Saturday, March 31, 2007

Palm Sunday Sermon

Puzzles - Blog Version

I preached in November, just before the Advent season, and I spoke about the two on the road to Emmaus, and how, as Luke says, “Beginning with Moses and all the prophets He (that is Jesus) explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures…” Then I covered some of the prophecies through the Bible.

Then, when I preached again in January, I went back to Genesis, chapter 3 and looked at the very first prophecy ever given about the Christ, the Messiah or the Redeemer. Remember, they didn’t know His name was going to be Jesus. They didn’t have the whole picture, just the very first piece of the puzzle…

And so now, I want to talk about some more pieces of the puzzle. And I’m excited, because I discovered one this past week that I didn’t know about. Oh, there’s a whole lot more that I don’t know about… that’s why I keep reading and digging, and searching for them, because I want to know more about Jesus.

Our scripture text this morning is from the book of Exodus. That’s the second book in the Old Testament. If you have your Bibles turn to Exodus chapter 12. In a few minutes I’m going to read verses 1-11. I gave you some additional scriptures in the bulletin that I’m going to be referencing in the sermon, and you can read them later.

But first, let me give you a little background; a little history… a little of “His Story…”

At some point in this coming week (I think it’s Saturday night) the movie “The Ten Commandments” will be on TV. You know - Charleston Heston, Moses, the plagues, crossing the Red Sea, all that… Did you ever wonder why “The Ten Commandments” always comes on at Easter time? It doesn’t have anything to do with Easter, does it?

Well, matter of fact, it has a whole lot to do with Easter… That movie portrays God’s freeing of the children of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. They commemorate that event with a Festival called Passover, because the death angel “passed over” every home that had the blood of a lamb on the doorpost.

This morning’s text takes place just before they leave Egypt. God is telling Moses and his brother Aaron, how they are to celebrate this thing that hasn’t even happened yet! (You see, when God makes a promise - He keeps it!) But, He gives very specific instructions on how it is to be done. And there is a reason for every single act, for every single element of that feast. And, for the most part, the Children of Israel always did it that way, and in fact, Orthodox Jews still do it that way today! (Actually, the Jewish Passover happens to be on Tuesday of this week.)

As we learned in the Children’s sermon, this week is called Holy Week. As you know, we will be having special services on Thursday night and Friday night; these are called Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. (By the way, the word "Maundy" is from the Latin word which means "mandate" - it is a commandment or commitment...)

It is on that Thursday night that Jesus and His disciples were participating in what “we” call “The Last Supper” and what they called “The Passover” the most sacred of all Jewish Festivals or holidays. And as we’ll see, it’s a very important one in our lives as well…

Listen closely to the scripture reading, because every thing I read here, is not only a festival to commemorate what happened with the Children of Israel in leaving their bondage in Egypt, but is also a prophecy of what actually took place during this week, from today through Good Friday of what we call “Holy Week.”

In order to understand this last week of Jesus’ earthly life; in order to see just why Jesus’ death on a wooden cross over 2000 years ago is the very atonement, or covering for every sin we’ve ever committed, or ever will commit, in order for the picture to become clear, we’ve got to go back to the Old Testament to collect the puzzle pieces.

Exodus 12:1-11 (read)

The first 5 books of the Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are called the Books of the Law or the “Torah”. On every January 1st, thousands of Christians decide that they’re going to read through the Bible, and they start at the beginning - at Genesis.

And it’s exciting! You’ve got the Garden of Eden, then the fall. You’ve got the flood, the tower of Babal, and the call of Abraham and Sarah. You’ve got Isaac, then Jacob and Easu. And Jacob has 12 sons by 4 different women then God changes his name to Israel, and the sons become known as the 12 “tribes” of Israel.

Due to a series of events, the whole family ends up in Egypt with the next to youngest son, Joseph being second in command to the Pharaoh, himself. And then Joseph dies in Egypt around 1500 BC.

And the book of Genesis ends with the words, “So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.” It began in a garden, and ends… in a coffin in Egypt.

And then they get to the book of Exodus - and it’s kinda exciting too. There’s little Moses in the bulrushes, and then he grows up and God calls to him in the burning bush. There are all the plagues, the event of the Passover, and the crossing of the Red Sea.

After that it bogs down a little, and gets a little more difficult to read with the giving of the Law and the building of the Tabernacle. And by the time most Christians get to the book of Leviticus, they’ve given up completely. And that’s a shame.

You see, there’s no way you can understand the New Testament without understanding the books of the Law. It’s been said that the book of Leviticus is the most “New Testament” of the Old Testament books, and the book of Hebrews, is the most “Old Testament” of the New Testament Books.

