Every Friday is a good Friday in my book, but THIS one is GOOD Friday! I pray that you might take a moment to pray a "thank-you" to Jesus for what He has done for us.
Last Sunday the Jam Band practiced a new song that is perfect for today. I'm singing these lyrics in my mind today:
Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus I was a prisoner, now I'm not With Your blood You bought my freedom Hallelujah for the cross
Easter at Church Requel. We have enjoyed a very special week at the church with two different worship team rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday evenings. I'm so looking forward to helping to lead you all in worship this weekend. Joining me Sunday morning will be Chris Thoman, Tamara Engstrom and Brian Betts. The songs we will be singing on Easter morning are some of our most favorites: "My Savior Lives" by Desperation Band, "Happy Day" by Steve Fee and "My Redeemer Lives" by Hillsong. Brian is also going to sing a special song for us: "Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)" by Casting Crowns. If you feel about these songs the way we did on Tuesday night, you'll be dancing in the aisles!
Reader's Theater by our Students. We are pleased to have our children taking part in our worship Sunday too. Anna, Leia, Paityn and Sicily will present “He’s Alive”, a student theatre production. At Church Requel we believe our children are not just the church of tomorrow. They are the church of today! One Sunday a month they participate in the worship experience with their families upstairs. I can't wait to hear their presentation!
Goodie Bags For Our Children Sunday Morning. Every student and child walks away from Sunday’s Easter worship with a personalized Easter goodie bag. Let’s thank DeeDee for coming up with this great idea and Mary Kay and Marci for helping to put the bags together last week. And let’s thank all of you who donated to make these goodie bags possible!
(Personally I'll be glad when the goodie bags are gone from the church office. Way too much temptation this week for me! Ha!)
Sunday's Easter Sermon. I've titled the sermon: "The Most Incredible Message." And by that I am not referring to my sermon!
Where do you search for Jesus? If you don’t find Him maybe it’s because you’re looking in the wrong places. We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on this Easter Day 2018 and talk about what this means for each one of us. This is such incredible good news it must be shared.
Would you like a head start on the sermon notes? You can find them in your Bible app by clicking on "Events" and then choosing Church Requel. Or you can see them in your browser window here.
Pancake Breakfast on April 22nd. Speaking of my sermons, we are nearing the end of the Luke series. Did you know that we started in on December 21, 2015? Ninety-six sermons later - on April 22nd - we will come to the end of this study.
Let’s celebrate this 2 1/2 year adventure with a pancake breakfast. And let’s thank Dave Repp and Sheri Nichols for coming up with this great idea and organizing it. The breakfast will begin at 9:30am on April 22nd, so plan on coming early BEFORE our church service.
Invite your family and friends for Easter! Both Mary Kay and I have been engaging people this week, talking about our Easter church service at Church Requel. We have both been pleasantly surprised by the response we have received. Everyone has been quite interested and several have responded that they've been looking for a church to attend on Easter. They were appreciative that we talked to them about our church. What about you? These next 48 hours will be the best opportunity you have to invite people you know to church. Your personal invitation is THE BEST way to include new people in our church. Let's not keep this beautiful, wonderful, loving family a secret. Please invite someone you know to come Sunday morning!
Hope to see you and your friends Sunday morning! Love you all, Pastor Mark
In our Christian calendar we rightly make a big deal out of Good Friday and Easter, but what about the Saturday in between? The Saturday ‘twixt gloom and glory? Ironically this is where we live most days of our lives, not on the mountaintops nor in the valleys. As we consider the last ten verses of Luke 23, we discover three examples for living out our Christian faith on those days when we feel neither the elation of the celebration nor the despair of the sorrow.
You can follow along with the PDF sermon outline here.
Twixt Gloom & Glory - Luke 23:47-56 NIV
Lots of sermons about Good Friday and Easter. Not many about the Saturday in between. That’s ironic considering that it’s the Saturday between gloom and glory where we live 90% of our lives. We talk about what to do when disappointments and grief (gloom) come your way and we talk a lot about the glory of the Christian life! But what about those many (most?) days when you’re feeling neither up nor down?
#1: ___WORSHIP___ with God’s help when I don’t feel like it.
“The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, ‘Surely this was a righteous man.’” Luke 23:47 NIV
This may be the same centurion from Luke 7 who showed great faith for his servant’s healing. He was an officer. Didn’t gamble. Didn’t snooze. Watched everything. (List.) Concluded this Jesus was not guilty of crimes (righteous man!) Mark 15 records “Surely this man was the Son of God!” All solid impartial witness info for us to help our faith. One more critical fact: The centurion praised God. This goes against our normal sense of joy in worship. Yet on this day of all days, He praised God. Great example for us. This praise came out of a disciplined heart, not just an emotional one. He praised because it was the right thing not the easy.
How do we worship and praise, when we don’t feel like it?
