 17, the Harlot/Jerusalem doesn’t believe the scriptures. She drinks the blood of the saints in hope of life. She has two cups: one full of abominations, the other the blood of the saints. She’s hoping that drinking their blood will give her life, for the life is in the blood, forbidden in the old covenant as idolatry, because the blood of goats and bulls (and even human at times) never saves. She’s drunk on the blood of saints and martyrs. So rebellious old covenant jewish leaders, the circumcision of Jews and Judaizers, hope for another way. But she gets burned with fire and disappears off the scene (17:16).

So, only the blood of Jesus covers your sins! Drink it rejoicingly in the meal!

While there is a war going on, don’t get sidetracked and miss what is really happening. And what is that? RESURRECTION!

The world in our neighborhood is going from the slumber of winter death to the awakening of spring and summer. From death to life; from brown rottenness to leafy green and purple and white and pink and yellow and…

So when you walk or drive around and see the daffodils springing up and blooming, or the Bradford

Pears and Redbuds blooming, don’t just notice the beauty. Rather, reflect on the deeper meaning: there is

life and resurrection in God’s world, and He is reminding me of this every year. It’s springtime, when

God chose to redeem/resurrect Israel out of Egypt with the Passover, setting up our Easter observance

which fulfills it all in Jesus, once and for all. Not only is the world coming back to life, but it all points to the work of Jesus and our blessings in that.

Think about verses such as Romans 4:25, “…who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our

justification.” Jesus was resurrected so you might be made right with God: so live that out by praising him for all the bloomings around you and how you enjoy favor with God the Father through Jesus’ faithfulness and obedience. Rejoice for the life of God and the life in God and tell your spouse and your kids and your friends and your neighbors how great it is to be reminded of this every year: death does not get the final word. The resurrected, life-giving Jesus does.

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

If you missed Vespers this past Wednesday, you missed some great insights into the Lord’s Prayer from Pastor Joe.

One insight is that the Lord’s Prayer is a kingdom prayer. When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, he gives them a kingdom perspective prayer. First, their eyes are pointed heavenward, and then even their earthly prayers are directed to kingdom ends: give us food to do our tasks and peace between each other through forgiveness and protection from evil that would suffer the kingdom with setbacks.

Another insight is that the prayer is a “corporate” prayer, not an intensely personal prayer. It’s a prayer the church body prays, collectively. “Our Father…Your kingdom…our daily bread…our debts…lead us…deliver us.”

Further, it’s an actual “prayer.” It’s a model prayer that we can and should use to pray, as well as direction on the things Jesus would have us pray for.

Additionally, it’s not a prayer designed to curry favor with the Father by heaping up all his names and attributes and empty phrases like the Gentiles. They do that to be heard by their gods, but the Father already knows what you need before you ask him. So ask humbly, in awe that the Father is so intimately involved with our lives that he enjoys hearing the prayers of his children.

In conclusion, the Vesper’s service is a place to hallow God’s name and receive daily food!

President Trump is at it again: exercising American power for the nation’s interests. Or so he says; one wonders since it appears the case has not been made very clearly. Didn’t the US destroy their nuclear capability months ago? So how is it possible that Iran is within weeks of blowing things up?

Be that as it may, Christians are often tempted to think, like Chairman Mao, that power comes out of the barrel of a gun. But that’s not true, and both Revelation 8:2–5 and 15:2–4 demonstrate it. What those passages show us, besides how worship is performed in heaven, is that the most significant thing Christians can do to change the world is to worship God and to pray.

The most significant change comes from worship and prayer? Yes! Why? Because just and lasting change in the world ultimately is God’s doing.

Both passages show worship in heaven, and then God acting, first in the trumpets warning ungodly Israel about her coming demise, and then the bowls actually carrying out the destruction of old covenant, unfaithful Jewry. In worship, God’s righteous acts are requested and then revealed. God’s just and true ways as King of the nations are seen so that the nations come to worship him (15:4).

So don’t be slothful this morning. Or next Sunday morning. Sing the Psalms and hymns that declare God’s great and amazing deeds, and that request him to move and act and free the world from oppression, sin, and greed, that his kindness might rule from sea to sea to sea. Sing and pray that the eternal gospel of fearing and glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ takes root, now and forever!

