One of the early lessons Christian parents teach their children is how to pray. We may take their little hands as they sit in their high chair and hold them together and teach them to say, “Thank you, Jesus, for this food. Amen.” Another time we teach them to pray is at bedtime. We teach them a “nighttime” prayer.
44 He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 He said to them, “This is what is written and so it must be: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 Look, I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Have you ever been thrown into a situation where you are told to do something you have never done before without anyone showing you how to do what you are supposed to do? That can be very frustrating, can’t it? It works far better when someone shows you what you are being told to do. It works far better if someone shows you how to operate the machine. It works far better if someone shows you how to hold and swing the bat.
We are a culture that is obsessed with connections. And most of it has to do with that little thing we carry around called a smartphone. That phone is our connection to the world. It is our connection to family and friends. It is our connection to information. It is our connection to music. It is our connection to social media. Because of this, we are constantly after better connections, faster connections, cheaper connections, more powerful connections. For most of our younger people, they cannot conceive of living even one day without a wi-fi connection.
Pastor Jerry Ewings is leading our worship services today. Pastor Ewings served at Lord of Love from 2006 – 2017. He and his wife Lori currently live in Lake Mills, WI.
Many of you here today have heard the apostle John referred to as “the apostle of love.” Why is John called the apostle of love? Does that mean that the other apostles were somehow deficient where love was concerned? Not at all! It’s just that in the books of the Bible that John wrote, love comes up quite often. For example, in John’s gospel he has a very interesting way of referring to himself. Four times in his Gospel, John refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”
“Shalom!” You have all heard that word. Many of you even say it. You recognize it as that Hebrew word that Jewish people use both to say hello and to say goodbye. Most often the word “shalom” is translated into English with the word “peace.” And that’s not bad. But the word in Hebrew is more complex than that. According to one Hebrew dictionary, “shalom” can mean all of the following: completeness, soundness, welfare, peace, safety, health, prosperity, quiet, tranquility, contentment, security, and friendship.
Have you ever thought about what you want inscribed on your headstone some day? It’s not a thought we likely relish. No one really likes thinking about such a thing. If you’ve ever walked through a graveyard and looked at some of the inscriptions on headstones it’s clear many people have given it a lot of thought. Here are some of the more clever inscriptions I have heard about.
The Service of Darkness centers on a series of lessons, psalms, and liturgical texts that reflect on the Lord’s crucifixion and our repentance. As the service progresses, the candles of a sevenfold candelabrum are extinguished until only one remains. This candle is not extinguished but is removed from the chancel, leaving the church in darkness. The service is closed by a loud noise (known as the strepitus) that foreshadows the rending of Jesus’ tomb on Easter. After the strepitus, the last candle, still burning, is returned to the chancel. It thus anticipates the light of the paschal candle. The service ends without a benediction. We exit in silence to reassemble on the Festival.
Have you ever stopped to consider how many times it is recorded in Scripture that Jesus ate with people. Jesus went to dinner at Matthew’s house. He went to dinner at Simon the Pharisee’s house. He had dinner at the home of a man known as Simon the Leper. On the Saturday before Palm Sunday he had dinner with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany. This is just to mention a few. The Pharisees once came to Jesus’ disciples and asked, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? (Matthew 9:11)