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” Psalm 40:1-3 NIV
The Hebrew understanding of “wait patiently” is not the same as ours. Means “seek eagerly!” The Bible promises us that if we seek God, He will be found! (Deut. 4:29 / Matt. 7:7) That’s just how God is. AND that’s just how God designed humans to be - God seekers and finders! When we find God, HE gives us a song! Based on discipline. I started to advise something like “fake it until you feel it.” But that’s wrong with worship. Jesus was critical of fakers. The discipline comes in seeking God.
Two Struggles I must work through to praise God:
A. ___GRIEF___ from a broken heart.
“When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.” Luke 23:48 NIV
That’s understandable. There was nothing more to see or do. I’m sure there was also emotional grief & emptiness. On our own it is impossible to worship when our hearts are empty. No more tears to cry! We feel like we’ll never experience joy again! God knows! Psalmist assurances:
“I am faint and severely crushed; I groan because of the anguish of my heart.” 38:8 HSB
Life is not all rosy. Jesus KNOWS groaning! & anguish! But promises…
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” 34:18
The Bible doesn’t advise that we get our act together, pick ourselves up by our bootstraps, or just get over it already. We don’t save us! God does!
B. ___COMPLACENCY___ from a distant heart. (The more common)
“But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.” Luke 23:49 NIV
Have you ever felt like you stood at a distance from God? When it comes to worship do you ever feel more like an observer watching these things, rather than a participant? The answer once again is to seek God!
“Come near to God and He will come near to you.” James 4:8 NIV
Like Deut 4:29 & Matt. 7:7, this is a promise. This is just the way God is and they way He designed you. Learn to recognize complacency. Realize how deadly it is to your faith. REVIVE your faith by seeking God.
#2: ___DO GOOD___ when I see the opportunity.
“Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action… He took [Jesus’ body] down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock.” Luke 23:50-51,53 NIV
Joseph is a good lesson for us regarding good people being involved in groups that may have questionable ethics. Our first instinct is that good people should never be involved in anything that is un-good(unrighteous) so our gut says good people must resign at the first sign of wrong. But then wouldn’t the result be that all the good people are not involved? That the bad just becomes worse? Our schools, government, businesses need ethical, sound, righteous involvement from Christians at every level. Joseph sounded his dissent but then when the opportunity presented itself, he took action! You don’t have to FEEL LIKE IT to do good! It’s just the opposite: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 ESV
Those without the Christian faith - those without hope - give up. Not us!
“Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24 ESV
We have a duty to not only do good ourselves, but to encourage others in our Christian community to do the same. This is how we overcome the worldly hopeless, blasé attitude that what we do doesn’t matter. It does matter.
#3: ___OBEY___ the commandments trusting that God knows best.
We come to this last “TWIXT” story of the women who wanted to bury…
“The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” Luke 23:55-56 NIV
Every instinct they had was to give one last honor to Jesus by giving his deceased body the spices and perfumes necessary to keep his decaying flesh from stinking as fast as would otherwise be the case. One last favor we could do for you! But that came smack up against obeying the Sabbath commandment. What did they do? “In obedience to the…”
What was one of the last teachings of Jesus?
On multiple occasions Jesus told his followers the importance of this…
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. / You are my friends if you do what I command you.” John 14:15 / 15:14 NASB
Do you think God has a sense of humor that 1551 years later, when Robert Stephanus first numbered the verses in each chapter of the Bible that these two verses became 14:15 and 15:14? Last week we sang about being friends of God. How do we know for sure we are His friends? Jesus tells us. We keep his commands! We often think of this as a hard thing to do for those who are unrighteous. Actually the more difficult is for the righteous - for there will be times (like with the women) when a good thing to do will not be the commandment thing to do. What do we do when this happens? TRUST GOD! That’s what is most involved in obeying the commandments - trusting that God knew what He was doing when He gave us those commandments in the first place!
Conclusion - These three things are what we spend the majority of our Christian lives doing - in the 90% of the times when we are twixt gloom and glory. (1) WORSHIP. Seeking God so that we may praise Him. The strength we receive from our worship gives us energy to (2) DO GOOD and (3) OBEY COMMANDS. When we place our faith in action with (2) and (3), our every instinct is to come back to (1) worship. All three become on in the same. Acts of worship. More than singing. It’s not only the Saturday between gloom and glory, but every eternal day of our forever lives!
Palm Sunday is this weekend! Our Mansfield temps will be warming up to more normal springtime weather. We have some great things planned for Palm Sunday at Church Requel. Dinah Stanfield will be singing with Brandi and Trish! That's exciting! It will be wonderful to see Dinah back on the CR platform.
They will be leading us in singing "Come To The Cross" by Michael W. Smith, "Jesus Paid It All" by Kristian Stanfield, "Call Upon The Lord" by Elevation Worship and "Hosanna" by Paul Baloche. Click on any of the links for YouTube lyrics to prepare your heart and vocal chords for some awesome worship time! I love these special worship experiences that Brandi plans for us, don't you?
