We were privileged and blessed to paricipate in a Seder meal last night. Terri, who was born and raised in a Jewish family and now is a committed believer in Jesus Christ, along with her team, orgainized this beautiful service. Brothers and sisters in Christ, belonging to various churches, came together to celebrate and participate in this Holy Event. Alice and I came home blessed and filled. We will be participating in a Good Friday worship service with our neighbors, Union Center Christian Church. The service will be held at 6:30 PM. We will have a glorious sunrise Service at 6:30 AM at the Pavilion of the UC Christian Church, Boswell Hill Road, Endicott. We will have Easter Morning Worship services at 8:30 and 11:00 AM at the Union Center United Methodist Church and at 9:30AM at the Wesley United Methodist Church. Those of you live in the area and do not have a church family to worship with please join us. We all will be blessed. We also have our Weekly Television Ministrty outreach on Time Warner Cable TV Channel 4 at 7 PM. I will preaching on the death of Christ at the Cross.
I read about how
our brothers and Sisters in Christ around the world are celebrating during this
Holy Week. In India Good Friday is national Holy day. Churches hold special
worship services on the Passion of our Lord every day of the Holy Week. In
Orissa they have special Baptismal services held during this Holy Week,
culminating on Easter Sunday. I am in touch with several young adults who are
getting Baptized on Easter Sunday. They are excited about their new life in
Christ. They are asking that we would pray for them so that they can be sweet
and bold witnesses for Jesus Christ here and now.
Praise the Lord for Jesus the sinless Savior. "For if a man is in Christ he becomes a new person altogether—the past is finished and gone, everything has become fresh and new. All this is God’s doing, for he has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ; and he has made us agents of the reconciliation. God was in Christ personally reconciling the world to himself—not counting their sins against them—and has commissioned us with the message of reconciliation. We are now Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were appealing direct to you through us. As His personal representatives we say, “Make your peace with God.” For God caused Christ, who Himself knew nothing of sin, actually to be sin for our sakes, so that in Christ we might be made good with the goodness of God. 2 Cor 5: 19Ff
Praise the Lord for Good Friday. Something good and gracious took
place when Christ went to the Cross, when He said in triumph,"It is finished".
Praise the Lord for Jesus the sinless Savior. "For if a man is in Christ he becomes a new person altogether—the past is finished and gone, everything has become fresh and new. All this is God’s doing, for he has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ; and he has made us agents of the reconciliation. God was in Christ personally reconciling the world to himself—not counting their sins against them—and has commissioned us with the message of reconciliation. We are now Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were appealing direct to you through us. As His personal representatives we say, “Make your peace with God.” For God caused Christ, who Himself knew nothing of sin, actually to be sin for our sakes, so that in Christ we might be made good with the goodness of God. 2 Cor 5: 19Ff
J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) states,
"But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"He was despised and
rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our
pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
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.
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
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.
He was oppressed
and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment
he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord’s will
to crush
him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
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.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors."
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
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.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors."
Praise the Lord for the Good News from the Graveyard on Easter Morning. On Good Friday foes and friends of Jesus Christ our Lord said it was over. "The Lord is crucified. He is dead. He is buried. His tomb has been sealed; it is all over." The disciples and the friends of Jesus were devastated. They were utterly destroyed, dejected, depressed, very afraid and demoralized. But the Lord was about to do something Big and Amazing. Into the world of Good Friday, of weeping and crying, and utter hopelessness, the Lord who is the Resurrection and life came back as the Risen and the conquering King. The Angels who proclaimed His birth on Christmas morning in Bethlehem, proclaimed outside the City walls of Jerusalem, "Why do you seek the living among the dead, He is not here He is Risen, come and see and go and tell."
In Revelation 1:17 it is written, "Fear not, I am the First and the
Last. I am He that liveth, and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore,
Amen, and have the keys of hell and death.
It is Friday and Sunday is coming.
My Lord, what a Morning!
In His Power and promise,
Brown
From the Parsonage:
Notes from
Alice:
There is an old saying,
“spring is just around the corner”.
Already this year I am beginning to feel the onset of spring in my
innermost being. Though the onset of
winter became dramatically evident on one day, Christmas Day, 2012, so spring is
coming in gradually, making small differences day by day. A few days ago two lone, brave, Canadian geese
traversed the morning sky, calling out to each other across the distance between
them. Early spring flowers are struggling
to break through the ground in the front garden.
The remnants of the last snow are crusty and grainy, not the fluffy snow
of winter. Around the parsonage it took
long to pack away the decorations of Christmas-time but, one by one, the tasks
are being accomplished. It is time to
look forward and not behind. Two
harbingers of spring I have not yet heard or seen, however. No robins have gone bob-bob-bobbing along as
of yet, and I have not heard the night-time chorus of “peepers”. So, I guess it is safe to say that it is a tad
too early to pack away the winter coats.
It is, however, time to look forward.
The coming of Easter is on
the horizon, and Christ’s earthly kingdom is preparing for a great celebration
of His glorious Resurrection on Sunday, March 31. I can’t quite believe that it is less than
four weeks away! I am reminded of the
many years when I pored over filling Easter baskets, making coordinating Easter
dresses, and attending to all of the Easter preparations. Sometimes our niece and nephew would come and
spend Easter with us, especially when we lived in Nichols. On Easter morning I would hide baskets of
goodies in every conceivable place. Once
I even hid a basket in the washer and another time in the microwave. Each of our daughters had to hunt for her
treasure. I fondly remember those hunts
and believe that they do as well. It was
part of our family tradition.
Easter is so much more than
mere tradition. It is our Sovereign Lord,
maker of the Universe, condescending to take our sins upon His own self at
Calvary. He was raised incorruptible,
triumphant over death, and victorious against Satan. He is alive, both now and forevermore. Easter is more than Easter bunnies, baskets,
eggs, and fine clothing. Easter is about
our Savior, who conquered sin and death so that we might live triumphantly and
expectantly in and through Him. It is
about being emboldened by the Holy Spirit that we might walk in His resurrection
power every day. It is about fearful Good
Friday disciples who became Easter messengers.
Jesus is alive, and because He is alive we can live in and be His
faithful witnesses. Alleluia! He is Risen!
Pastor Brown and I are both
looking forward to Easter. Jessica and
Tom plan to join us from Philadelphia and Laureen from Binghamton for the
weekend. I do so look forward to a bit of
“girl time” with Jess and Laureen. Though
the others won’t be here for the weekend I eagerly look forward to spending time
with the ones who are. Then, in the days
immediately following, all three of our grandchildren are planning a visit here
for a few days. Yes! Micah, Simeon, and Ada will all be coming out
to spend a few days, Lord willing. It
will be the time to get out the bicycles and big wheels (and to attempt to curb
their Grandpa’s one rule: “no shoes, no rules, nothing”)! This will be only our second time taking care
of all 3 at once here. I am very grateful
that we have been blessed with the spacious grounds, the swings, and the large
parking lots so that there is plenty of room for running
around.
May
the blessings of the Risen Christ be with each of us in the coming days, that we
may truly be Easter people every day of the year.
Alice