In other words - neither one is complete without the other! We find most of the pieces to the puzzle about Grace in Leviticus, and then the book of Hebrews teaches us how to fit those pieces together! It takes both books to make a complete picture of why the sacrifices were necessary, and what they represented!

“Well, who needs to know all that?” you may ask, “Doesn’t the Bible say, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved?’ Isn’t that all it takes - just believing? Why do I need to even know that other stuff…?”

I’m glad you asked!

Let me put it this way… think of someone you love… friend, spouse, parent… Now tell me, what do you know about them? Do you know when their birthday is? Do you know where they were born? What their favorite food is; what their favorite color is; what their favorite TV program is? Do you know their likes and dislikes?

For you adults, when you brought your first sweetie home, did your parents want to know all about him or her? (You betcha they did!) They wanted to know where they lived, who their parents were and what kind of person they were.

When Joe and I started dating, once my family (all my family) knew that he was Bob and Imogene’s son, or John Chesney’s grandson, or Russell Newman’s nephew, everything was ok. They had enough pieces of the puzzle to begin to get a picture of just who this boy was…

If we truly love Jesus, we’ll want to know more about Him, and as I told the children, every single book of this Bible is filled with pieces of the puzzle that give us a complete picture of just what Jesus really did, and how God planned for our salvation from the very first week of creation!

In order to understand what Jesus went through this week, for our salvation, we MUST understand the prophecy.

We know that Jesus’ crucifixion took place at the time of the Passover, but do you really know how closely the “Sacrifice of our Lord” corresponds to, or better yet, fulfills, the Feast of the Passover?

Look at our scripture… verses 1-6 (read)

The first month of the Jewish year was called Abib (or Nisan), and it corresponded with our timeframe of mid-March to mid-April. In 30AD, the year Jesus was crucified, the 14th day of the month of Abib (or Nisan), fell on a Thursday. That was the day of Passover.

That very day, the sacrificial lamb is to be killed, prepared and eaten at twilight. Now, the first one in Egypt was to be eaten (read v 11) in other words, “with your coat and shoes on, and your bags packed and ready!” However, after they enter the Promised Land, we read later that they are to eat it reclining at the table, because then, they have already been delivered, and there’s no need for haste.

We read of Jesus’ disciples’ preparation for this Passover meal in all 4 Gospels. Listen to the way Mark puts it:

Mark 14:12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?"

And then,

Mark 14:18 When it was evening He came with the twelve. As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me--one who is eating with Me.”

The meal they are eating there IS the Passover. Everything about this meal is symbolic; the way it is prepared; the order in which it’s eaten; the things that are said with each part of the meal. It’s not just a group of guys sitting down and eating supper together. It’s a Worship Service! Mark 14:22-24 says While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is My body." And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

These words that we recognize as our Communion Service was Jesus putting the pieces of the puzzle together right before their very eyes…

And then verse 26 says, “After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” Even the very song they sang was a prescribed part of the Passover Worship Service.

After supper, at sundown, about the time that Jesus was entering the Garden of Gethsemane was the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened bread. Unleavened bread is bread with no yeast in it. You know, for Communion, we have this nice homemade loaf bread, or Hawaiian Bread, or some other big fluffy bread… no, what they had was flat and hard and without any yeast. Actually it sorta tastes like salt-free crackers - kinda bland…and, there’s even a reason for that…

When they were leaving Egypt, the Exodus happened so quickly that they didn’t have time to let the leaven (or yeast) work, or to let the bread rise.

But, symbolically it meant something else as well. The absence of leaven symbolized complete consecration and devotion to God. Leaven, in the Bible is often equated with sin, so therefore the “Bread of Life” was “Unleavened” - without sin…

The next day, Friday, what we call “Good Friday” is when Jesus would be hung on the cross. (By the way, on that first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, no one was to work - ever wonder why the crowds were so huge in the Temple area, calling for Jesus’ crucifixion? They had the day off, what else were they going to do besides go to the Temple?)

The day after the crucifixion (actually beginning at sundown on that Friday) was the Sabbath Day. Remember, that’s the reason the Jews wanted to make sure Jesus was dead and buried before sundown.

Saturday, their Sabbath is the “in-between” day for us, and I suspect, it was probably the longest day Jesus’ disciples ever lived. They couldn’t work, they couldn’t cook, they couldn’t go anywhere… all they could do was wait…

Sunday morning, our “First day of the week” began the Festival of First Fruits for the Jewish people. We find that in Lev. 23:9-11 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions. When you enter the land I am giving you and you harvest its first crops, bring the priest a bundle of grain from the first cutting of your grain harvest. On the day, after the Sabbath, the priest will lift it up before the Lord so it may be accepted on your behalf. (Emphasis added.)