Our sermon this Sunday is titled, "Twixt Gloom & Glory." In our Christian calendar we rightly make a big deal out of Good Friday and Easter, but what about the Saturday in between? The Saturday ‘twixt gloom and glory? Ironically this is where we live most days of our lives, not on the mountaintops nor in the valleys. As we consider the last ten verses of Luke 23, we will discover three examples for living out our Christian faith on those days when we feel neither the elation of the celebration nor the despair of the sorrow.
Want a head start? The sermon notes are already posted in your Bible app. Just click on Events and then Church Requel. You also can see them in your browser here.
Easter Goodie Bags For Our Children. This Sunday will be the last day you can bring in candy for the children of Church Requel.
Yes, we will be giving our CR kids a goodie bag on Easter Sunday. DeeDee has put together some Easter surprises to go with your donations.
This coming Sunday she would like some help after church to fill those the bags for our kiddos. If you can stick around for a few minutes after our worship time, that would be great!
Jam Band Also Meeting Sunday After Church!
Mark, Brandi, Dan, Don, Chris, and Brett have jammed on a few different Christian songs. They will be jamming Sunday after church and would love for you to join them! We have heard from some of you that you are thinking about joining up. No pressure! We just have a lot of fun together and sometimes even make beautiful music. Lunch will be provided.
If you would like a look at some of our chord sheets, just let me know and I'll get them to you.
NEW CR Book Exchange. Each week you'll find a good selection of Christian living and Christian fiction books available to you in the back corner of the sanctuary around the piano. If you see a book you like, take it with you. Read it. Share it. Own it. Give it away. Your choice. We're hoping to be an exchange - a place where books will pass from one hand to another. We ask that you bring books to church that you are willing to share.
Kay Butts is overseeing the exchange. Last weekend Amy joined her! We have the beginnings of a team! Any volunteer help would be appreciated. Books are already being collected. Last weekend, Kay tells me, we gave away 8 books! Seems like you all are getting the idea of this exchange rather quickly!
Easter Invites! Easter is now only one week away! This is a special opportunity to invite family and friends to church. People are much more likely to come with you on Easter morning. But they need to have an invitation from you.
We are passing out special invite cards for you to give away in the days ahead. So be thinking and praying about who God may want you to invite!
Over this past week I have spoken to several new people who are planning on come to Church Requel in the weeks ahead. This is definitely a good time to talk to others about your church. Also, if you see someone new at church, make sure to introduce yourself and do your best to make them feel welcomed!
Let's be praying for Juanita. She is currently experiencing illness which kept her away from church last Sunday and probably this Sunday as well. Also let's be praying for new people coming to Church Requel. God may have some great things in store for us if we'll only ask Him. Love you much! See you Sunday! Pastor Mark
Even while Jesus was enduring the pain of crucifixion, he encountered 6 groups of people. In this sermon we examine these exchanges to discover powerful meaning to us two thousand years later. Open your Bible to Luke 23:26-46 as we consider cross encounters of the divine kind.
We encounter the cross of Christ through the eyes of 6 groups there:
Encounter #1: Simon from Cyrene ______________ the cross.
”As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.” Luke 23:26 NIV
Not from the country like just outside the city. Cyrene located in Libya, a 900 mile journey. Journey took over a month. Potentially dangerous. Big risk weather, marauders, wild animals. Crowded Jerusalem relief & accomplishment. Would get to see Jesus. Eat passover in Jerusalem. Wrong place at wrong time? Roman soldier grabbed him, forced him to carry cross. Instantly unclean. All those miles in vain. Anger? Fear? Then he saw Jesus, what was left of him. Body mutilated beyond recognition. Simon could not participate in Passover feast but he encountered the Passover Lamb that changed his life forever. Doesn’t matter what your plans are. When you encounter Jesus your life changes. And it could be the most unexpected encounter you ever have!
Encounter #2: Wailing women _____________ the cross.
”A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.’” Luke 23:27-28 NIV (See also Hosea 10:8)
Women of Jerusalem - unlike the men - unconvinced of Jesus’ criminality - they remembered the miracles, the hope of the Messiah. Couldn’t believe their own government complicit with the Romans to execute Jesus. Then Jesus stops the entire parade to Calvary. This is the last paragraph from Jesus! And its with the women of the city. “Don’t mourn for me. Mourn for yourselves.” Then he reaches into Hosea! Voice of prophet who married a prostitute! Quoted a wish for mountains to fall upon us because death was preferred over what was to come. Jesus knew not only the future of the next 3 hours, but the next 40 years and the fall of Jerusalem. Doesn’t matter what your plans are. Jesus knows your future. And the future of the world. Life without Christ is not worth the living. Jesus knew Calvary was worth it! Don’t mourn what Jesus did for you.
Encounter #3: Betting soldiers _____________ beneath the cross.
”And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” Luke 23:34 NIV
Four Roman soldiers - not Jews - not familiar with Old Testament prophesies, randomly assigned to Jesus’ execution. Their right was his clothing. Passed out head-dress, sandals, girdle & outer garment. 4 to 4. But then came to the tunic, indivisible, unique, more valuable. What do they do?
