Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Special Services / Easter Season 2003

Easter 2003

When Jesus washed his disciples feet, He taught us much about what it means to serve others.

First, servanthood is a priority. It was the time for the feast of the Passover and Jesus knew that his time to die was quickly approaching. Knowing that his time was almost up, with all that was on his mind and all that he ‘needed’ to do, he put a towel around his waist and washed the dirty feet of his disciples.

Why waste that kind of time when his end is so near? Why? Because he wanted to show them how important it is to serve one another. And because Jesus loved his disciples. They were not only his students, they were his friends, his family. In the same way, you here and all those who attend CBC are not just church members, but are Wes and my friends, you are all our family and we love you.

Jesus by his washing the feet of his friends, demonstrated to us that nothing shows our love for one another like humble service.
And there is something here that is very important for you to take notice of. All the disciples were present for the foot washing. All the disciples…even Judas. Judas, having already decided to betray Jesus, was among them and received the same humble service as a demonstration of God’s love. Doesn’t that speak volumes? Jesus washed Judas’ feet. So we can not limit our demonstrations of love and kindness to those who come through our doors here at CBC. We have a responsibility to serve, a responsibility to love those who don’t love us back.

Jesus considered lovingly serving others a priority in life.

Second, servanthood is for every Christian. Jesus, in Jn 13:12-17 reminds his disciples that now that they have seen and known these things…Jesus’ humble and loving servanthood, they are to do the same. Jesus was saying that we can not call ourselves Christians and be unwilling to serve others. You see, the foot washing was not really about personal hygiene, it’s was about serving others at personal sacrifice, humbling ourselves when we don’t have to.

It is meeting the needs of others, even though we really don’t have to do it…but we do because we want to. Why? Because of love.
    -Watching a friends children so they can go out on a date or do ministry together.
    -Going over to friends homes to help them shovel out of a snowstorm.
    -Listening to a friend talk when you really don’t have the time to do so.

Wes and I, as Elders here at CBC don’t need to wash your feet. I bet you all washed them a couple times before you came. But we want to wash your feet, to demonstrate our desire to love you, our desire to serve you.

There are two chairs on either end of the communion table. When you are ready, take off your shoes and socks and come sit in one of the chairs. If you are uncomfortable and wish not to have your feet washed, that’s OK. Just stay in your seat and sing, pray and worship God.

Scripture Reading: Matt. 26:17-19, 26-29
Message:                                                                 ‘He Served’pt.2

The Last Supper can not be viewed apart from the celebration of the Passover found in the Book of Exodus. It represents the deliverance of the people of Israel from their bondage to slavery by a foreign taskmaster. All the ritual acts of the Passover kept every year in Jewish homes looked back to that great event called the exodus.

When Jesus said, ‘this is my body broken for you…This cup is my blood, and with it I make a new covenant with you’. Jesus was accomplishing a new exodus.  All the Jewish homes were making final preparations for their Passover lambs to be killed to celebrate the freedom from bondage God provided for them. And on the cross, the Lamb of God was being slain to free us from all that holds us to slavery to sin.

So we come to the Lord’s Supper, together, side byside w/o distinction of rank, class, color, income tax bracket or sex. And we come humbly. We do not argue here. We do not even ask questions. All we do is receive what God has provided for us. We do it together in gratitude. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.

Scripture Readings: Matt. 26:30; Zeph. 3:17
Message:                                                                           ‘He Sang’

The Passover celebration was a festive one. The singing of four Psalms called ‘Hallel’ was meant to raise the roof at the Passover. One of the non biblical writings of the time talk of singing, shouting and dancing as part of the celebration of the Passover meal. No reason to believe this didn’t happen with this very Last Passover Jesus would have with his friends.

The Psalms express many emotions. A Psalm is a poem that is sung. In other words, a Psalm is a song. The ‘Hallel’ Psalms are the most joyous of all Psalms. And it was probably Ps 118 that Jesus and his disciples sang as they went to the garden. ‘Hallel’ in Hebrew means ‘Praise the Lord’. Even in this solemn time, joyful praise is appropriate.

One of my favorite texts in the Bible is Zeph. 3:17. Because it tells us that God is a singing God. God is a God who sings praise songs. And best of all, He sings joyful songs, joyfully…to us! Can you believe that? God rejoices over us with singing! Perhaps that is why Jesus said even if we are silenced, the rocks will cry out. We were created to sing praise to God…after all we are just imitating our master.

Scripture Reading: Matt. 26:36-46
Message:                                                                        ‘He Prayed’

Vs. 36-37a
1. Jesus sought prayer from those closest to him.
    Did you notice that many times in Scripture, it tells us that Jesus went alone to pray, away from the crowds, even away from his disciples. But not this time. This was too big, this was too troublesome. Jesus needed the companionship of friends. And he needed their prayers. Jesus, faced with the reality of aloneness, wants those closest to him at his time of need.
    -Please, don’t hide you needs from those closest to you.
    -Please, don’t try to face your hard times alone.
    -Please, call on those closest to you, to be with you and to pray for you.

ILL: George MacDonald once noted that one work horse can move 2 tons. Two work horses, in harness, working together can move 23 tons. Macdonald put his finger on the strength of the church. When we work and pray together, God can do great things.

