Posts in category: Church News

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.  God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it” (John 3:16-17).

THE LAST SUPPER (MARK 14)

So, the two disciples went on ahead into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover supper there.

In the evening Jesus arrived with the twelve disciples.  As they were sitting around the table eating, Jesus said, “The truth is, one of you will betray Me, one of you who is here eating with Me.”

Greatly distressed, one by one they began to ask Him, “I’m not the one, am I?”

He replied, “It is one of you twelve, one who is eating with Me now.  For I, the Son of Man, must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago.  But how terrible it will be for My betrayer.  Far better for him if he had never been born!”

As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God’s blessing on it.  Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is My body.”

And He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it.  He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  And He said to them, “This is My blood, poured out for many, sealing the covenant between God and His people.  I solemnly declare that I will not drink wine again until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

JESUS PRAYS IN GETHSEMANE

And they came to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.”

He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be filled with horror and deep distress.  He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.  Stay here and watch with Me.”

He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting Him might pass him by.

“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for You.  Please take this cup of suffering away from Me.  Yet I want Your will, not Mine.”

Then He returned and found the disciples asleep.

“Simon!” He said to Peter.  “Are you asleep?  Couldn’t you stay awake and watch with Me even one hour?  Keep alert and pray.  Otherwise, temptation will overpower you.  For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak.”

Then Jesus left them again and prayed, repeating His pleadings.

Again, He returned to them and found them sleeping, for they just couldn’t keep their eyes open.  And they didn’t know what to say.  When He returned to them the third time, He said,

“Still sleeping?  Still resting?  Enough!  The time has come.   I, the Son of Man, am betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Up, let’s be going.  See, my betrayer is here!”

JESUS IS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED

And immediately, as He said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a mob that was armed with swords and clubs.  They had been sent out by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law and the other leaders.  Judas had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I go over and give Him the kiss of greeting.  Then you can take Him away under guard.”

As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus.  “Teacher!” he exclaimed, and gave Him the kiss.  Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him.  But someone pulled out a sword and slashed off an ear of the high priest’s servant.  Jesus asked them,

“Am I some dangerous criminal, that you come armed with swords and clubs to arrest Me?  Why didn’t you arrest Me in the Temple?  I was there teaching every day.  But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about Me.”

Meanwhile, all His disciples deserted Him and ran away.  There was a young man following along behind, clothed only in a linen nightshirt.  When the mob tried to grab him, they tore off his clothes, but he escaped and ran away naked.

JESUS IS CRUCIFIED (MARK 15)

So, Pilate, anxious to please the crowd, released Barabbas to them.  He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip then turned Him over to the Roman soldiers to crucify Him.  They dressed Him in a purple robe and made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on His head.  Then they saluted, yelling, “Hail! King of the Jews!”  And they beat Him on the head with a stick, spit on Him and dropped to their knees in mock worship.  When they were finally tired of mocking Him, they took off the purple robe and put His own clothes on Him again.  Then they led Him away to be crucified.

A man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the country just then, and they forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.  And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means Skull Hill).  They offered Him wine drugged with myrrh, but He refused it.  Then they nailed Him to the cross.  They gambled for His clothes, throwing dice to decide who would get them.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when the crucifixion took place.  A signboard was fastened to the cross above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against Him.  It read: “The King of the Jews.”  Two criminals were crucified with Him, their crosses on either side of His.  And the people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery.  “Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at Him. “You can destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, can you?  Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus.  “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but He can’t save himself!  Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe Him!”  Even the two criminals who were being crucified with Jesus ridiculed Him.

THE DEATH OF JESUS

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock.  Then, at that time Jesus called out with a loud voice,

“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought He was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to Him on a stick so he could drink.  “Leave Him alone.  Let’s see whether Elijah will come and take Him down!” he said.

Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed His last.  And the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  When the Roman officer who stood facing Him saw how He had died, he exclaimed, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”

Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph) and Salome.  They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for Him while He was in Galilee.  Then they and many other women had come with Him to Jerusalem.

THE BURIAL OF JESUS

This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath.  As evening approached, an honored member of the high council, Joseph from Arimathea (who was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come), gathered his courage and went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body.  Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman military officer in charge and asked him.  The officer confirmed the fact, and Pilate told Joseph he could have the body.  Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth, and taking Jesus’ body down from the cross, he wrapped it in the cloth and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock.  Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance.  Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.

