No Easter Without Events Of Holy Week

Today we enter Holy Week. On this Palm Sunday we also celebrate Passion Sunday at Zion Lutheran. I will narrate the whole story; from Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem with palm branches waving to his burial. We do this in order so that as many people as possible can hear the passion story. We will not have as many at worship as we will on Easter Sunday; but, we will have some who will not be with us on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday or Holy Saturday to hear the story. They will be there to hear of his rising from the grave; but, they will not be there to hear of the actual sacrifice that he made that precipitated his resurrection. Without death there can be no resurrection. Without Good Friday; without the events of Holy Week, there can be no Easter Sunday. Therefore; on Palm Sunday we also remember his passion for us. We remember that because he loves us he was willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried and crucified for us.

Join us at Zion or your local congregation this morning and throughout Holy Week as we remember all that our Lord has done for us.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Where Did Monday Go?

 

^"And He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.'" Mark 2:27-28 NKJV

A lot of people really dislike Mondays. But, on most Mondays; lately, I have had to keep reminding myself that it is actually Monday. My Sundays have been so busy lately that by the end of the day it feels like I have completed two days and I totally want to move on into Tuesday. Although, it feels a bit awkward; it is a good thing. By Saturday, I have actually been able to take a Sabbath rest. I can spend most of the day just being in intentional communion with God; studying His Word and praying. This is a very good thing for me. It helps me to prepare for the first day of the week; which is not Monday; but, Sunday.

I do not despise this first day of the week. I do not really have much time to think about it. I just follow the daily planner and keep on moving. But, I do thank God for the day of rest that He gives me on Saturday so that I might be refreshed, so that I might be reenergized, and ready to go very early on Sunday morning. As Jesus tells us, the Sabbath was made for us. May God help you to all find time to spend solely resting in Him.

God's Peace - Pr. J

1 Corinthians 16:1-5 Sunday Worship

1 Corinthians 16:1-4 NIV
Paul instructed the Corinthians to set aside an offering to be used for the mission of the church on the first day of every week, on Sunday. They brought their offerings when they gathered together on Sunday to break bread and to remember all that Jesus had done for them.

More than once, I have heard the excuse not to come to worship because worshipping on Sunday is a man-made ritual taken from a pagan custom of worshipping the sun. We worship the Son, not the sun, and He was indeed risen on the first day of the week, Sunday. Excuses like this in no one way justify anyone gathering with members of the Body of Christ to hear the Word, to join in the breaking of the bread, or to fellowship with other believers.

We know that the Sabbath, the day of rest, is Saturday. But, the gathering of Jesus' followers happens on Sunday. This "ritual" was not created decades later by an institutional church. It began on the day that Jesus was resurrected when he went to the disciples who were gathered together in fear in that room behind locked doors. Those first disciples continued to gather together for worship on the first day of the week, on Sunday, in remembrance of the Lord's first appearance to them after his crucifixion.

"On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight." (Acts 20:7)

Only one or two hours on Sunday to celebrate what our Lord has done for us? Rejoice! for the Lord is risen! Rejoice too that, most probably, none of your pastors have the habit of preaching 'till midnight, unless of course the service doesn't begin until 11 p.m..

God's Peace - Pr. J

Luke 6:1-11 Day of Rest

Luke 6:1-11 NIV

What to do with the Sabbath? What can one do on the day of rest?

Years ago when my husband was logging, every now and then, he would get this crazy idea that he would have to work on Sundays instead of going to our place of worship. It never failed! The equipment would break down and he'd lose even more time fixing it, as well as a whole lot of money.

When confronted by the Pharisees and the teachers of the law about healing a man and his disciples picking some heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath, he said, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” and "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." In Mark 2:27, he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

I don't believe that my husband was being punished for working on Sunday. But, the reality is that we need to find time to rest in the Lord. Working seven days a week is just not good for anyone. Things happen when we get tired and worn out. We make more mistakes than usual. God gave us a day of rest and the best place to rest is in Him.

The Sabbath is a gift to us. May God help us to be good stewards of our day of rest and use it wisely.

God's Peace - Pr. J