The Triumphant Entry

To most people who have been Christians for some years, the story of the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is well known. Many of us learned the story in Sunday School. Others of us have heard the same story repeated every Palm Sunday.

We are familiar with the story of the colt of a donkey. We are aware of the coats thrown over the donkey or strewn on the ground in front of Jesus riding on the donkey. We can picture the people waving the palm branches. We can almost hear the cheering crowds jostling for a view of Jesus as he rode by.

We feel like joining in when the throng shouts “Hosanna! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” This is an exciting time; it’s a heady experience. We just want to shout our praises too.

If only they knew. If only they had an appreciation of what Jesus was experiencing at that moment. How the irony must have touched him at that point; he was being lauded as a king but he knew that in a few days he would be cruelly crucified.

On reading through the passage in Luke’s account, one little point arrested my attention. It is easily overlooked. “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.” (Luke 19:41) On one other occasion we read that Jesus wept. That was at the tomb of Lazarus. He wept for his dear friend. Now, however, he was weeping for a city. “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace.”

Do we weep for our city of Murray Bridge? Do we weep for the countless people in our community who are hurting, lonely, grieving and without hope? Do we weep for the cruelty and injustice abroad in our midst? Do we weep for those who do not yet know the peace that comes from knowing Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour?

Yes – let us raise our voices in praise to our king. Let us shout our hosannas to our risen Saviour and Lord. But let us also remember the many who need to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

˄TH

Imagine

Imagine the confusion, the hurt and the bitter disappointment of the close friends and family of Jesus. He who had seemed to promise so much had been given a sham trial and found guilty of a crime he hadn’t committed. Imagine the tears as they watched in horror as he was cruelly crucified. See their terror as they saw that precious life-blood oozing from his hands, feet and side. Feel their pain as Jesus cries out in agony. Picture their dark faces as they carried his precious body to that cold, dank tomb. Jesus was dead.

Imagine then their utter bewilderment and amazement – even disbelief – when news came that he was alive! Imagine their overwhelming joy when Jesus stood in their midst; when he showed them his hands and feet; when he spoke encouraging and comforting words to them. Imagine how the two on the road to Emmaus felt when their eyes were opened and they realised that they’d just had fellowship over a meal with Jesus himself. Imagine their joy and relief and renewed hope – just a few hours after all hope seemed lost.

The reactions of the eye witnesses of those events are understandable. How do we react? How do we view these world-changing events? Do we just read the familiar words in a detached, less than impressed way?

This Easter, let your mind dwell on the events which changed the world forever. Grasp hold of the eternal consequences of those happenings on the hill known as Golgotha. Your saviour died there for your sins. He was buried in a nearby tomb, a grave that could not hold him. It had no power over him. Over the coming days and weeks Jesus was seen by many people; he was very much alive.

He is risen – he is not here! The fact that we worship a risen saviour must cause us to pause, amazed that God so loved us that did this for us. Rejoice – for he is risen! Hallelujah!

˄TH

2013 EASTER SERVICES

• GOOD FRIDAY March 29th 2013 at 9am Speaker: David Mills.
• EASTER SUNDAY March 31st Dawn service 6:30am at Sturt Reserve
• EASTER SUNDAY March 31st at 10am Worship and communion. Speaker Ted Smith.

Sleep, Sleep, Peaceful Sleep

I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

                                                                        Psalm 4:8

A sleepless night.

We’ve all experienced a sleepless night at some stage of life. How annoying it can be! We toss and turn. We sigh and glance again at the clock, that ticking monster mocking our efforts to relax and fall into peaceful slumber. Far too soon the first glow of dawn touches the curtains of our bedroom.

I acknowledge that there will come times due to illness, pain or grieving when sleep eludes us completely. But I am focussing our thoughts on those times when there is nothing physically amiss. The root of our problem may well be in the realm of the spiritual. Note that I say “may be”. It is natural to be a little sleepless when on edge or even a tad anxious about some major event coming up; just ask any student the night before an examination!

