Jesus.
He is the reason we live, breathe, and have our being. He is the foundation of our existence as a local church. He is why we gather, serve, worship, and proclaim.
When Jesus was transfigured in front of Peter, James, and John, the scene of glory overwhelmed them. Moses and Elijah were there, too.
Imagine the sights, sounds, and feelings for a moment.
But Peter – being the ever talkative one – starts jabbering about how to apply the experience. “Here’s what I think we should do…” he starts in. But the next line grabs our attention:
“He [yes, that is Peter] was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5; cf. Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35)
Yes, listen to Jesus.
We have much planned for tonight’s Good Friday communion service. Our team is over-the-top excited about all that is in the works for Resurrection Sunday. But unless God is at work, it’s all just paper and noise. Unless Jesus is exalted, reverenced, remembered, and listened to, then the whole weekend is a long, tiring adventure of missing the point.
So tonight, come and listen. Soak in the Story of stories. Respond to the Savior.
Come to the Table.
Be renewed… maybe even redeemed.
An acquaintance of mine, Glen Scrivener, labors as a preacher, evangelist, and poet in the UK. He wrote these beautiful, powerful words for this set apart Friday:
1. The glory of the bloodied God,
His fruitfulness in shame.
Stooped lower than all men have trod,
In torment in the flame.2. The writhing worm, disjointed dry,
Rejected from His birth.
Thrust groaning into Satan’s sky,
Accursed by heaven and earth.3. Hell’s blackest cloak enfolds with death,
From Pinnacle to pit.
To choke the Source of Living Breath
Extinguish all that’s lit.4. The Mighty Man at war cries out,
It echoes ‘gainst the sky.
Resounding as a futile shout,
Within a victory cry.5. Creation torn from Head to toe,
His body out of joint.
The Rock that splits is split in two,
Creation to anoint.6. Our Jonah hurled as recompense
Into abysmal depths.
The beast that swallows Innocence
Is swallowed by His death.7. Divine appeasing blood poured out,
Divinely pleasing scent.
While man appraises with his snout,
Declares it death’s descent.8. Then crowned in curse, enthroned on wood,
My God nailed to the tree.
The reigning blood, that cleansing flood,
Is opened up for me.
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I’m praying for you and looking forward to listening to Jesus tonight with you at our 6PM Good Friday Service and through the special events and services planned on Easter Sunday, too, at Mayfair Bible Church.
Soli deo gloria.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Michael