This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, where about half of the congregation had an ashen cross placed on their foreheads. That seems insignificant, but it actually packs quite a bit of punch!

For example, walking around with a cross on your head is making an actual statement to those who see you, that you are a Christian and that you not only believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, but that you follow Him and His teachings in your life. That can be quite exhilarating, seeing how little we get to witness to real pagans nowadays! It seems like everyone in Tennessee is a Christian, and most are, because they drive a Ford or Chevy truck (just kidding). But for all those who see you, you are taking a stand. You are broadcasting out loud, “Jesus lives, He is Lord, and I am one of His followers. I am living under the cross.”

Of course, the whole Bible tells us to “live under the cross,” but Jesus specifically tells us to do that in Mark 8 when he says “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (34b). Jesus is calling you to pick up a cross and carry it; meaning you are trudging along under it! You are living “under the cross” when you deny your interests and place Christ’s interests first. You are to lose your life for his sake and the gospel’s sake. That’s living “under the cross.” That’s losing your life in order to save it!

Which makes me think, maybe we ought to have Ash Wednesday service early in the morning, so that we can visibly, one day per year, live “under the cross” as we go about our daily lives. Hopefully that would strengthen our lives the rest of the year to carry the cross, as well as witnessing to those who don’t drive trucks!

With Super Bowl weekend in the rear view mirror, we should spend a moment reflecting on its impacts, on our nation, on our families, and our children.

Obviously, the half-time show was a calculated risk to not only advertise to the Hispanic potential audience in South and Latin America, but it was also a Satanically-inspired culture-pushing advertisement. According to Congressman Ogles, it was full of explicit ungodly sexual immorality, pushing everything from fornication to sodomy to transgender and beyond.

On top of that, you not only have the cheerleaders who are prominently displayed in skimpy clothing, but you have endless commercials of women dressed with low necklines to high skirtlines. Not to mention the rampant fornication and adultery of the football players themselves, along with their off-field thuggery.

What this communicated to your children, both girls and boys, is that football is all about sexual licentiousness, embraced by our American culture, at total odds to all godly Lord’s Day activities! If the goal in life is “fun,” it isn’t hard to see who has the overwhelming tug on the hearts of unbelievers and believers.

So in the coming year, take some time to think about how you want men and women portrayed to your children (and to yourselves): as objects to be used and thrown away, or as persons made in the image of God and worthy of immense respect and sacrifice? Is the purpose of man “fun,” or the glory of God and the service of fellow images of God? Is it pure sexual lives of one man and one woman following after Jesus, or destructive sexual narcissism? Meditate on Psalm 119, and make your viewing plans accordingly!

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?” — Job 38:22–23

While storehouses of snow and hail conjure up unbelievable mental pictures of God’s greatness and beauty, they also conjure up other visions as well. Notice that these storehouses are put to other uses than just beauty; they are “reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.”

What an encouragement to Job and to us! That white stuff is beautiful, and menacing, used in time of trouble and battle and war to advance God’s kingdom. Remember Yahweh’s battle with Pharaoh? “And Yahweh rained hail upon the land of Egypt…very heavy hail” — Exodus 9:23–24

Remember Joshua’s battle at Gibeon? “There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword” — Joshua 10:11

Remember the Lord crushing the Assyrians with hailstones? “…with a cloudburst and storm and hailstones. The Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of Yahweh” — Isaiah 30:30–31

Remember the seventh bowl poured out on Jerusalem/Babylon? “And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds, fell from heaven on people, and they cursed God for the plague of hail” — Revelation 16:21

What a majestic and mysterious Lord you have! He uses even the weather to advance his kingdom, saving his people and destroying the wicked. Praise Him!

The Lord Jesus gave us all a great opportunity this past week to reflect on his power and majesty and mysterious ways.

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? (Job 38:22—23).

Of course, Job couldn’t answer the Lord’s questions positively, and neither can we. We haven’t been there. But we can be amazed and awed by the poetry of God’s word. Storehouses for the snow? What colossal images that creates in our minds! Storehouses of the hail? That sounds dark and ominous and foreboding as well. We all know the power of hail.