“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. ‘Let’s not tear it,’ they said to one another. ‘Let’s decide by lot who will get it.’ This happened that scripture might be fulfilled.” John 19:23-24 NIV (See also Psalm 22:18)
Consider that until then the prophesy of how the clothing could be divided 4 ways and yet still need to cast lots to determine who got it was a mystery. 1,000 years later happened just like it was predicted. God’s plans work out. We can’t always see it or understand it. But we look back and think, oh I get it now. Every detail. Every jot and tittle. God has a plan for you and me too. He knows us intimately and created us for His unique purpose. We go through tough times and can’t understand why, but we can look back later and see who we have become as a result of what we endured. And we can look back (or we will be able to look back) and say, oh I get it now.
Encounter #4: Mockers ______________ wine up to the cross.
”There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.” Matthew 27:34 NIV (“wine mingled with myrrh” - Mark 15:23)
We come to a confusing question of wine offered to Jesus. Luke & John say he drank. Matthew Mark say no. Which is right? Both! 2 times. First time with Matthew & Mark, Jesus was offered wine to drink with gall (myrrh) - a narcotic to dull the pain of the crucifixion. He refused shortcut. Took on the full pain of the execution. But then 3 hours into the ordeal…
“The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar.” Luke 23:36 NIV
Mocking him. Come down off that cross if you’re so mighty! John adds:
“Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge… and lifted to Jesus lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’” John 19:28-30 NIV (See also Psalm 69:21)
Psalmist talks about BOTH gall and vinegar - both fulfilled in Jesus’ sacrifice. We already talked about God’s Word being inspired & fulfilled. Same truth here. But consider this too. Both deal with the full penalty for our sins being completely paid for. Jesus did not shortcut the pain of the cross in any way. When his mouth was so dry that he could not speak and he knew his time was short, he said he was thirsty. What was it he wanted to be able to say? Why did he take the vinegar? So that you and I would know for sure: “It Is Finished.” Tetelestai. Paid For In Full!
Encounter #5: Two criminals ________________ next to the cross.
”Then [the other criminal] said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Luke 23:42-43 NIV
Was it a coincidence that there were two thieves crucified on either side of Jesus? One joins the crowd to mock Jesus even in his dying minutes. The other defends Jesus and asks to be remembered - demonstrating saving faith. Jesus ignores the first and rewards the second. This same division happens today all over the world. Why will some reject and mock while others show remorse and faith? To be ignored by Jesus would be a terrible tragedy. To be welcomed by Jesus would be the ultimate reward. Which side of Jesus do you want to be on?
Encounter #6: Temple veil ___TORN IN TWO___ by the cross.
”And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.” Luke 23:45-46 NIV
3 things happened all at once: (1) Jesus cries out to His Father; (2) He drew his final breath; (3) the temple curtain (veil) torn in two. What was this veil? Thick! 4 inches. Fashioned from blue, purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. 60 feet high! Separate the “Holy of Holies” from rest of temple worship. Once a year the High Priest was permitted to pass beyond this veil to enter into God’s presence for all of Israel and make atonement for their sins. BTW - this high priest was to wear a tunic with no seams from top to bottom. Sound familiar? Jesus became both our high priest AND the sacrificial lamb to atone for our sins!
“We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtains that is, his body.” Hebrews 10:19-20 NIV
The tearing of the veil at the exact moment of Jesus’ shedding of His own blood for us was a sufficient atonement for our sins. And now the way into the Holy of Holies was not just the right of one high priest once per year, but now is open for all people, for all time, every and any time. God moved out - never to dwell in a temple. Now He wants to move into to the new temple - the temple of your very being. He went through so much to make it possible.
There are six groups of people, but we've only talked about five. Who are the sixth group? Us! You and me! Our only question is this: will you let Him in?
I hope this sunny Friday morning finds you all doing well. I have spent the week honing the message I plan to bring to you Sunday morning, which I'm calling "Cross Encounters." We'll talk about 6 different groups of people that Jesus encountered on Good Friday.
It's hard to believe, but Good Friday this year is only 2 weeks from now. I want you all to be prepared for the best Easter you've ever celebrated. My goal for this Sunday is to plant the seeds in your mind of just how miraculous and victorious Jesus was on that day two millennia ago! If you would like a head start, open your Bible app and click on "Events" and then "Church Requel." You can also check out the sermon notes here in your browser.
Easter Candy and Goodie Bags. This Sunday and next you may bring candy and goodies to give to our children on Easter Sunday morning. Next Sunday (Palm Sunday March 25th) will be the day we assemble all the baggies. Stick around after church next week, if you are able, to help us out. Many hands will make the job go more quickly! Many thanks to DeeDee for her inspiration for this project for our children!