What has happened to bring on this season of insomnia? When you cannot seem to sleep and the chest tightens in anger, frustration, fear, worry, anxiety, bitterness, envy, jealousy and so on, take stock of yourself. Examine your life and your responses to things that are happening. These sin-attitudes of the mind and heart are possibly what are stopping your peaceful sleep. Confess your sin. Then accept God’s forgiveness. ^“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

Resolve to set right any wrong done to another. “In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.” (Psalm 4:4)

Let your mind dwell upon God’s goodness and mercy to you. Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1) Soon His peace will infuse your soul, pouring His love and care into your very being, until you, too, can say, “…You have filled my heart with greater joy.” (Psalm 4:7)

˄TH

The Church Friendship Group meets on the second Tuesday of most months.

An updated programme for 2013 has just been posted.

Click here to go to that page.

˄TH

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Have you ever been in a court of law?  I was once summoned for jury duty but was unable to attend as it was at Mt Gambier and our children were still young, but I have not actually been present at a trial.

We can understand what happens if we watch the news or perhaps some programmes on television. The convicted one often looks lonely and perhaps threatened by the police standing near.  It is not a friendly place.

We know the Lord Jesus was tried before 3 courts – the Sanhedrin – an absolute farce and very unconstitutional, Herod’s court – fun for the soldiers – and then there was Pilate’s court – the highest authority in the land. At each, a decision was made – Pilate’s being the final one.

But, each individual person present made a decision about the Lord Jesus – we know that many sided with the Pharisees and Sadducees and shouted, ‘Crucify Him’, but there would have been those who wept at the ill-treatment their Lord was receiving – we read of John and Mary and others who were at the foot of the cross and we could assume that they were most probably at Pilate’s palace too.

In a sense, we were all there too, not in time but, certainly at some time in our lives, we have had to make a decision about what we would do with Jesus. There is challenging song from years ago which poses this question – “What will you do with Jesus?”

          Jesus is standing in Pilate’s hall, friendless, forsaken, betrayed by all;

             Listen, what means the sudden call?  What will you do with Jesus?

          Jesus is standing on trial still, you can be false to Him if you will,

             You can be faithful through good or ill; What will you do with Jesus?

          What will you do with Jesus?  Neutral you cannot be,

             One day your heart will be asking – “What will He do with me?

Our response each day should be the last verse –

          “Jesus, I give you my heart today!  Jesus I’ll follow You all the way,

             Gladly obeying You!” will you say; “This will I do with Jesus.”’

May this be our desire to serve Him and show our love for Him as we are reminded again of all He endured for us in the Garden of Gethsemane, during those sham trials and then, finally on the Cross.   What an amazing Love.

Heb 12:3  ‘CONSIDER Him, Who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.’

˄OC

KAIROS KM17 SHORT COURSE

Biscuits & Slices. We would really appreciate if our church could make a total of 30 Dozen handmade Biscuits or Slices that do not require refrigeration.

• Please place biscuits or slices in clean ice cream containers and write the amount and type of biscuits that are inside, on the lid for identification. Please do not use “snap lock” bags.
• Decorated biscuits are very sought after, but remember no “sprinkled on” or “rolled in” icing sugar as that could be seen by the Prison staff to be a contraband item (LOL), but the biscuits can be iced.
• Any dried fruit should be chopped up finely. (Prison Requirement)
• Please no nuts in any biscuits due to possible nut allergies.
• Individually wrapped chocolates (E.G. Cadbury Roses etc.) are very welcome as they are used in the “Forgiveness baskets.”

Letters. All that is required is just two or three short paragraphs on an A5 sheet. For example; it can be helpful to write about the forgiving nature of God or to include a personal example of receiving forgiveness.

• Please write 24 hand written and legible letters of encouragement, expressing God’s love to the prisoners. Alternatively, a small (Bible study) group may want to write the 24 letters between them.
• The envelopes need to be left open as the prison staff will inspect every letter.
• Please address those letters with: “Dear Friend”, “Dear Brother in Christ” or similar.
• In total we would love to get around 22 bundles of 24 letters from people willing to write some letters. Please deliver the letters in bundles of 24.

Place Mats. Please encourage your (Sunday School) children to make up place mats – use an A4 sheet of paper in “landscape” – get the kids to colour in and write a simple message on it.  Only first names please.

Posters. Please encourage children and adults in your congregation/ family & friends to help create A4 posters that express the love and hope found in Christ. Either in “landscape” or “portrait” layout,. First names only please!

