Maundy comes from ‘mandatum novum’ the Latin for commandment.  The three themes that typically mark a Maundy Thursday remembrance are: The events in the Upper room, where Jesus celebrates the last Passover with His disciples, and institutes the Lord’s Supper in his name; The washing of the disciples’’ feet; and Jesus’ new command to his disciples to love one another.  The commandment reference originates in Jesus’ words to his disciples in John 13, where after the Passover he says “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you.”? Last Sunday in addition to considering the story of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem we also looked at these three main ‘maundy’ themes.  Let me encourage you to look at the story again tonight and take time to be thankful for Christ’s servant expression of love and grace.  Remember tonight that He has commanded us to remember.

Good Friday has a rich tradition in the church and is a time of remembering the crucifixion and death of Christ. While it is often observed that, “it seems strange to refer to such a tragic event as good,” we must never forget that this day and event is a remembrance of not just a good thing, but a best thing.  Were it not for the death of Jesus, fulfilling the promises of God since the garden, we would be hopeless and lost.  Christ’s willingly giving His life as our substitute and paying our debt for sin is indeed a glorious reality.  Without His death, we have no life.  I want to suggest that you take time tomorrow to remember the scandalous glory of Christ’s death. Say thank you to Him. Rejoice that your debt has been paid and that, in Christ, you are no an object of wrath, but a display of God’s glory.

Even without the traditional services we are a people called to worship. So, take time by yourself, with your family or even a small gathering of friends to celebrate together the sadness and joy of these special days and events.  Then, having prepared your heart, come join us Sunday at 6pm as we celebrate the rescue or redemption of Resurrection Day! Christ is risen, He is risen indeed.

Will you pray? Why wouldn’t you pray? How could you not pray?

We gather to remember, reflect, and repent. We depart to sacrifice, engage, and anticipate.

Some Scripture to ponder on this day:

Genesis 3
19 “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Job 42
5 “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;? 6therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Mark 1
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

Hebrews 9
11But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
15Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
23Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

1 John 1
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I want to encourage each of you to prayerfully consider your response to this day.  Will you take time to consider with others around the world where you are in your walk with Jesus?  Will you take the time to ask yourselves the hard questions regarding faith, obedience, idolatry, and living and dying in light of the gospel?  I trust that you will see beyond the ritual and look at the heart of this day to remember, reflect and repent.

I would write more, but have found a very well stated ongoing series of posts on the entire Lenten season from Elliott Grudem at Christ the King Church. You can find it here http://www.ctkraleigh.org/article/why-bother-with-lent-part-one/ . This is part one of a three part series to come. I encourage you to follow it.

At this point it works out like this.  We are integrating Swahili and Arabic into our services through prayers by individuals.  These are not translated.  We also read Scripture in all three languages with translation being projected on the screen in the languages not being read at the time.  We are verbally translating the Bible story phrase by phrase.  We are still fine-tuning translating the main points of the sermon on the screen in both Swahili and Arabic.

We are still considering several other ideas.  One is to use electronic devices for headset translation.  This is a challenge due cost and the need for an extremely talented real-time translator.  It also raises the question of how many languages can be supported with this technique.  We minster in a neighborhood with 70 people groups and certainly can’t fully translate to all of the languages that might come to a service.  Another thought is to provide translators in cluster seating during the service, so that, those who want to hear things translated, that are not translated from the stage, can be close enough to do so.

The realities of striking a language balance in a multi-ethnic church are always going to be difficult.  It requires grace and understanding.  It requires sensitivity to those participating.  It demands careful and thoughtful planning by leaders.  But, believing that the celebration of multi-ethnic worship is one worth pursuing all of the demands are worth it.  One further note, this type of worship also demands that opportunities are given, in our case through weekly Family Groups, for gathering in a context where the language barrier is not issue.

Please feel free to ask questions or comment, or by all means, if your church has a handle on these ideas share your solutions.

If we are simply doing missions, then we are by definition relegating the mission to a task, action or program.  So, we simply go on mission trips.  We have a missions department or ministry.  We organize people to sign up and get equipped to do something.

If on the other hand, we are living missions, i.e. being missional, then by definition our mission begins to define who we are.  We are equipping people to be something.  Missions is not something we do, but instead runs through the fabric of how we think, what we love, and how we relate to others.  We see the church as a community of called out people living out the gospel in every aspect of their lives.

Jesus came to live the redemption mission.  God didn’t send us a revamped program of how to engage Him.   He came, He lived, He died, and He rose again.  This is what the mission looks like.  It is an “all in” affair.  We can’t just do “missiony” things and declare ourselves faithful.

Like the description on the Kingdom of God, living missionally, living “for the sake of the gospel” is like yeast it permeates everything.  In other words you can’t be a little missional, slightly gospel centered or a tad Kingdom minded.  The gospel captures everything about us and therefore our response should be to live it out in every aspect of our daily lives.

Below is an invitation to a special event coming this Saturday night here in Louisville.  I have been blessed with the opportunity to speak and would appreciate your prayers.

We also need some help before and during the event.  So, if you can give some time in the next couple of days, or if you can commit to help at the event, please let me know as soon as possible.

blessings,

Todd

Time of fellowship with the Haitian community in Louisville

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts  us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with  which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

What: Time of worship, prayer, and fellowship with Haitian Bethel Church, Haitian Tabernacle, Antioch Church, Sojourn Community Church, and other members of the Haitian community in  Louisville. This will be a time to pray for, encourage, bless and comfort those who are grieving  over the loss of family members and friends in the recent earthquake.
Why: To express to the Louisville Haitian community that they are not forgotten during these days as so many of  them grieve from afar unable to help their own families, their own people.  Not only do we have the opportunity to  serve those in the  Haitian community who follow Christ, but also those who do not know Christ and who are grieving  without the hope that we as Christ-followers have.
When: Saturday, January 30th,  6-8 p.m. (Dinner wil be Pot-luck style; Please bring an entrée, appetizer, or desert that can feed at least one family).
Where: Bethlehem Baptist Church, 5708 Preston Highway, Louisville 40219

For more on this follow the links below:

Churches Helping Churches

Mars Hill Church

Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.