Tuesday April 15, 2014

Read Mark 14:12-31.

We can easily lose the enormity of what we are doing in the Lord’s Supper and the awe of the person we are kneeling before. Don’t you think this is true? It’s so easy to take the bread and the wine and to routinely eat and drink without really stopping to appreciate or to contemplate the significance of what we are doing.

When Jesus sent the disciples into the city they had to prepare for the Pass Over. That Pass Over would have been repeated thousands of times over throughout houses in Israel. Preparation was as important as the event itself. Households spent the better part of a week preparing for the Pass Over. But hear this carefully. They were not just preparing for a ritual or a ceremony. They were preparing to meet with and connect to God. In their preparations they even placed an extra chair around the dinner table where Messiah could sit! There was an expectation that God would be present at the ceremony and preparation, both physical, personal and spiritual was expected.

Will you take time to prepare yourself to meet with God this Easter? Will you invest the time to meditate on the Word of God? Will you create time to reflect on His work at Calvary on your behalf? Will you contemplate His greatness and majesty? Will you humble yourself in His awesome and majestic presence?

All too often we come into God’s presence unprepared, dazed by the stress, hassle and intensity of the world. All too often our own concerns and anxieties dictate how much or little we connect with God  in our gathered meetings. All too often we are too rushed, too busy and too harried to meet with God and to relate to Him.

Preparation is vital. Take time this week, even if it’s just a few minutes a day, to prepare to meet with God this weekend over Easter.

Prayer:

Having read today’s passages, jot down 2 points for each type of prayer.

Adoration:

Confess:

Thanks:

Supplication:

ª Pray that God would prepare your heart and the hearts of those  in your congregation to meet with Himself this Easter. Ask God to be powerfully at work in your congregation.

ª Pray that the gospel would be so clearly preached this Easter that the non-church goers and visitors would be struck by God’s majesty and holiness so much that they would repent and believe in Jesus.

ª Pray that the regulars at church would be so struck by God’s majesty and holiness that they would fall in love with Him all over again and recommit their lives to Him anew.

 Walk Moment –  We all struggle with sin. We all wrestle with doing what’s right and sometimes choose what’s wrong. But when we realise that Jesus lived and died for me, that he hung on the cross for me personally, it becomes very hard to willingly walk into sin any longer.

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Why should we work out our salvation with fear and trembling?

2. A person in the church says to you, “I know that I can’t lose my salvation so I’m going to live it up and look after myself.’ How do you respond?

3. How would you explain this concept of working out our salvation even though we are eternally saved to a younger teenager?