So we got to experience the beauty of God’s creation this past week, with the snow and ice and freezing temperatures. For this we ought to be grateful, thanking the Lord for his wintry world and all the inventions he has created through us to take some of the rougher edges off that wintry world. Losing power, which means losing heat and light and refrigeration and movies and phones, should lead to a gain of appreciation for all of God’s good gifts to us: snow, sleet, cold, ice on trees, fireplaces, refrigerators, heating systems, snowplows, chainsaws, utility workers, family ties and hospitality by friends and loved ones.

Beautiful snow and sleet and loss of power should also make us remember that through this storm, through this weather, through this seasonal change, Jesus is advancing his kingdom and the Great Commission. Chew on that for a little bit by the fireplace, snuggled up with family and enjoying some hot apple cider!

When Pastors engage in counseling they usually receive a lot of “flack” from counselees, like “I have a mental illness,” “I’m a victim,” or “I apologized kind of,” etc. Worse is “I’m letting go and letting God,” or “The Spirit/Jesus hasn’t changed me yet, I’m waiting on him.” That’s not only false, it is a sinful notion: the Bible is clear about Christians and the faithful putting off sin and putting on Christ. Scripture never says “wait till you feel the Spirit.”

“…as you have always obeyed…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” — Philippians 2:12–13. Yes, because God is in you, YOU must move and obey!

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry…But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another…” — Colossians 3:5, 8–9.

“…that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,…” — 1 Timothy 1:18–19. Notice Paul is holding Timothy responsible to act!

“I promise to keep your words” — Psalm 119:57.

“When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies” — Psalm 119:59.

“I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments” — Psalm 119:60

“I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end” — Psalm 119:112.

Even a few from David, an old testament saint! He takes full responsibility (notice the “I’s”)! And so should you!

The gospel reading for today (Luke 2:41-52) is a classic text among people of non-paedocommuion persuasion. They find from the story that Jesus never went up to the Passover celebration until he was twelve. Never mind the text doesn’t say that. And since Jesus didn’t eat the Passover Meal till he was twelve, then covenant children should not sit at the table till they are twelve, likewise. Covenant children don’t get to go into the “real Father’s house” until they are twelve and admitted to the Lord’s Supper. That’s the Bar Mitzvah practice; but when did that become normative for Christian practice and doctrine?

Funny how his parents thought he was with the entourage, as if running around with cousins was a normal thing to do on this trip! It’s also “funny” that at the institution of the Passover in Exodus 12, there was a lamb “for each household,” (3), and if the household was too small for a whole lamb, then two households could share a lamb, “according to the number of souls, according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb” (4). One guesses children under twelve years of age aren’t a “soul/person,” and they can’t eat yet! Funny, too, that when your children ask during the killing of the lamb and preparation for the service, “What do you mean by this service” (26-27), the answer “for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt,” even though all the children in the houses were spared, nobody but those twelve and older got to eat. And, of course, only twelve-year-olders would think to ask such a question!

Funny, too, how Paul teaches that “all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink… from the rock, and the Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians. 10:1-4) Apparently, only children twelve and older escaped from Egypt!

The gospel text of Matthew 2:1–12 for the second Sunday in Christmas is one of those texts you just can’t read lightly, lest you miss some really important stuff. One such important detail is that Herod is a new Pharaoh who kills little boys to prevent the Promised Seed from ascending his throne, and that he is “deceived” by the wise men as was Pharaoh by the midwives.

Speaking of the Wise Men, how many were there? We all know “three,” but the text doesn’t actually say that; just the Christmas carol, thinking each man brought one gift. Are you really paying attention to the text?!

Same thing with the “star” the men follow! Most Christians think this is an actual, cosmic star in heaven, no bother that stars are about 1000 times larger than our earth (don’t trust the science here!). But if you read your bible and connect even a few dots, you know this isn’t a cosmic star but the “Shekinah Glory,” the cloud of light by day and fire by night, the portable throne room of Yahweh and Jesus that moves around leading Israel in the wilderness and that picks up Jesus at his ascension. Paul gets a visit from it on the way to Damascus, and Jesus speaks out of it just like Yahweh did to Moses. So in our gospel account the “star” leads the men to an actual house and “sits” over it; therein they find Jesus.

So this invites the question: Why does the text tell us that David picks up “five” stones when he meets Goliath? Why “five”? We all know the answer: he was a Calvinist, one stone for each point. And all it took was one stone, since Goliath was “totally depraved!” But might it have been that David was preparing to get his four brothers (2 Samuel 21.15-22)?