THE RESURRECTION – JESUS IS RISEN! (MARK 16)

The next evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Salome and Mary the mother of James went out and purchased burial spices to put on Jesus’ body.  Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they came to the tomb.  On the way they were discussing who would roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb.  But when they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone – a very large one – had already been rolled aside.  So they entered the tomb, and there on the right sat a young man clothed in a white robe.  The women were startled, but the angel said, “Do not be so surprised.  You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He isn’t here!  He has been raised from the dead!  Look, this is where they laid His body.  Now go and give this message to His disciples, including Peter: Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee.  You will see Him there, just as He told you before He died!”  The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, saying nothing to anyone because they were too frightened to talk.

It was early on Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead, and the first person who saw Him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and found the disciples, who were grieving and weeping.  But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they didn’t believe her.

Afterward He appeared to two who were walking from Jerusalem into the country, but they didn’t recognize Him at first because He had changed His appearance.  When they realized who He was, they rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them. Still later He appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together.  He rebuked them for their unbelief – their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

And then He told them,

“Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.  Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved.  But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.  These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in My name, and they will speak new languages.  They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them.  They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them.”

When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.  And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked with them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

God loves you so much that He sent His son Jesus Christ to die for your sins. After His resurrection and ascension into heaven, He sent His Spirit to live in our lives and empower us to live the abundant life.  But we must personally ask Him into our lives to be our Lord and Savior.  If you are sincere about asking Him into your life, why don’t you pray the suggested prayer below:

(Prayer is talking to God. God knows your heart and is not as concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart.)

Source: Thoughts-about-God.com

Some might wonder: Why all the fuss about Easter? Who cares? What difference does it make if Jesus rose from the dead?

It makes all the difference in the world. If Christ did not rise, then thousands of believers have died as martyrs for a hoax.

If He did rise, then He is still alive and can offer peace to troubled, hurting lives.

Countless scholars–among them the apostle Paul, Augustine, Sir Isaac Newton and C.S. Lewis–believed in the resurrection. We need not fear committing intellectual suicide by believing it also. Where do the facts lead?

Paul, a first-century skeptic-turned believer, wrote that “Christ died for our sins…he was buried…he was raised on the third day…he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve (Disciples). After that, he appeared to more than five hundred…at the same time, most of whom are still living.” Consider four pieces of evidence:

1. THE EXPLOSIVE GROWTH OF THE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT:

Within a few weeks after Jesus was crucified, a movement arose which, by the later admission of its enemies, “upset the world.” What happened to ignite this movement shortly after its leader had been executed?

2. THE DISCIPLES’ CHANGED LIVES:

After Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, most of the Disciples fled in fear. Peter denied three times that he was a follower of Jesus. (The women were braver and stayed to the end.) Yet ten out of the eleven Disciples (Judas committed suicide) were martyred for their faith. According to traditions, Peter was crucified upside down; Thomas was skewered; John was boiled in oil but survived. What turned these cowards into heroes? Each believed he had seen Jesus alive again.

3. THE EMPTY TOMB:

Jesus’ corpse was removed from the cross, wrapped like a mummy and placed in a solid-rock tomb. A one-and-a-half to two-ton stone was rolled into a slightly depressed groove to seal the tomb’s entrance.

A “Green Beret”-like unit of Roman soldiers guarded the grave. Sunday morning, the stone was found rolled away, the body was gone but the graveclothes were still in place. What happened?

Did Christ’s friends steal the body? Perhaps one of the women sweet-talked (karate-chopped?) the guards while the others moved the stone and tiptoed off with the body. Or maybe Peter (remember his bravery) or Thomas (Doubting Thomas) overpowered the guards, stole the body, then fabricated–and died for–a resurrection myth.

These theories hardly seem plausible. The guard was too powerful, the stone too heavy and the disciples too spineless to attempt such a feat.

Did Christ’s enemies steal the body? If Romans or Jewish religious leaders had the body, surely, they would have exposed it publicly and Christianity would have died out. They didn’t, and it didn’t.

The “Swoon Theory” supposes that Jesus didn’t really die but was only unconscious. The expert Roman executioners merely thought he was dead. After a few days in the tomb without food or medicine, the cool air revived him.

He burst from the 100 pounds of graveclothes, rolled away the stone with his nail-pierced hands, scared the daylights out of the Roman soldiers, walked miles on wounded feet and convinced his Disciples he’d been raised from the dead. This one is harder to believe than the resurrection itself.

