HOLY WEEK

“Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day, he will be raised to life’” (Matt. 20:17-19).

Well, the writing of this disciple pretty well sums up the events of Holy Week. However, the significance of those days cannot be contained in a simple paragraph. So much of who Jesus was, and the nature of man, was revealed from one Sunday to the next. Here is how the Bible describes each day of Holy Week.

SUNDAY — Triumph
Jesus enters Jerusalem (Mark 11:8-10, Luke 19:92-40) and returns to Bethany (Mark 11:27-33, Luke 19:45, 48) — but not before he predicts the demise of the Holy City.

MONDAY — Power
He chased the moneychangers out of the temple (Mark 11:12-17) and taught a lesson over a cursed fig tree (Matt. 21:18-19).

TUESDAY — Confrontation
Judas will betray his teacher (Luke 22:3-6); Jesus will be in conflict with the Herodians, the scribes and the pharisees (Matt. 24:3-25); and the conspiracy against Christ will continue (Mark 14:1,2).

WEDNESDAY — Together
Jesus’ words test His followers’ faith (Mark 13:3-14).

THURSDAY — Passion
This is the busiest day of all — from the preparation for the passover (Luke 22:7-23), to the last meal they would share (Matt. 26:21-24), to the garden where Judas denied Jesus (John 18:3-12), to the arrest, Peter’s denial (Luke 22:60-62) and then to the appearance of our Lord before the high priest (Matt. 26:57-66).

FRIDAY — Suffering
In Mark 15, Luke 23 and Matt. 27, we follow Christ from early morning through the evening: from Pilate, to the cross, and then to the tomb. The film, The Passion of the Christ, makes this day come alive.

SATURDAY — Where? What? Why?
The body of Jesus requested by Joseph (Mark 15:42).

SUNDAY — ALIVE FOREVERMORE!!
The women visit the tomb (Luke 24:1-8), the disciples gather (John 20:2-10) and the resurrected Lord appears (Matt. 28:5-10). HE IS RISEN!!

Be blessed and be a blessing. —HBL

“THINKING WITH A CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW – SEXUALITY”

“I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Romans 12:1-2 NKJV

Our times demand a clear biblical message regarding sexuality in the Church. The Word of God is the only source that can give us the Christian worldview on sexuality. Today, sexual orientation, same sex, and marriage equality issues are being promoted within the Church. These issues have caused division and confusion for over the past twenty years, but now has risen to crisis mode. Many voices are rising from within the Church ranks promoting these issues should be embraced by the Church. Some denominations have embraced sexual immorality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle and no longer call persons to repentance. Their argument is based on scientific understandings that a person is born with a particular sexual orientation. Promoters of sexual immorality as an acceptable lifestyle would also demote the Bible’s authoritative stance on these issues as a matter of personal interpretation or irrelevant. Lastly, promoters of sexual immorality as an acceptable lifestyle would argue that the Church’s ultimate motive of love should override our doctrinal understandings taught in the Word of God about these issues.

The Christian worldview on the issue of sexuality begins with God creating a man and woman for His glory, companionship, marriage, and procreation. Man and woman were created in the image of God. After the fall in the Garden, man and woman became spiritually separated from God by sin. This separation led to a distortion of personal identity and roles. All of creation also suffered the consequences mankind’s sin. Yet one part of human existence that was tainted the most through sin was in the area of sexual morality. Mankind was now ruled by a sinful nature that seeks to pervert sexual relations between a man and woman. One of the running themes through out the Bible is the perversion of sexual relations through sexual immorality. Specifically, the Bible records man now practicing adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bestiality, and incest. Some of the sexually immoral acts were even practiced in a religious context as an act of worship. I believe nothing more perverts man and woman being made in the image of God than sexual immorality. Sexual immorality (all forms) dishonors God’s glory by causing man and woman to unnaturally abuse their physical bodies. Secondly, it perverts the intimacy to be enjoyed between a man and woman. Thirdly, it aborts the divine process of procreation. Lastly, sexual immorality destroys the unique identity of man and woman by reducing our sexual practices to the level of animals. Ultimately, sexual immorality’s abusive character leads to death and destruction of man and woman. Lord, help us to lovingly call all sexually immoral people to repentance and faith in Christ! It is my prayer the Church will continue to preach and teach the Word of God calls us to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship.” NASV