Thursday April 17, 2014

Read Mark 14:43-15:15

If the events that happened to Jesus on the eve of the first Easter happened in any court of law today, the case would be immediately thrown out of court.

Jesus is falsely arrested without any charge by a mob of ruffians sent by the religious leaders. He is betrayed by a ’friend’ who let’s the crowd know that the man to be arrested is the one he kisses. Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss!

Clearly the Roman officials and the crowd could not pick out Jesus from the crowd. He had committed no offense against them and most of them couldn't even identify Him in the police line up! No court would allow this today!

When Jesus was hauled off, the Sanhedrin was illegally convened before business hours and they clearly had a preconceived agenda. Notice verse 55! They were looking for a reason to try Him and convict Him. He was arrested without any clear charge or evidence. They had even pre-decided that He deserved the death penalty. All they had to do was work out the charge! Even if the worst criminal today received this kind of treatment people would be up in arms because of the injustice!

Witnesses were called but they were blatantly guilty of perjury. No lawful court should or could accept their testimony. They even had conflicting stories. The case should have been thrown out immediately.

But this kangaroo court continued to hop along.

The only ‘crime’ Jesus committed was to admit to the High Priest’s question that he was the Messiah, the Son of Man who will sit at the right hand of God the Almighty. For this, the jury returned the fastest guilty verdict in the history of mankind. They agreed that death was the only suitable penalty. To add injury to insult, Jesus was spat on, blindfolded, struck, mocked and beaten.

But only the Governor could dish out the death penalty so they brought Jesus to Pilate. The fact that he was available well before reasonable “business hours” and that he was willing to hear a case so early in the morning would suggest background wheeling and dealing by the religious heavies. Would a modern day court of law allow the case to continue if the legal eagles and the judge had already colluded and come to some decision?

After hearing from the accusers Pilate asks Jesus if he is the king of the Jews. Very few rule books consider being a king to be a crime worthy of the death sentence. Again Jesus should have been immediately freed. But he wasn’t.

Jewish custom dictated that the governor could release one criminal to the Jews to placate them. To the innocent observer Jesus would have been a natural choice but because of the hostility of the crowd and the influence of the biased leaders Pilate was compelled to release Barabbas - a convicted murderer!

Jesus, in all his innocence, was condemned by the crowd (and eventually by Pilate himself) to be crucified.

Yet for all this injustice we read in Acts 4:27-28

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. ²⁸They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

God’s perfect and infallible will was in play. God’s plan had not been thwarted or perverted. God would allow His own Son to be sacrificed as a perfect substitute for you and I. Hallelujah!

Prayer:

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

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks

Supplication:

ª Pray that God would bring many people to your services over Easter and that He would allow many to understand that Jesus was punished on their behalf and offers them the full and complete forgiveness of God.

ª Pray that those who preach will be bold, clear and simple in their proclamation of the Gospel. Pray for many conversions.

Worship Moment –  Spontaneous worship often leads to mindless repetition. Real worship takes thought, planning and preparation.  For any given Sonday church meeting each individual needs to assess their internal state and to confess sins, repent of attitudes etc and come to God with a great expectation of meeting with Him. Those involved in the service need to plan the service in a way that will bless and edify the worshippers. There is much preparation at many different levels. Mindless repetition is not worship and is never glorifying to God.

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. In what ways can you prepare for meeting God on any given Sonday?

2. Should Easter be any different? Check out Romans 14:5 first.

3. How can families prepare together for “worship” at church?

Wednesday April 16, 2014

Read Mark 14:32-42.

Jesus entered the familiar garden. He knew it well. He’d been there often and all the disciples were on familiar ground. But tonight something is different. Jesus just isn’t himself. Jesus is anxious. No! Overwhelmed. He’s overawed deep in his soul, even to the point of death. There’s an eeriness, a creepiness in the air.

As Jesus walks ahead of the disciples he falls to the ground, exhausted and filled with sorrow. He prays in anguish. Drops of blood like sweat fall from his brow. He cries out in affliction to His heavenly Dad, ‘Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I desire but what you desire.’

Exhausted and filled with sorrow, Jesus confronts the disciples because in the hour of His greatest need they are sleeping! But he doesn’t rouse on them or slam them. He encourages them, understanding that the body is weak even thought the spirit is willing. 

Again Jesus walks a slight distance away. Again he falls to the ground exhausted and overcome by emotion and sorrow. Again he cries in anguish to His heavenly Dad. Again he returns to the disciples, heartbroken because they have yet again fallen asleep.

But alas! There’s no time for that now. The betrayer is coming. Jesus knows the end is near. Jesus knows that he’s been stabbed in the back by a close friend. Jesus knows that a kiss will seal his death. Death is only moments away!

Prayer:

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

Adoration:

Confess:

Thanks

Supplication:

ª Pray that God would help you understand the cost of Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf. Pray this for everyone in your congregation.