4. THE APPEARANCES OF THE RISEN CHRIST:

For 40 days after his death, many different people said they saw Jesus alive. Witnesses included a woman, a shrewd tax collector, several fishermen and over 500 people at once. These claims provide further eyewitness testimony for the resurrection.

As a skeptic, I realized that attempts to explain away the evidences run into a brick wall of facts that point to one conclusion: Christ is risen.

The above does not constitute an exhaustive proof, rather a reasoned examination of the evidence. Each interested person should evaluate the evidence and decide if it makes sense. Of course, the truth or falsity of the resurrection is a matter of historical fact and is not dependent on anyone’s belief. If the facts support the claim, one can conclude that he arose. In any case, mere intellectual assent to the facts does little for one’s life.

Written by Rusty Wright (thoughts-about-God.com)

With just a few days until Easter, many Christians are thinking of how to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yet despite this, there are many more Christians who view Easter as just another day of the year, just another government holiday where they do not have to work, where they get the day off of school, or as a day where they get to eat extra candy from the “Easter bunny.” Why does this happen? Why do some people no longer view Easter as important to them? Why do some people view Easter as just another day of the year?

I do not pretend to have all the answers to this question, nor do I know what goes on in the minds of people. Yet that said, I believe that many people have been listening to the beliefs and views of modern society in regards to Easter, and are letting these views take precedence in their lives, either willingly or unwillingly. There are times when it is difficult to be a Christian in the modern world. There are times when we all struggle with our faith. I am going to put the idea of Easter into context, to try to explain why it is important for us as Christians to celebrate Easter as one of, if not, the, most important “holy days” in Christianity. Potentially even more important than Christmas. 

Early Christians did not necessarily view Christmas as the most holy and important day of the year. Instead, they viewed Easter as the most important date for all Christians. There were even church councils and treatises on the topic of Easter and the dating for it, no such things exist for Christmas. I am not trying to negate Christmas; I am only putting it in context of early Christianity.

WHY WAS EASTER SO IMPORTANT TO EARLY CHRISTIANS? 

The answer is simple. Easter is so important because all of Christianity revolves around the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus did not die for our sins, or if Jesus did not rise again after three days, then the entire hope of Christianity is based upon nothing but lies and falsities. In short, Christianity would be meaningless as a religion, because our sins would not be forgiven by Christ. If it was not for Easter we would have to continue living as the Jews of old and offering animal sacrifices to the Lord for our sins. 

The single reason why Easter was and is so important to Christianity is because it is the centre of our faith and religion, and the basis of our identity as Christians. Sure, Jesus’ birth is important, as is His ascension. But none of them saved us from our sins. Jesus’ birth is only in two of the Gospels, the ascension in another two and Acts. Yet, you know what is mentioned in every single gospel, and is the focus of each gospel? Not Jesus’ birth, not even Jesus’ teachings (though these are quite important), but Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is so important that it was seen as the cornerstone for Christianity, the rock upon which the early Church was built. 

Therefore, it can be seen that Easter should be viewed as the most important holiday for all Christians. Not just those pious believers, or those of the early Church. EVERYONE. You, me, your coworkers, your friends, that person down the pew from you, the organist and pianist. Every single Christian should view Easter as the most important event of the year. And we should not be afraid of viewing Easter this way. As Paul says in Romans 1:16, I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes-the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News is that Christ died on the cross for all of humanity, not just the Jews, but also the Gentiles that their sins may be redeemed if they believe in Him, that they will have everlasting life. If Paul is not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, then why are we? Why should we not be out celebrating Easter as if it is the most important holiday of the year? Because it is. Easter is the most important holiday of the year for us as Christians. 

Easter is just as important for us today as it was 2000 years ago in the early church. Just as important because it represents that Jesus saved us from our sins by dying and rising again after three days. 

So this Easter, instead of just accepting it as another day, instead of just welcoming the break from the work week, recognise Easter for what it is and celebrate accordingly. Set aside fanciful notions of the Easter bunny and getting candy eggs, and focus on the truth of Easter. The truth of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As we prepare for this year’s festival remember the true meaning of Easter, the truth behind Christianity, and thank God for sending His son to die for our sins so that we may have eternal life in Him! Happy Easter (in advance)!

Written by James Bruyn (www.faithatwork.ca)