This Sunday's worship will be lead by one of our largest praise teams: Brandi, Brian, Bessica, Brett, Aaron and Amy. They plan to practice Saturday morning at 11am and then again Sunday morning at 9:45 to be prepared to lead all of us at 11am. Thank them for their dedication!
Brandi has planned what she calls a Sunday worship sandwich! That means we'll sing two worship songs at the beginning and then another two worship songs at the end. I love it!
Here are the songs scheduled for this Sunday: "Unstoppable God" by Elevation Worship; "Friend of God" by Israel Houghton; "There Is Power" by Lincoln Brewster and "Glorious Day" by Kristian Stanfill. Want to get started with your worship singing early? I created a special YouTube playlist just for this weekend. Each video has all the lyrics so you can sing along. And for you Church Requel musicians, the final song - Glorious Day - has all the chords too. I found myself strumming along this morning on my ukulele!
Jam Band Meets Again Next Sunday. Speaking of my ukulele I met with all you Jam Banders last Sunday after church. What a wonderful time we all had. You can see all the instruments lined up in the photo above. Can you tell which one is mine? One person told me it looked like it shrunk in the wash. Another told me it looked like a hobbit's guitar. I think I may start calling my ukulele "Rodney" because he gets no respect. Ha!
Joining me last Sunday was Brandi, Chris, Don, Dan and Brett. We enjoyed pizza and about two hours of playing and singing songs. It went so well that we plan to do it again one week from Sunday, March 25th.
If you play an instrument stick around next week and play with us. Should be a lot of fun! Students - you are most welcome to join us too!
We have set up a group page on our community website and have stored all of our chord sheets there. Let me know if you would like to have access. I'll get you all set up so you can download everything you need.
Book Exchange Off To A Great Start. Also last week we saw a great kick-off to our book exchange. Each week Kay Butts sets out interesting Christian books on the piano in the back of the sanctuary. They are all free and looking for a good home! Make sure to swing by to see if there is a book there that you'd like to read. Also, if you have a good Christian book that you'd like to share with someone else, drop it off on the piano Sunday and Kay will help get the book into someone else's hands. Thanks Kay for following up on such a great idea!
Luke Sermons Now Total 90! Our very first sermon from Luke was back in December 2015. More than two years later we are coming to the end of this beautiful Gospel. Did you know that last Sunday was our 90th sermon? I have scheduled out the rest of this Gospel of Luke sermon series and if all goes as planned, we'll wrap up our 97th sermon on April 22nd. Wow. Seems like we should have a celebration of some kind. Any ideas?
By the way, you can view and share each sermon on YouTube here. And if you're not already a subscriber to the Church Requel YouTube channel, what are you waiting for? By subscribing you receive first notice whenever we add something new!
I think that will wrap up our newsletter this Friday. Can't wait to see you all Sunday morning! Love, Pastor Mark
From childhood’s earliest days we know the meaning and expectation of “fairness.” How many times have you heard a child cry out in frustration: “But that’s not fair!” There’s just something about rightness and wrongness that is built into our human psyche. That’s why this sermon is so important. There was just nothing fair about the exchange of Jesus for Barabbas. Yet, as unfair as it was, it was the best possible exchange for each one of us.
I believe we are born with a “fairness” gene. Children say early in life: “That’s not fair.” We think life should be fair. Yet the single most important exchange in human history was as unfair as it could be!
1. ___FAIRNESS___ has nothing to do with it.
”The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, ‘Prophesy! Who hit you?’ And they said many other insulting things to him.” Luke 22:63-65 NIV
Before any charges were brought, before any trial, Jesus was mocked and beaten, insulted, made fun of. Lest we are quick to hurl accusations at the guards, I believe they acted under orders. What we see from beginning to end, fairness had nothing to do with it. Jesus did not get what he deserved. As we’ll see before we’re finished - that ends up being a good thing for us. Why? Because we don’t get what we deserve either! All that Jesus endured he endured for us - in our place. There is an “unfair fairness” to Jesus’ passion. He endured the unfair punishment so we wouldn’t have to be fairly punished.
2. Jesus never ___FORCES FAITH___ on us. (But He still IS Lord!) In the mockery of a trial, the religious leaders tried to get Jesus to incriminate himself about His divinity. He knew it and gave them nothing.
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” Luke 22:67-69 NIV
Consider what Jesus could have done. Remember the power he demonstrated when he replaced the high priest’s servant’s ear? He could have called down a legion of angels to reveal themselves. He could have forced each one of them to bow down. He could have caused them to immediately suffer from leprosy. However, that has never been the way Jesus operated. Either then or now. He never forces faith on anyone.
Do you want to have faith? Do you want to believe in Jesus? Then he will make it possible. You’ll discover Jesus in your life…
“Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” John 7:17 NIV
What does Jesus say through John when he is on Patmos 60 yrs later?