Mid Week Praise & Prayer  is a good time for that.

Vs 37b-38
2. Jesus didn’t try to hide his true feelings.

Crucifixion was designed to produce the greatest degree of shame and to inflict the fullest amount of pain, for the longest possible time. The nails the soldiers would drive into his wrists and feet would cause excruciating pain. The whip with lead spikes would tear the skin off his back and draw blood, red blood just like yours and mine.

This is the suffering Jesus saw. His humanity forces him to acknowledge his true feelings. He was sorrowful and troubled. His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow…to the point of death. He has every reason to be overwhelmed with sorrow and he didn’t hide it. Neither should we.
    -Don’t try to mask over you feeling.
    -Don’t try to repress them by saying they don’t matter.
    -Be honest with those closest to you when they ask how you are. But more importantly, be honest with God in prayer. Let him know you are hurting, you are depressed, you are angry. And then let him bring healing.
 
Vs 39a
3. Jesus knew who he was praying to.

Jesus cries out ‘My Father’ or ‘abba’ which means daddy and it signifies a relationship. It is a term of endearment, of closeness, of love. To Jesus the Father was not some abstract figure, he wasn’t a vague benevolent something out there somewhere. Jesus knew he was praying to, crying out to, his loving father.
    -Is that who you cry out to, talk to in prayer? Do you know God as ‘abba’? Do you trust him to love and care for you?

Vs 39b
4. Jesus knew the power of God.

Jesus prayed ‘if it is possible, remove the cup’. Jesus knew his Father could do anything. Why pray to God if you don’t think he has the power to answer your prayer? Don’t forget that Jesus knew Scripture..because he wrote it. ‘Nothing is impossible with God’. Remember the angels statement to Sarah at the announcement that she will have a child in her old age? Jesus remembered and he counted on it.

Jesus prayed believing God could answer his prayer. BUT, he also prayed accepting the fact that his Father might not answer his prayer. Jesus understood that sometimes what we want, no matter how good it might seem to us at the moment, may not be the best for us.
    -Learn that lesson. With God nothing IS impossible, except to answer your prayer by giving you what is not his best for you. Trust God to give you his best.

Vs 42
5. Jesus remained obedient to God.

Jesus was ready to submit to whatever God wanted. He was ready to submit to God whatever the cost.  That was the way he lived and it will be the way he will die. ‘Whatever’ is an awful big word. Yet, it is precisely the word we need to make a regular part of our prayer life.

Do you realize that Jesus, God’s only and beloved Son, prayed a prayer that God didn’t answer? The cup didn’t pass. He didn’t get a ‘yes’ from God. YET, he still trusted and was obedient to God..even with a ‘no’.
    -That is the way we are to live. When faced with unbearable sorrow in your life, pray…go talk to your heavenly dad.

‘Abba’ father, this is too big for me to handle. You can do anything, I know that, nothing is impossible for you. Please take this awful thing away. However, dad, you always know best. Please, don’t answer this prayer if it is not your will and if it will not be the best you have for me.’

Scripture Reading: Lk. 23:44-49
Message:                    ‘He Died’

The Passion of Christ. Passion week. Both talk about the time between Palm Sunday and Easter. Have you ever thought why ‘passion’. It doesn’t seem to fit, especially in our modern usage of that word.

Passion: is a stroll in the park, hand in hand with the one you love, with no idea of the time.

Passion: an athletes attitude for their sport that causes them to practice rather than hang out with friends, and that makes what is so hard, seem so simple, so effortless.

Passion: a connoisseurs love for their art and their excitement when they talk about what they love.

Passion: what causes jealousy on the Young and the Restless.

These examples of passion, these demonstrations of emotion are often not linked to Jesus, especially when we are talking about his death. And yet…they should be. Why?

Because Jesus is starry-eyed, recklessly, jealously passionate for you and for me.  He is smitten with you as a young lover is enamored by his first love.Jesus pursues you with the same kind of passion that an Olympic athlete pursues his sport.
Jesus is in love with you as a connoisseur is in love with his priceless piece of art. Jesus can’t wait for the joy of your presence every day. Jesus is jealous for our affection.

Jesus is passionate for us. But passion is not just warm fuzzies. Passion also involves pain.

The athlete beat her body as she runs to beat the clock…the passion for her sport brings her great pain.
The wife whose passion is her husband, is devastated with pain when he is diagnosed with cancer.

Passion always is accompanied by pain. That’s why  Passion Week is associated with pain when Jesus suffers death.

What would cause someone to endure the kind of pain, torture, humiliation and suffering Jesus went through? Passion! It was Jesus’ passion for you and me that gave Him the strength to endure the crucifixion, the separation from God.

Jesus died, my friends, because you one day would be his friends, and even before that would ever happen, he loved you enough to die for you.

Jesus is calling us from the cross of his passion to live lives of passion for him.

To love your families, friends and neighbors with such a passion that you are broken in the process of loving them.

To love those who are w/o Christ with such a great passion that it breaks your heart that they have yet to ask Jesus into their lives.

To live life with such passion that people will take notice and as the soldier at the foot of the cross…they will acknowledge the work and presence of God in your life.

Jesus died..because he loved you with a great passion.