Remember what Paul called Jesus? 1Corinthians 15:20 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”

But now, here’s the real “kicker” for me - this is what I didn’t realize until just the other night… This is that piece of the puzzle that I didn’t even know existed…

Look back at the beginning of our scripture text. (Read Exodus12:2-3) “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, (listen) 'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household.” (emphasis added.)

And then verse 6 “You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.”

Now, think about it, if Maundy Thursday, the night of the Last Supper is the time of the sacrifice, and that is the 14th day of their first month, count backwards to the 10th of the month and what have you got… Wednesday, Tuesday, Monday… today… You’ve got Palm Sunday! Their “Choosing of the Lamb” Day is our “Palm Sunday!”

The Jews saw the Triumphal Entry as Matthew 21:4-5 reads, This was done to fulfill the prophecy that said, “Tell the people of Israel, Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey - even on a donkey’s colt.” But, we can see a far greater significance; we can see it as “The Choosing of the Lamb” Day.

The Children of Israel see the sacrifice of the lamb, and the blood on the doorpost as being symbolic of the death angel passing over their homes. But we see the blood of Christ as being the covering for our sin.

There is no sin too big, for the blood of Jesus to cover. There is no sin too terrible, or too overwhelming for the blood of Jesus to cover. There is nothing you have ever done that is too horrible for the atoning blood of Jesus. His blood covers it all!

This adds so much more emphasis to John the Baptist’s words in John 1:29 “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

He is truly our Sacrificial Lamb!

(Prayer)
Father, we fall on our faces before the Throne of Grace this morning thanking You for the atoning blood of Your beloved Son, Jesus. And we thank You for preserving all the pieces of the puzzle so that we can better understand and see the complete picture.

Father, You’ve given it to us in bite-sized pieces, for we could not comprehend it all at once, the glory of it would be too much to bear.

We pray now that You will touch the hearts of your children, that You will “tune our hearts to sing Your praise”, and that You will give us a passion to know Your Word, and to seek ways to serve You.

Father, if there are any here that do not know You and Your love; who do not know Jesus as their personal Saviour; I pray that You will touch their hearts and draw them in…

In Jesus’ name - Amen.




Betty J. Newman © March 30, 2007

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Friday, March 30, 2007

Palm Sunday Children's Sermon

Puzzles (Children's Sermon)

Q. How many of you have ever done a jigsaw puzzle? Do you like them?

I’ve got a few jigsaw puzzles here… how hard do you think this one is (start with easiest and work up); what about this one, or this one?

(Star Wars) - what about this one? This one even has a picture on both sides!

And (framed one) how hard do you think this one was?! Yeah, hard! I never knew so many states had redbirds for their state bird!

How hard would it be if you didn’t have the box or the picture to go by?

Q. Now, let me ask you another question… Did you ever come home from school and tell your Mom that you had a new friend, and she started asking questions like, what’s their name, where do they live, what are their parents’ names…?

She was looking for clues about them wasn’t she?

Q. Let me change the subject for a minute… Who knows what next Sunday is? “Easter.”
And this Sunday is…? “Palm Sunday.”
Now - a toughie - what’s this week, between Palm Sunday and Easter called?
“Holy Week.”

I understand that you older ones have been studying about Holy Week in your Sunday school class for the past few weeks. How did you learn about it? Reading the Bible? Did you just open the Bible and read it all in one place, or did you look in different places in the Bible?

You kinda looked for clues, didn’t you? Kinda like “puzzle pieces” wasn’t it? It helped you to understand the whole picture of Easter and Holy Week.

Q. Do you know that Jesus loves you? How do you know that? The Bible tells you so…

The Bible is made up of 66 different sections, called “books”, (it’s called history because it’s “His Story”) and in every single book in this Bible are clues about God and Jesus, and about all the things God did and Jesus did, because God loves us sooo much!

We have this “picture” of God and Jesus in our minds, and in our hearts, and every clue, every single puzzle piece we need to complete that picture is in this Bible! You just gotta read it to find them!

(Pray with me…) Dear God / thank You for Jesus. / And thank You for the Bible / that tells us all about Him. / Amen.

(Note - this sermon goes with the adult sermon that I will post tomorrow night. Be sure to check it out as well!)