Regarding Agape deadlines, all biscuits, slices & chocolates, all letters, posters and placemats preferably need to be in by Sunday 7^th April, but no later then 9.30am Tuesday morning

Tax Deductible Donations. Sufficient operating funds are a crucial component for KAIROS to be able to continue this vital work for the Lord! And anyone who maybe willing to partake in the work, by contributing in a monetary way would be greatly appreciated!

Prayer Vigil
We would like to invite you to be a “Prayer Partner” for the next KAIROS short course.  (Sorry – this link is no longer relevant and has closed. )

For any questions please contact Chris De Nieuwe M: 0416 098 356 or Michael De Nieuwe M: 0414 816 519      or P: 8542 8110

˄MDeN

I Cried to the Lord

‘To the Lord I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.’

                                                                        Psalm 3:4-5

            Have you ever cried out with your voice to the Lord? I’m sure that you have. Why, O Lord, has this happened to me? Why have I lost my loved one? Why did this accident happen to me? Why am I so ill? Why all this pain? Why have I no energy? Why did this business enterprise fail? Why can’t I understand my partner, my child, my family, my boss? Why didn’t I get that job?

Why? Why? Why? Have you reached, like I have in times of crisis, the point where no longer does the voice merely cry out – but the whole being is swept away in a flood of tears. Have you reached that point where you feel that your heart must literally break?

It is in that broken-ness of heart that our Lord answers with His quiet, peaceful voice. His touch of comfort comes wafting down from His holy mountain, anointing your heart, caressing your soul and allowing you to lie down and sleep. “Be quiet and still,” whispers the Father, “and know that I am your God.” Sleep in His arms; let them enfold you. And you will awake from your nightmare, knowing that it is God who sustains you.

˄TH

My Lord, My Shield

“But you are a shield around me, O Lord,
My Glorious One, who lifts up my head.”

                                                                                    Psalm 3:3

            There are numerous times in our lives when we experience the opposition of others. With some of us it seems that hardly a day passes without some kind of barrier being placed between us and another. We experience the barbs, the harsh words, the cruel actions of a fellow worker, neighbour or family member.

Then we ourselves stumble and fall into the sin of anger or, at best, frustration. We may “say” we forgive the offender, but have we really? And do we forgive the hardest taskmaster of all; ourselves?

Allow God to raise His shield above you. Allow Him to protect you from the fiery darts thrown ceaselessly at you. His protection is the ultimate; it is promised, it is guaranteed, it is all encompassing, it is impenetrable and it’s yours free in Christ!

Allow God to shield your life entirely. Abandon your life to His protection. Bask in the sunshine of His glory, and He will indeed be the One who lifts up your head. When your head hangs low with the pressures of this life, look up to your risen Lord. Let His shield encompass you and let Him lift up your head.

˄TH

Too old to serve?

The Christian world, as well as the media world-wide, was shocked by the recent announcement of the pending resignation of the leader of the Catholic Church. Such an event has not occurred for over 600 years. His resignation has now become effective, and by the time you read this, a new leader may have been chosen (this article was written before the election started). It is a time of change and uncertainty.

Benedict XVI cited “deteriorating strength due to old age” as his main reason. All of us come to realise that our strength and endurance certainly deteriorate with the relentless march of time. I am not sure about you, but my experience is that while I do not feel my age mentally, when I do hard physical work I realise oh so painfully that I am no longer 25 years of age!

Nowhere in scripture do I read about a retirement plan for Christians. Sure – pastors do retire from full-time positions, as is their right to so choose. As far as living out the life Christ has set before us, there certainly are no retirement provisions, no superannuation payout and no seniors’ card benefits.

We are instead encouraged to “pray without ceasing”, to “press on to maturity”, to “press on towards the goal”, to “be strong in the Lord” and to “take up the full armour of God.” That does not sound like a quiet, peaceful life spent in one’s rocking chair on the back veranda. Don’t get me wrong: while advancing years may mean a change in what we can do physically, what God expects us to do in Christ never changes.

I do not want to criticise Benedict in any way for his decision, whatever his reasons. Leading over a billion strong church is a massively heavy burden. What I want you to take from this is that change is inevitable. Sometimes it is not easy, but change is often both desirable and beneficial.

In all of this, grasp hold of the principle that in the midst of change, turmoil, uncertainty and even trouble, there is One Who never changes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever… I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

˄TH