Holy Week 2023

Artwork from The Final Week of Jesus video series by Crossway - borrowed from our friends at Emmaus City

Friends this is Holy Week. We remember that though Jesus was hailed on Palm Sunday, by the end of the week He was hated. On Good Friday He was crucified, died, and was buried.  It was Friday, but Sunday was coming. Let's take time to remember our Lord this week. With solum somber remembrance let us reflect on Him. With joyous jubilation let us  give praise to Him for what He has done. Won't he do it? Yes He Will!

Palm Sunday - The Sunday before Easter. We Celebrate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

15 "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" (Joh 12:15 ESV)

Maundy Thursday - The Thursday before Easter. Commemorating the Last Supper. We remember Jesus washing the disciples feet and His overnight prayer and the disciples trying to keep watch with Jesus in the Garden.

12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you?  13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.  14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.  15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.  (Joh 13:12-15 ESV)

Good Friday - The Friday before Easter. A solemn day in terms of the Church Calendar. We remember the day Jesus Christ was crucified. We remember his walk to the cross (the stations of the cross) and the silence while he was on the cross.

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst."  29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.  30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (Joh 19:28-30 ESV)

Holy Saturday - The Saturday before Easter.  We remember Jesus lay in the tomb. In remembrance and somber reflection we are reminded he said "It is finished." If Jesus had not died on the cross where would we be?

38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body.  39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.  40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.  41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.  42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (Joh 19:38-42 ESV)

Easter Sunday - We remember death could not hold Him. He is risen. We celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We sing a hallelujah and rejoice.

"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1Co 15:55 ESV)

ESV  Matthew 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.  2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.  3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.  4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.  5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.  7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." (Mat 28:1-7 ESV)

Pentacost

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2Co 13:14 ESV)

TODAY! Sunday Jun 5th we recognize our connection to the church calendar in the celebration of Pentecost.

When we say "I believe in the Holy Spirit - the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins," These are two great impossibilities not only in our world but especially so in our hearts.

What communion do we have with each other in a world torn by war? What communion do we have with one another when our relationships are torn?

Who can forgive sins? Our tendency is to go toward one of two extremes: either in terms of being sinners, we are not that bad, we justify whatever we do, "hey you should see the other guy" and so forgiveness is something that needs to be expressed toward us (we forgive ourselves) but not so much about our expressing forgiveness to others. The other extreme we tend toward is that when it comes to sin, we are just too far gone to be saved let alone forgiven.

But the gospel says that because of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ, God has forgiven our sins and through his spirit he has united and is uniting us to his son and through the spirit we have communion with him.

But do we forgive and are we in communion with others?

The pandemic has been tough. We are self-justified having every personal reason to NOT be in community and more so communion with those around us. And as for forgiving others: you don't have to forgive who you don't see.

But the Holy Spirit in whom we believe is able to do the impossible even when it comes to our hearts is the Spirit of forgiveness and fellowship.

As 2 Cor 13:14 says, which by the way is  the passage from which we get our commonly proclaimed benediction each week, "Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God the Father, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever more."

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and with me and with us.

Let us deepen in our understanding of the impossible forgiveness and fellowship that the Holy Spirit enables us to have.

5/31 Weekly Chapel Notes

As we approach the summer I wanted us to consider where we live work and play.

In grade school the summer is about play, even through college with summer break we get a break. I remember as a child, warm summer days without school, where I lived became more vibrant, full of life, though I was essentially doing nothing, as Calvin and Hobbes once said "the days are just packed."

When we become adults the work aspect of live bleeds into what was once a playful summer.  We cope and adapt but never really gain that childhood bliss of having no agenda.

 Where we live becomes mundane. Where we work more so. Where we play, if we have the time, can even become a chore. But what if we had another view, a way to see things maybe not as they are but as they should be? What if where we lived, worked, and played were vibrant and full of wonder instead of mundane?

 The gospel allows us to see things despite what they are as they should be. In this case where we live work and play are the places where God intended us to be and as we are present to him and his work we are his witnesses. We've been empowered by the Spirit to do so.

Would you pray with me this week: "Lord let me be a witness where I live.  Let me be a witness where I work. Let me be a witness where I play." The prayer might start like this: "Lord let me see how you are present and Lord help me to be present to you." The Holy Spirit empowers us to do what is impossible: be witnesses. Let's pray for people to pray for. Let's pray for people that they might know God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and the Holy Spirit.

P.Fred

5/29 Chapel Notes for Sabbath Worship

The Ascension [Ongoing]

Acts 1:6   So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:6-8 ESV

When it comes to the church calendar we often forget the ongoing nature of special days gone by. Its like a birthday: we celebrate (or mourn) being a year older but in actuality we are another day older each day culminating by His grace in another year given. The same goes with special days according to the church calendar like Easter. Easter is not a one and done day but ongoing. We learned this through the Creed: he ascended and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. And He is still ascended and seated until he comes again to judge the living and the dead.

This past Thursday (5/24) on the church calendar was ascension day where the church worldwide celebrates the ascension of our Lord. Without the ascension the promise of Jesus to send a helper, the Holy Spirit, would have been fulfilled.

On that same day was the horrors of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in UVALDE, Texas. Is Jesus still ascended and seated? Yes but his being seated is not a matter of inactivity. He is interceding for us.

34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Rom 8:34 ESV

He is interceding and so should we. Let's lament, mourn, and pray for the families of the victims: children and teachers who lost their lives.

And let us be reminded that one day Jesus will return. He will come to judge the living and the dead.

He is not dead nor are we. We are alive in Him and His Spirit is in us uniting us to him. We believe in the Holy Spirit.

Because of the Spirit in the meantime we have been empowered to be his witnesses and what is impossible with man is possible with God.

What is impossible for you? How shall we be His witnesses? How shall we be salt and light to a decaying and dark world.

Only by His Spirit. We believe in the Holy Spirit.