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20 NIV
If you are indeed a Christ follower, then you know the truth of this. We call it being under conviction. Feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit asking to come into your life. But He never forces himself. (How could we love if our actions were only forced upon us?) And yet it’s also true that we could not have faith and could not love without Jesus and what he did
3. There was ___NO BASIS___ for any charge against Jesus. Pontius Pilate - the Roman governor under the emperor of Tiberius. He was officially known as the Prefect of Judea. As such he was granted the power of a supreme judge. He had sole authority to order the execution of a criminal. Yet 3 different times Pilate says there is no basis for Jesus:
Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” // “I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.” // “What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty.” Luke 23:4,14,22 NIV
Basis is an interesting word. In this jurisprudence sense it means grounds for execution. We would call it grounds for a guilty verdict. Except it didn’t have to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. And remember that Pilate is both judge and jury here.
Basis has another meaning in economic terms. The basis of an investment is its cost. When filing a tax return, we must know the basis of a sold asset in order to calculate its gain or loss. If something has no basis, then the sale is all profit and results in the highest tax penalty possible. Pilate claimed the charges against Jesus had no basis - or 0 basis. Pure profit for us who are saved by Him. 100% penalty for Jesus!
4. Crowds and mobs do not make the ___RIGHT___ choice. We come to one of the most troubling (and unfair) parts of this event. The mob cries out for Jesus’ execution. And when Pilate offers Barabbus, a criminal actually guilty of the crimes, the crowd demands Jesus be killed!
“But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.” Luke 23:23 NIV
Be careful of “falling in with the crowd.” There is a psychology that happens that overpowers our reasonable sense of right and wrong. If everyone around us agrees, then it seems - feels right. Even though it clearly is not. We must also realize is that mobs can be manipulated:
“The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. / [They] stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.” Matthew 27:20 / Mark 15:11 NIV
Don’t be a member of a mob. Don’t be a crowd pleaser. Stay in tune with God and His sense of right and wrong. Be willing to stand up against the crowd. Whenever I read this I ask where was the blind man? The deaf man? The centurion whose daughter was healed? The lame man? The bleeding woman? The father whose son was paralyzed? Lazarus? Zachhaeus, tree climber who had lunch with Jesus? The large crowds who laid out palm branches the week before? Thousands who were fed?
5. Barabbas for Jesus - the ___WORST___ exchange ever?
“So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.” Luke 23:24-25 NIV
So we come back to the fairness question. Pilate gave in to political expediency. Kept the peace at the sacrifice of the one sinless, guiltless person there. In exchange was a criminal guilty of all the crimes. Was this the worst exchange ever? Yes… and no!
Or the ___BEST__ exchange ever?
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Romans 4:25 NIV
Remember how I’ve told you that you should read this story in such a way that you put yourself into the story? But who are we in Jesus’ trial? I submit to you today that each one of us is Barabbus. Our sins. Our justification! Our transgressions! Our iniquities. Isaiah 700 years before:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6 NIV
Conclusion: Over the next 2 weeks heading into Easter, think about this no basis exchange. There was no basis for people bringing a charge against the sinless God-man, Jesus. There is every basis for God to bring a charge against each one of us - all sinners, all guilty. As hard as it is to think this way, pray - “But that’s not fair!” “And thank you God!”
Easter is only 3 Sundays away! Yay! We have decided to do something differently for our children this year. Rather than an Easter egg hunt after the service, we will be giving goodie bags away to each one of our students and children. This way we can make this event more Christ focused. Also many (not all) of our children are getting older and will appreciate the goodie bag more.
This is DeeDee's brilliant idea! Thanks DeeDee! She has gone shopping (one of her favorite things to do - by her own admission) and found some Easter appropriate items to include in each bag. Now the rest is up to us! For the next two Sundays we invite you to bring in wrapped candy donations to add to the Easter goodie bags. Also, on March 25th (Palm Sunday), you are invited to stay for a few minutes after church to help fill up each baggie.
Easter Invites! Speaking of Easter - this is the perfect time to invite your family and friends to church. We have created post card sized Easter invites for you to give away. (Thanks Brandi!)
We included these invites in last Sunday's program and will do it again this Sunday. You'll find extras on the communion tables. If we need more - just let us know! We'll print up as many as we need. Don't let these invites go unused. You'll be surprised how very likely your friends will be to say "yes" on Easter - if only you would invite them!
This Sunday. Brandi, Trish and Missie will lead our worship singing this Sunday morning. We open up with a new song, "Control," by Tenth Ave. North. Check the song out on YouTube - you'll really like it! Our ladies will also be leading us in an a cappella "Hymns Mashup" by Anthem Lights and "Gracefully Broken" by Matt Redman.
Our singing won't be finished yet, but we plan to invite Mark Baserman up front to share a few words to lead us into communion. This will be the second time Mark has made his way to the Church Requel platform. Some of you might remember what an awesome job he did when he and Loni lit one of our Advent candles during this past Christmas season. Personally, I'm really glad to see Mark taking a more active role within our church!