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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Palm Sunday

The Choosing of the Lamb Day


This falls under the category of “You probably already know this” but I didn’t, so I’m excited…

We know that Jesus’ crucifixion took place at the time of the Passover, but did you really know how closely the “Sacrifice of our Lord” corresponds to (or fulfills) the Feast of the Passover?

Consider this:

Thursday night before Good Friday (which we call “Maundy Thursday”) is the actual “Day” of Passover. That very day, the sacrificial lamb (Lamb) is to be killed, prepared and eaten.

Mark 14:12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?"

Mar 14:17 When it was evening He came with the twelve. As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me--one who is eating with Me.”

The meal they are eating IS the Passover. The next day, Friday, when Jesus would be hung on the cross was the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened bread. (Actually, it began at dusk on Thursday night - just as they were eating supper.) The absence of leaven symbolized complete consecration and devotion to God. Leaven, in the Bible is often equated with sin, so therefore the “Bread of Life” was “Unleavened” - without sin…

By the way, on this day, no one was to work - ever wonder why the crowds were so huge calling for Jesus’ crucifixion?

The day after the crucifixion (actually beginning at sundown on that Friday) was the Sabbath. Remember, that is the reason they wanted to make sure He was dead and buried before sundown.

Saturday, their Sabbath is the “in-between” day for us, and probably the longest day Jesus’ disciples ever lived.

Sunday morning, our “First day of the week” began the Festival of First Fruits for the Jewish people. Remember what Paul called Jesus? 1Corinthians 15:20 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”

But here’s the real “kicker” for me - this is what I didn’t realize until just the other night… Read Exodus12:2-3 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household.” (emphasis added)

And then verse 6 “You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.”

Now, think about it, if Maundy Thursday, the night of the Last Supper is the time of the sacrifice, and that is the 14th day of their first month, count backwards to the 10th of the month, and what do you have…? You’ve got Palm Sunday!

The Jews saw it as Matthew 21:4-5 reads, This was done to fulfill the prophecy that said, “Tell the people of Israel, Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey - even on a donkey’s colt.” But, we can see a far greater significance; we can see it as “The Choosing of the Lamb” Day. This adds so much more emphasis to John the Baptist’s words in John 1:29 “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

He is truly our Sacrificial Lamb!
Have a blessed “Choosing of the Lamb” Day this coming Sunday!


Betty

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Thursday, March 22, 2007

A Prayer for Passion

Father, as I look my Bible in front of me this morning, I marvel at a great mystery; not what it took to write it; not at the wonder of Divine Inspiration; not at the thought of the masses who’ve given their very lives for its preservation; and not even (for now) at the marvelous truths which You’ve given us…

No, the great mystery I ponder, and indeed the matter that weights my heart is the question of, why do those, even those who call themselves Your children and followers, why don’t they read it? Why is there no desire to read Your Word - no yearning to know Your message?

Oh, some do their “devotions.” They read a passage, or a verse and a little “devotional” about that passage, but so few actually read… the… Bible… itself. Why is that, Lord?

Do we just not know where to start? Is it just too overwhelming to think about? So many people say they love You, and yet know nothing about You (other than what someone told them.)

When I fell in love with my (future) husband, I wanted to know all about him - his likes, his dislikes, where he was born, all about his family… How Lord, can we say we love You when we know nothing about You - and have no desire to learn…? We don’t know Your history, we don’t know Your people, we don’t know anything about the very place in the entire universe where You have carved Your name… (literally.)

Father, I think the greatest gift You’ve given me (aside from my salvation) is the passion and desire to know You more fully. You’ve given me an insatiable appetite to read Your Word, and to share it with others.

Oh Lord, that I might be able to do that in such a way as to spark an interest. Once an interest is “sparked” then the “flame” can be fanned. And once the “flame” is fanned, more “fuel” can be added, and as the “fuel” is added, a “blaze” appears. And when the “blaze” appears, it sucks in oxygen. And as oxygen is sucked in, the fire grows. And as the fire grows the “sparks shoot upward” and shower onto neighboring “hearts” and once again, interests are sparked, and flames can be fanned, and the process is begun again.

Oh Father - that those who love You would seek Your Face… That is my prayer.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Saturday, March 17, 2007

A Matter of the Heart

I’m sure you’ve seen the Church marquees - “Come to church this Sunday - avoid the Easter (or Christmas) rush!” We smile at those, but could attending Church actually be a “sinful” act?

In doing online research on Lent, I’ve found two extremes - it’s either “from the pit of hell and smells like smoke” or it’s “the most sacred of reflection times in the life of a believer…”

Want to know what I think? I think “that’s right!”

Which? Both! It’s all a matter of the heart.

