Dear Friends,
This is the biggest week in the life of the church each year. Invite folks to be part of our events this week. We hope to see you, the Body of Christ, on Thursday at 6:15 for a Soup, Salad, and Sandwich carry-in at 6:15 followed by Communion and Footwashing at 7. Friday, join us for our Good Friday concert at 7. Gather on the Acres on Saturday at 2 for our Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza. Meet us in Valley Park on Sunday morning at 7 a.m. for the Sunrise service and then join us for one of our services on Easter where the choir will present, “Easter Song,” a dramatic musical that will help us celebrate the Resurrection! Please share our events on your Facebook page to help spread the word.
The last week of Jesus’ earthly life before the crucifixion was incredible. The demonstration of His perfect love was intense. In yesterday’s message we saw:
1. He perfectly loved what God loved. He overturned the tables in the temple
and drove out those who were buying and selling there. He loved the Father’s agenda. His house was to have been a house of prayer, not a place of exploitation and robbery. (Matthew 21:12-14)
As we learn to love the things God loves we will naturally begin to right wrongs and impact darkness with the Kingdom of Light.
2. He perfectly loved imperfect people. John 13 details where Jesus
demonstrated His love for His disciples by washing their feet. Verse 1 tells us when Jesus did so, He was showing the “full extent of His love.” Perfect love stooped to wash imperfect people.
Just after He kicked the money changes and sacrifice sellers out of the Temple, He started healing people. That whole week, even though Jesus could have been about preserving His energyHe continued His ministry of loving people and tirelessly teaching them.
Perfect love always finds a way to express itself, even to imperfect people and even under imperfect circumstances.
3. He perfectly displayed perfection. He underwent 6 trials in all after His
arrest. He wasn’t found guilty in any of them. We are told in I Peter 2:22 that Jesus qualified to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world as He was spotless. He was perfect. He never sinned.
Jesus perfectly loved what God loves. How do you rate? Do you love what God loves and hate what God hates to the place where you instinctively move with His authority and power to right wrongs and bring light to the darkness?
Jesus perfectly loved imperfect people. Is there someone you need to apologize to, someone you need to meet with to clear the air, someone you need to give the benefit of the doubt to, someone you need to let off the hook, or someone you need to bless and you have been resisting doing it? Use Holy Week to make things right!
Jesus perfectly displayed perfection. No one will look at our lives and see perfection, but as people examine you, what do they see? A valiant attempt at holy living or lots of inconsistencies and shallow promises.
Let us thank God for the example of the perfect love of God on display during Holy Week, and let us pray for His life to be repeated in ours.
Pastor Melissa
