Church Staff devotions: Missing the Point - Mark 15:31

Bible Passage: Mark 15:25-32

Key verse:      Mark 15:31     In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can't save himself !”

I cannot begin to imagine both the humiliation and hurt that Jesus must have felt as His own people hurled insults and mocked Him. Their words and curses must have felt like rocks and stones violently impacting His heart and soul. The physical pain of crucifixion must have been awful, but the mental torment and spiritual agony that He also endured must have been absolutely sickening.

Jesus had spent three years helping and healing His people. He taught them about God’s love and mercy. He preached to them about changing their ways and receiving abundant life. His message was challenging and radical, but His mission was about redemption and restoration. Unfortunately, His people missed the point, so instead of embracing Him, they executed their Christ.

Sadly, this is still going on in Christ’s churches today. Some of His own people will miss the point by making up their own ideas about who He was, and of what Jesus does in the world today. Even with so much information about Christ, His life, people, and community freely available to us today, there will still be those who will mock Him with their misconceptions and insult Jesus with their ideas. Holy Week will come and go, but they will not be one step closer to Christ because they will have missed the point of His Passion entirely.

Questions for personal reflection

How has Christ’s death affected my life? What has He done to challenge and change me?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, the point of Your Passion is at the heart of why we are Christians. You died for our sins, so we must come humbly to You to ask for mercy and forgiveness. Sometimes our pride gets in the way, or we take Your grace for granted. Help us to make this week holy in our lives by taking time to serve, honor, and glorify You for all that You accomplished on the Cross. In Your Sacred Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s latest Holy week drawing called “Christ Nouveau.” It’s a depiction of Christ Crucified in the style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the great Scottish artist who inspired Frank Lloyd Wright. If you would like to view a larger version of the image, please click here:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5072/6897826374_c074c38fbc_b.jpg

Church Meeting devotions - Holy Week - Final Footnote - Psalm 22

Bible Passage: Psalm 22:1-5

Key Verse:      My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?                      Psalm 22:1

Every year our church has an actual sunrise service at a beautiful private school campus in our town. On a good morning, you can see for miles and the Great Smoky Mountains are perfectly silhouetted on the horizon. A couple of weeks before the service takes place, I go to the US Navy website to get the actual time of sunrise, so that I can let our people know when to gather at the school’s flagpole.

When I looked at the time this year, I got a terrible shock: Easter sunrise is at 6:10AM. I thought that this was a bit early, but the US Navy has never steered me wrong, so I accepted the time and let everyone know when to gather at the school. I pictured us all arriving with tired unwashed faces, unkempt hair, and yawning all the way through the singing, prayers, and gospel readings.

Fortunately, our church choir director re-checked the timetable and noticed the footnote at the bottom: Add one hour for daylight time, if and when in use.

The actual time of Easter sunrise is 7:10AM! As Bugs Bunny would say: what a maroon!

Because I didn’t read the footnote, I got the time wrong. Coincidentally, the same thing happens with Psalm 22. When we read those first words being spoken by Jesus from the Cross, we think that God has abandoned Him and that Jesus is painfully separated from God. To be forsaken by a parent is a great emotional loss to anyone, and so we interpret Christ’s use of this scripture as a way of expressing His complete despair and sadness of being isolated from God.

But we haven’t read the footnote, which comes in the last verse of this psalm: ‘They will proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn-- for He has done it.’ – Psalm 22:31

Jesus is not bewailing the fact that He has been abandoned by God; He is actually singing a song of salvation where God delivers His people for all time! It’s not about being forsaken and isolated; the Cross is about being saved and restored to God.

Question for personal reflection

How has Christ’s death become a blessing for me?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You won the battle of good versus evil, life versus death, and sin versus obedience when You died on the Cross. You sacrificed Yourself for us; You obeyed God perfectly and completely. You knew that His plan of salvation for humanity succeeded. We will be eternally grateful to You for this Supreme Sacrifice which eternally restores us to God. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving our souls and bringing us back into God’s gracious Kingdom. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. if you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s latest Good Friday drawing of Christ being crucified. It’s called “Outside a City Wall.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7100/7027482543_2af1a2c5f8_b.jpg

Lent devotion: 700 Years - Isaiah 53:11

Isaiah 53:11    After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 

I am constantly amazed at how much the descriptions of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 are perfectly matched with Christ’s suffering and execution. There’s about seven hundred years between the prophet’s writing and the crucifixion of Jesus. It’s more than just coincidental; it’s divinely predestined and appointed by God.

I like the sacred and spiritual lead up to Easter. It’s a whole lot more meaningful than the commercial chaos that we now call Christmas. Believers get time to focus on their Christian faith and when it is done properly and consistently, the season of Lent helps us to lean upon God in the midst of our own issues and crises, pressures and problems. It’s a wonderful way to draw nearer to God. It’s a special time to commit ourselves to His Suffering Servant, the Crucified Christ.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You suffered because You served God completely. Your agonizing death paid the absolute price of our sins. Because of Your obedience and sacrifice, we can be among the many that will be restored to God. Help us to draw nearer to You each day. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is part of a Good Friday drawing that John is working on, which is based upon the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7194/6923675459_89c9fd470b_b.jpg