ª Pray that those who visit your church on Easter will be able to understand what it cost for Jesus to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice to God the Father so that His wrath could be poured out and so that we could all be offered total, unlimited forgiveness.

 Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Why did Jesus have to die?

2. A friends says to you, ‘I don’t know how you can worship a God who kills His own Son.’ How do you respond?

3. List 3 people you can invite to your church’s Easter Friday and Easter Sonday services.

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?

Monday April 14, 2014

Read  Mark 14:1-11

If Hollywood ever got a hold of the Bible story they could turn it into a great murder mystery novel. Who betrayed Jesus? Why was he betrayed? Why was he falsely accused? Who stood to gain the most from His death? Why did Jesus really die?

But as you read through the gospels it doesn’t read as a murder mystery novel. There is no suspense about the impending death of Jesus. In Mark 8:33ff, 9:30-32, 10:32-34 Jesus has told the disciples in plain English (or every day Aramaic!!) that He is going to be crucified, die and be raised to eternal life. The shock value comes not from solving the “Who Done It?” mystery but from the realization that God would send His only begotten Son into the world to die an accursed death so that you and I can be forgiven.

Even as far back as chapter 3, verse 6 the Pharisees and teachers of the law had already begun to plot ways to kill Jesus.

When the woman carrying an expensive alabaster jar of perfume pours it over the head of Jesus, the disciples are scandalized and rebuke her severely. The incident acts as an incentive or catalyst for Judas to contact the religious leaders to betray Jesus. He’s so angry that he runs to the enemy to betray the Son of God.

But Jesus again uses the event to teach us that He must die. There is no other way than for Jesus to die accursed by God. There is no other option. If you and I are to enjoy favour with God, peace with God and a relationship with God then Jesus must die.

The mystery is not in the ‘Who Done it?’ You are guilty. I am guilty. We are all guilty. Jesus died because each of us is guilty. The mystery is in the coming of the sinless one, the perfect one, the one who deserves all glory and honour and praise to be treated like a criminal and to die on the cross bearing our rebellion upon his crime sheet.

Prayer:

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

Adoration:

Confess:

Thanks

Supplication:

ª Ask God to fill your church this Easter with thousands of people seeking to find the truth of Easter. Pray that the cross and resurrection would be powerfully proclaimed and that by God’s grace many would come to repentance and faith in Jesus.

ª Pray that the people you invite to your church’s Easter services will be able to come, that they will come and that they will be challenged by the Word and that they will enter into a saving relationship with Christ Jesus.

 Worship Moment –  To work out your salvation with fear and trembling is really a life of worship because this command means asking, ’How shall I live to glorify God?’ This is an easy question in good times but a hard question in tough or bad times. But when we live to glorify God life is worship.

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. How do you deal with the statement, ‘Not everyone in the church is a Christian and not everyone in the church will go to heaven’.

2. Why should we make sure that we are properly attired in Jesus’ righteousness as per the parable?

3. If I am not sure whether or not I am saved, what can I do?

Saturday April 12, 2014

Read Philippians 2:12-13, Hebrews 2:1, 10:26-30.
There are many passages in the Bible, some of which are listed above, that suggest at least on the surface that we can lose our salvation. If we are to maintain the reformed position then we have to deal with these verses. It’s certainly not plausible to entertain the notion that the Bible would say at one point that you are saved for ever and then contradict itself at another point by saying that you can lose your salvation. If my interpretation of a particular verse contradicts another part of the Bible then my interpretation is wrong.

Philippians 2:12-13 balances the equation well. We are commanded to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. But the very next verse tell us that we are to do this because God is at work in us to bring forth His will and His desire in our lives. Think about it in terms of the parable of the four soils. God works in us and grows us to produce fruit. As genuine believers we are to make sure that we are not rocky soil or weedy soil. We are to make sure that the soil is fertile so that the seed can bear fruit 30, 60 or 100 fold of what was sown. We are working out our salvation with fear and trembling even while God is at work in us to will and to act according to His Good purpose.

In this vein we can see Hebrews 2:1 as an encouragement rather than a threat. We are exhorted and urged to pay more careful and thorough attention to the truths we’ve learned so that we do not unnoticeably drift away from God. The person with a good soil heart will want to make sure they are not drifting away. The good soil heart will be encouraged by the exhortation to pay more careful attention to the teachings we received and may even thank the exhorter.

Worship Moment
To work out your salvation with fear and trembling is really a life of worship because this command means asking, ’How shall I live to glorify God?’ This is an easy question in good times but a hard question in tough or bad times. But when we live to glorify God life is worship.

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?

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

Confess:

Thanks

Supplication:

• Pray that God’s Spirit would be active and powerful tomorrow among your congregation as the Word is peached, sung and as prayers are offered up. Pray that God would be greatly glorified through the church.
• Pray that your church would appropriately focus on Father, Son and Spirit tomorrow and that each worshipper would be drawn nearer to our triune God.