When we finish communion, we'll come right back to our worship singing with two celebratory songs: "Forever Reign" by Hillsong and "You're Worthy of My Praise" by Big Daddy Weave." We're really in for a wonderful singing praise time this Sunday morning!
We will continue to celebrate after dismissing our students by greeting one another to the sounds of "Happy Dance" by Mercy Me. How can you keep your feet from dancing when you listen to this? We'll collect the offering - thanks so much for your generosity so far this year! Remember you can give online using give.churchrequel.org. Brandi will lead our prayer time. Loni will read our Scripture reading.
Sunday's Sermon - "No Basis Exchange."From childhood’s earliest days we know the meaning and expectation of “fairness.” How many times have you heard a child cry out in frustration: “But that’s not fair?” There’s just something about rightness and wrongness that is built into our human psyche.
That’s why Sunday’s sermon is so important. There was just nothing fair about the exchange of Jesus for Barabbas. Yet, as unfair as it was, it was the best possible exchange for each one of us. Want a head start? Open your Bible app and click on "Events' and you'll find all the notes. Or you can open up the sermon notes in your browser here.
JAM Band meets for music and pizza!We are putting together a JAM band to play during one of the Sundays in April. If you know how to strum a few chords, you're welcome to join us! Our next practice is this Sunday after church. We plan to bring in a few pizzas and enjoy some lunch with some music. We would love for you to join in with Brandi on keyboard, Dan on guitar, Don on bass guitar and Mark on ukulele. (This just in... Brett will be joining us Sunday too!) Students - you are also most welcome to join us! Talk about your "ground floor" opportunities!
New Book Exchange Launches! Each week you'll find a good selection of Christian living and Christian fiction books available to you in the back corner of the sanctuary around the baby grand piano. If you see a book you like, take it with you. Read it. Share it. Own it. Give it away. Your choice. We're hoping to be an exchange - a place where books will pass from one hand to another.
We ask that you bring books to church that you are willing to share. Kay Butts had this dream for us and will be overseeing the exchange. Would you like to partner with her in this new ministry? You may start bringing and taking books anytime.
Every Friday morning I sit down to write this newsletter to you and start off by wondering what in the world I will write about? Then I start thinking and praying and my fingers start to fly. Really - we have so much to be thankful for at Church Requel. I am so blessed to be your pastor. Can't wait to see you on Sunday! Love, Pastor Mark
This new song by Mack Brock, "Greater Things," is so perfect for our congregation. So many people have come through so much over this past year. When I heard this song for the first time last week, I knew that this was a song we had to sing. I changed the key from B to C and sing it an octave lower than Mack. (Not all of us are blessed with such a beautiful tenor voice!)
Last week I wrote to you that I had two new developments to share with you. The first one was the new Jam Band music group forming up. More on that below. But first (drum roll please)...
NEW CR Book Exchange! For the last year or so we have offered new Christian books back on the piano for our guests as our way of saying thanks for coming. Kay Butts came to me several weeks ago with an even better idea. Why not offer Christian books for everyone as our way of saying thanks for coming. From that initial conversation and many more since, we have come up with the idea of a CR Book Exchange.
Here's how it works. Each week you'll find a good selection of Christian living and Christian fiction books available to you in the back corner of the sanctuary around the baby grand piano. If you see a book you like, take it with you. Read it. Share it. Own it. Give it away. Your choice. Maybe you'll see something that tickles your reading fancy. Maybe you'll find a good book that could be helpful to someone you know.
Is this a library? Don't I have to bring my book back? No. We're not trying to build up a collection of books. We're hoping to be an exchange - a place where books will pass from one hand to another. No borrowers or lenders here, thank you very much.
Where will the books come from? The quick answer is "you." As in "you-all." Let's face it. Many of us have good Christian books just sitting around collecting dust. And that's really a shame. Books are meant to be living documents, to be open and read and shared. Or maybe you'll find a good Christian book at a really great price (or even free) and you think to yourself, 'Not my cup of tea, but I wonder if someone else at church might like to read it?' Pick up that book and bring it to church. Give that book back it's glory!
What kind of books are we talking about here? We're specifically looking for Christian living and Christian fiction books. Yes, there will be some filters in place because we just don't have room for every kind of book. And that's not our purpose for this exchange. (My Sci-Fi collection won't be included.) Seriously we will filter out the books that we don't think are good for the soul. So even books that come under a "Christian" label, but really are more self-help or prosperity type of pseudo gospels won't find a shelf life at Church Requel.
Who's going to oversee the Church Requel Book Exchange? This answer is not too surprising - Kay Butts will do it! It's her dream after all. I love her attitude about this. She told me that since her retirement she has been praying that God would give her opportunities to serve and to fill her days with meaning. Watch out when you make a prayer like that! I talked to her this morning before writing out this newsletter and she told me that lately she has never been busier doing things for God and His church. I LOVE IT!
