FROM THE PASTOR
were you there?
If you were going to be at the Good Friday service, the opening video would have Andrea Thomas’ rendition of “Were You There”. If you have a chance, please check it out on YouTube. It’s a very moving piece.
Seeing that we won’t be at Good Shepherd, and for that matter, most other places, it may be a good time to dust of your hymn books and pray some of the most powerful and moving hymns of our Saviour’s Passion. When we pause and contemplate these devotional, powerful-prayerful songs:
Eight verses of LHS 52; O Sacred Head
Ten verses of LHS 55; O Dearest Jesus
Four verses of LHS 73; Go to Dark Gethsemane.
These few hymns alone cause us to sometimes tremble, tremble, tremble.
Well. Were you there? If you were there on Good Friday; the event would be much more powerful and personal. Those who were there can testify – when the soldiers threw a spear into the side of Jesus body, and saw blood and water flow from his side, the Apostle John writes: “He who had seen this has testified, his testimony is true, he is telling the truth, so that you may believe (John 19:35).
We weren’t there on that very first Good Friday; but human sin, past, present and future, was. The Bible tells us so. In the second part of Isaiah 53:6, we read, “The Lord has laid his iniquity (sin) of us all”. As Jesus was crucified, our sins and the sins of the whole world were there as Jesus took on the punishment we deserve; the earth trembled that day and darkness came over the land as we read in Mark. Jesus was crucified in our place; nailed to a cross, so we didn’t have to! St Paul also proclaims in Colossians, “Having cancelled the charge of our legal debt, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross” (2:14).
Everything that was against us, all the commandments of God we have broken, were nailed to the cross with Jesus and our sins died there, our sins were destroyed, the stain marks of sin, wiped clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. And we were also there from the cross – to the borrowed grave – to the empty tomb. How do we know? Again, in the words of St Paul, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4)”.
We tremble as we see the extremities of our salvation; the extreme price paid for our sin. We tremble with joy and excitement on Easter as we once again, taste and see the Lord is good, by rising to life; securing the assurance of forgiveness and being put right with God.
All praise be to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you now and forever.
Pastor Mat.
We Pray For:
† The light of Christ to shine in the church, so that all may see it and be drawn to faith in God.
† The light of Christ to shine in our community, so that our friends and neighbours may know with us the joy of new life.
† The light of Christ to shine into the darkness of despair, to lift up all who are grieving, lonely, suffering or without hope.
† The light of Christ to shine into the darkness of human hearts, wherever deeds of greed, oppression and injustice are being planned.
† The light of Christ to shine in the darkness of the tomb, and that all who have died in Christ may rise to life again.
Seeing that we won’t be at Good Shepherd, and for that matter, most other places, it may be a good time to dust of your hymn books and pray some of the most powerful and moving hymns of our Saviour’s Passion. When we pause and contemplate these devotional, powerful-prayerful songs:
Eight verses of LHS 52; O Sacred Head
Ten verses of LHS 55; O Dearest Jesus
Four verses of LHS 73; Go to Dark Gethsemane.
These few hymns alone cause us to sometimes tremble, tremble, tremble.
Well. Were you there? If you were there on Good Friday; the event would be much more powerful and personal. Those who were there can testify – when the soldiers threw a spear into the side of Jesus body, and saw blood and water flow from his side, the Apostle John writes: “He who had seen this has testified, his testimony is true, he is telling the truth, so that you may believe (John 19:35).
We weren’t there on that very first Good Friday; but human sin, past, present and future, was. The Bible tells us so. In the second part of Isaiah 53:6, we read, “The Lord has laid his iniquity (sin) of us all”. As Jesus was crucified, our sins and the sins of the whole world were there as Jesus took on the punishment we deserve; the earth trembled that day and darkness came over the land as we read in Mark. Jesus was crucified in our place; nailed to a cross, so we didn’t have to! St Paul also proclaims in Colossians, “Having cancelled the charge of our legal debt, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross” (2:14).
Everything that was against us, all the commandments of God we have broken, were nailed to the cross with Jesus and our sins died there, our sins were destroyed, the stain marks of sin, wiped clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. And we were also there from the cross – to the borrowed grave – to the empty tomb. How do we know? Again, in the words of St Paul, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4)”.
We tremble as we see the extremities of our salvation; the extreme price paid for our sin. We tremble with joy and excitement on Easter as we once again, taste and see the Lord is good, by rising to life; securing the assurance of forgiveness and being put right with God.
All praise be to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you now and forever.
Pastor Mat.
We Pray For:
† The light of Christ to shine in the church, so that all may see it and be drawn to faith in God.
† The light of Christ to shine in our community, so that our friends and neighbours may know with us the joy of new life.
† The light of Christ to shine into the darkness of despair, to lift up all who are grieving, lonely, suffering or without hope.
† The light of Christ to shine into the darkness of human hearts, wherever deeds of greed, oppression and injustice are being planned.
† The light of Christ to shine in the darkness of the tomb, and that all who have died in Christ may rise to life again.