Preachrblog

The First Word:  Luke 23:34 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”[b] And they cast lots to divide his garments. The first word out of his mouth was a prayer.  A prayer to the Father, not for himself, but for his enemies, his oppressors, the perpetrators of his demise.  Yes, for the Romans, the Jews, the bloodthirsty crowds Jesus prayed.  But also for you and me, whose sins put him on that cross just the same. We know not what we do.  Who can know his errors?  Who can know the depth of his sin?  We see only a small sliver of the true measure of the evil within us.  But on the cross we can surely see the price.  We can see the consequence.  We can see what our sins have wrought:  death, in all its ugliness. But even as he goes to death, Jesus brings forgive...

  1 Corinthians 11:23–32 There is no higher blessing on earth that we may receive than the Holy Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood. It is a most precious gift. Christ’s final gift to his church, apart from his very death on the cross, is given that Holy Thursday evening.   In fact, we can’t really separate the Sacrament from Christ’s death – because it is the same Body and Blood given and shed for us at the cross, the same Body resurrected in victory over death on the third day. To meditate upon this precious gift this evening, let us consider Paul’s words to the Corinthians, which in some ways really form the foundation of Christian teaching about the Sacrament.   Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the Words of Institution – but Paul’s version in 1 Corinthians 11 really is the most expansive and includes some important commentary. Paul begins, “I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you…” and let’s not pass by this little phrase too quickly. Paul ...

  Paul writes to the Philippians that they should have the same mind or attitude as Christ.   And that attitude or mindset is:   humility. On this Palm and Passion Sunday, let us consider that Christian value and quality of humility.   It is a characteristic we see most prominently in Christ our Lord, and most especially in his obedience unto death on the cross.   But it is also a quality that is reflected in his people by the power of His Spirit. Like so many things with the Christian faith, we see in the concept of humility a deep and subtle mystery, a paradox, and are constantly led away from ourselves and again to the foot of the cross.   But especially as this Holy Week begins, there really is no better place to be, than at the cross, with Jesus. Paul begins, “let this mind be among you, which is yours in Christ”.   It’s a bit of a strange statement.   He’s telling them to be something, but in the same breath admitting they already are,...

  50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” The Centurion—Matthew 27:50-54 Today we come to our final minor character of the Passion account.   As with most of these, we know little about this man – not his name, not his origin, really only his job and a statement he made when he observed how Jesus died – “Truly this man was the Son of God”   It’s a notable comment, to say the least!   Certainly, something we can agree with. ...

Sometimes people will say, “Pastor, I want to tell you something but you have to promise not to tell anyone.”  Or maybe your kids will say to you, “Dad, I want to ask you for something but you have to say yes”.  Another like it is, “I want to tell you something but you have to promise not to be mad.” Well it’s hard to make such a promise before you know what you’re agreeing to.  The asker maybe is trying to soften the blow a bit, or prime the pump to test how generous or patient you are feeling.  In any case, that’s what James and John seem to do with the request they bring to Jesus. There’s the request before the request, the question before the question, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever it is we ask of you.” This suggests that they knew their request was at least somewhat out of line.  These disciples, after all, were prone to their own little petty squabbles and contests.  We know for certain they would argue which one of them was the greatest...

Simon of Cyrene Mark 15:16-22 16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters),2 and they called together the whole battalion.3 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. 21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). Malchus and Mark, Annas and Caiaphas along with the Servant Girl, all background characters in the Passion account, through whom we have explored a bit deeper into the story.   Tonight...

  The Servant Girl 15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. 17 The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18 Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. 25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” 27...

  The True Temple It’s one of those little phrases from the Bible that’s made it into the secular lexicon:   “Your body is a temple”.   But the scriptural theology of the temple is rich and deep, and goes to much more than treating the body well.   It steeps us in Jesus who is crucified for us, rises from the dead for us, renews and restores us by his grace. It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Temple for the people of God.   In many ways, the temple was the center of it all.   The focal point of Jerusalem, built atop Mount Zion.   Central to the entire promised land, and that at the crossroads of the world, where 3 continents meet.   The temple!   The grand house of God, built by Solomon as a more permanent version of the Tabernacle, which was just a tent, really.   And it stood from Solomon’s time for some 500 years until it was destroyed by the Babylonians.   But then the Persians came to power, and Cyrus decreed the ...