Time after time after time in the Old Testament, prophets (Samuel, Isaiah, Amos, and Jeremiah to mention a few) and kings (David in the Psalms and Solomon in the Proverbs) cry out that God does not delight in sacrifices that are not with the purest intentions. It’s not what they do so much as it is the “heart” or attitude behind the act.

Jesus cries out that we strain out gnats and yet swallow camels. Fasting and even tithing can be just as sinful as not fasting and not tithing when done with the wrong attitude (or heart.)

And even prayer can be sinful - the prayer of the Pharisee was not heard while the prayer of the tax collector was “justified.” (Ever wonder why it seems that your prayer is not heard?)

A. W. Tozer, in his book, “The Pursuit of God” talks about the danger in dividing our lives between the “sacred and the secular.” And I think, we must be very careful of this in every area of our lives, including Church.

For those of us whose denominations follow the “Church calendar”, we must be very careful that the “calendar” not become more important than teaching our members the very Word of God.

And for those whose denominations do not follow the “Church calendar”, I think “times” in the church life needs to be recognized and taught.

If one only attends church at Christmas and Easter, and only hears of the birth and the resurrection of Christ, think of what a void there is in their lives. The same it is to strictly adhere to, or never mention the life of the Church.

But how should it be done? As anything is done - with the purest of motives, as it’s “a matter of the heart…”

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Monday, March 12, 2007

Bible History

I'm sure you've seen the movie "300" advertised. Did you know that the commander of the Persian army, Xerxes, is also known by his title of "Ahasuerus" and is the husband of Queen Esther?

The battle of the movie takes place between chapters 1 and 2 of the book of Esther. The reason for the great feast of chapter 1 is to prove to the "Persian Empire" that Xerxes has the wealth and might to carry out such an endeavor (after his predecessor, Darius had failed at the battle of Marathon.)

Then chapter 2 begins with "after these things" which is the battle where he was soundly defeated. He comes back mad and "whipped" (returning with only about 5,000 of the 2,000,000 soldiers he left with) and remembers, "Uh! I don't have a wife to come home to..." and thus the "beauty pageant" to choose the new Queen commences...

I don't know how much besides the "Spartan's Last Stand" is covered in the movie, but basically the Spartans lose the battle, but win the war over the Persians. This marks the beginning of the end for the Persian Empire and paves the way for the next world power - the Greeks, who will be led by Philip of Macedon, followed by his son Alexander the Great. (The city of Philippi in Macedonia, was the location of the church to whom Paul wrote the Letter to the Philippians - it was named after this Philip of Macedon.)

Isn't Bible History fun?!

To read a sermon I did on Esther click here Doctrine of Divine Providence or Bloom Where You are Planted this is part one. You'll need to click on the archives for October to get the rest of the sermon. (I broke it up into 4 parts so each wouldn't be so long.)

Betty

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

The Conseqence of Our Decisions

Oh Father, I do not like what I have to do… I must oppose our pastor…

Oh! Standing in opposition is not the problem - I’ve stood in opposition before; when I believed their theology was wrong, or worse, they had no theology… But, this is different. I genuinely love [this young man] and believe that You are using him mightily!

I’ve never felt Your Spirit more than I have in our worship services. He truly has a gift, and I believe, a heart for You. But this is not theology - this is a matter of “administration.”

Oh God! How I have wrestled with this problem. You have heard my many cries, and every time my “head” convinces me that I should just go along, my heart cries out, “I just cannot!” And so… I cannot…

He believes he is doing Your will. And so do I believe I am. Father, we can’t both be right, nor both wrong. I beg of You Father, don’t let me go against Your will. Open my eyes so that I can see the big picture - or at least if it isn’t Your will to show me the picture, then please, comfort my soul and give me faith.

The only thing that brings peace to my heart is to acknowledge that I must oppose him.

It’s ironic, Lord. The greatest “outward” peace (to agree) brings the greatest inner turmoil - and the greatest “inner” peace (to oppose) results in outer turmoil. How... can... that be?

Lord, I’ve heard the story of Martin Luther; of how he was called to recant his so-called “heresy.” I heard that he came up before the council and was ready to recant, but instead asked for one more night to pray about it.

I’ve heard that prayer read - and one can hear so clearly this one man’s struggle, and of his growing faith in his belief and stand. Then I know Lord, as he stood the next day he said, “I cannot recant…”

And neither can I.

But You heard, Lord. [This young man] used this very same example and said to me, “I cannot recant…”

And so now, we both must deal with the consequence of our decisions.

May You have mercy on our souls…

In Jesus’ Name - Amen

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