With all kudos to Kay - she can't do it alone. She will need help. For one thing she can't always be at church. Secondly, even if she is here, she may enjoy a week or two off from the Book Exchange. So what about you? Do you have a love of books? A love of organization? A love of sharing and watching people find unexpected free gifts? This this may be a job for you. Talk to Kay. She would love to partner with you.
When does this start up? This is something that will take a few weeks to get going. However, with that being said, I plan on bringing in a few books myself Sunday morning. How about you? Do you have a few good books that you'd like to give away to a new home? Bring them in and leave them on the piano in the back of the sanctuary Sunday morning.
Won't we have too many books? What happens if a book isn't taken after a few weeks? This is the great second genius behind Kay's plan. She will circulate the books in our display. After a few times that a book has been displayed but not taken, she will donate the books to another good organization that could use them. Ultimately we trust God's Holy Spirit to lead us in this new venture. Thank you Kay for your thoughtful plans for this new ministry!
JAM Band Starts Up! This past Wednesday night four of us gathered at Church Requel to try our hands at playing our instruments together. Brandi played the keyboard. Dan played his beautiful Martin guitar. Don played his left-handed bass guitar and yours truly played his ukulele. We had so much fun! We played "Blessed Be The Lord," "10,000 Reasons," "What A Beautiful Name," and "Good Good Father." We all agreed that while we're not quite ready for prime time, we thought we might be able to play during one of the five Sundays in April. So stay tuned!
Our next JAM Band practice will be Sunday, March 11th, after church. We plan to bring in a few pizzas and enjoy some lunch with some music. We are hoping some others might be able to join us that day. We are trying different practice days to see what works best for people. We're hoping that Sunday afternoons may work for more people. Maybe even some of our younger instrumentalists could join us too. Right now there is no minimum level of talent required. If you know how to strum a few chords, you're welcome to join us!
We have started a group on CCB ( https://churchrequel.ccbchurch.com) called JAM Band. Right now this group is open to all. If you want some help getting connected just let me know. This is where we are storing our PDF music chord charts too. This way group members can download the charts for their practice or even upload charts they want to share with others in the group.
THIS SUNDAY!!! Oh my - I'm way long in my letter to you this week and I haven't even mentioned all the cool things going on at Church Requel Sunday morning. This is the first Sunday in March so you know what that means - many of our younger generation will be involved in our worship experience.
Leia Sky Walker will be starting us out with a very special rap song, which she is really excited about. The song is called "Undefeated." You won't want to miss a single note or lyric, so make sure you get to CR on time!
Joining Leia on the praise team this week will be her mom, Brandi, Chris, Tamara, Cindy, Paityn, Saudaie and Bubby. Yep, that's a big team! We all have to show up so that the front of the church isn't proportionately overcrowded! How many churches can say that???
The songs they will be leading are all ones you know and love: "Every Move I Make," "10,000 Reasons," "King Of My Heart," and "All Because Of Jesus."
Grayden and Cohen will be joining their dad, Jonathan, in the tech booth. They both are doing such a great job. We just take their participation for granted. I love the fact that Jonathan uses this as a teaching opportunity for his sons. They have been switching jobs back and forth so that they both have learned how to run everything in the tech booth. They're both chips off the old Jonathan block!
After our singing time, we'll have a greeting time. I have four special requests for your greeting time this Sunday. First, Saturday is Leia's birthday. So everybody wish her a happy one day late birthday greeting. Second, Saturday is also Sicily's birthday. She becomes a teenager tomorrow! Wow! Third, I have heard that my dad will be there Sunday, so let him know how glad you are that he's there. And fourth, we are so happy about Juanita Herr attending now! Haven't you just loved all her baked contributions each week? We are looking for a ride for her on Easter morning (April 1st). If you could give her a ride to church on Easter, please let her and Mary Kay know.
Our sermon Sunday morning will continue our Luke study. Our focus this week will be on Luke 22:35-53. I'm calling this week's sermon, "When Darkness Reigns." For those who would like a head start, you'll find the sermon notes in your Bible app under "Events." Or you can open the notes in your browser here. Have you missed any of the special Luke sermons? We now have all 88 sermons available to you in YouTube.
After our communion and prayer time, my granddaughter Sicily will come up to join me. We plan to play our ukuleles together for an offertory. We have been practicing "Amazing Grace" together for the past two months. Help us out by singing with us please! We're both nervous about it!
Finally, Violet Carrick will come up front and share all of our announcements. As you can see from the monstrous size of this week's newsletter, there sure is a lot going on at Church Requel these days!
Easter Invitations. It's hard to believe, but Easter is now only 4 weeks away! This is a special opportunity each year to be able to invite family and friends to church. People are much more likely to come with you on Easter morning. But they need to hear an invitation from you. To help you out, we will be passing out special invite cards for you to give away in the weeks ahead. So be thinking about and praying about who God may want you to invite!
Wow! What a newsletter! If you actually read this far, pat yourself on the back for me. I love our church. And I love writing about our church. Thanks for being such an amazing congregation! I love you all very much! See you Sunday, Pastor Mark
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