March 29, 2024 |
“And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.” – Mark 15:37 (ESV) On this Good Friday let us meditate upon the seven last words of Jesus from the cross: These seven last words are like seven diamonds on a necklace, each perfect in color, clarity and cut, but varying in caret. They hang
April 7, 2023 |
“And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.” – Mark 15:37 (ESV) On this Good Friday let us meditate upon the seven last words of Jesus from the cross: These seven last words are like seven diamonds on a necklace, each perfect in color, clarity and cut, but varying in caret. They hang
April 10, 2020 |
“And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.” – Mark 15:37 (ESV) “It was most fitting that every word of our Lord upon the cross should be gathered up and preserved. As not a bone of him shall be broken, so not a word shall be lost. The Holy Spirit took special care that
March 23, 2018 |
“And he said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer’” (Luke 22:15 ESV). This coming Sunday begins what many Christians call Holy Week or Passion Week. It is called “Passion” week because of its connection to the Greek word πάσχω (pas’-kho) which is usually translated as “suffer” in the
April 9, 2017 | Luke 23:44-49 |
In the gospel of Luke, the seventh and last word of Jesus on the cross was a prayer that expressed His total dependence in the Father to bring Him home. God hears and answers the prayers of those who will express their total dependence in Him.
April 2, 2017 | John 19:28-30 |
Do you ever feel defeated? Have you ever felt as if you were a failure at everything? School, work, marriage, parenting, etc? Do you ever feel defeated by sin? Like certain sins continue to beset you? Jesus took what looked like complete failure and turned it into total triumph!
In the Gospel of John, Jesus let out a triumphant cry from the cross that He had finished the work of salvation. This salvation is a finished work, yet we still have to respond to it.
March 26, 2017 | John 19:28-29 |
Are you thirsty today? Would you admit your thirst? What are you thirsty for? What desire goes unsatisfied, so that you thirst for it always? As Americans, we rarely go thirsty for basic needs. Food, water, clothing, housing… most of us have these needs met. Yet, our thirst remains. Have you tried to quench your thirst with material things? You spend money you do not have to purchase things that will not satisfy. Yet, the thirst remains, so you keep spending. You thirst for love and relationship, so you give your body away, and settle for sexual lust rather than waiting for covenantal love. So your thirst remains. We thirst for significance, for meaning, for happiness, yet the more we have, the more we drink from every worldly fountain, the more we thirst!
Jesus cried out with the constant cry of all humanity, “I thirst.” Jesus took on our thirst that we might be satisfied. He poured out his life that we might be filled.
March 24, 2017 |
“And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.” – Mark 15:37 (ESV) “It was most fitting that every word of our Lord upon the cross should be gathered up and preserved. As not a bone of him shall be broken, so not a word shall be lost. The Holy Spirit took special care that
March 19, 2017 | Mark 15:33-39 |
In this sermon, we will be looking at the fourth of His last sayings, the word of despair. We will consider Christ’s questioning cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Have you ever cried out to God like Jesus did? Have you ever felt forsaken and alone? Have you ever felt distant from God? Have you cried, “God, where are you?” We all feel lonely at times. We all want acceptance. We want to be accepted and approved. But instead, we often feel rejected and alone. The truth is, if we would rightly understand how our sins have separated us from our Creator, we would cry out with a deeper feeling of despair than we’ve ever felt. It was for this, that Christ took on our despair, that we might receive in exchange, His oneness with God.
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus cried out in despair to God as He experienced the extravagant exchange that it cost Him for our reconciliation. We can understand the cost of this extravagant exchange.
March 12, 2017 | John 19:16-27 |
Have you ever wondered whether God cares? Especially asking, “Does God care for me?” I’ve heard some say, “I’m sure God has better things to do than care about my little problems. Shouldn’t He be busy solving world hunger or peace on earth?” What do you think? Does God care for the details of your little life? Or is He too busy running the universe? In this third word from the cross, we will realize how much God cares for us. He cares for the big stuff and He cares for the little stuff too. There’s no detail too small for His loving care. In the third saying of Jesus from the cross found in the gospel of John, Jesus revealed the loving care that He had for His mother. We can know the loving care that Jesus has for us.