A WORD FROM PASTOR MIKE - Good Friday...What Does This Mean?

"But he was wounded for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities.  Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his stripes we are healed.  And we, like sheep, have gone astray.  We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."  Isaiah 53:5-6

What is so "good" about Good Friday?  Jesus is unjustly tried and convicted, tortured, put to death on a cross.  It's a bleak story, a dark story.  It's definitely not a "good" Friday for Jesus.

Actually, it hasn't always been called Good Friday.  In some places Good Friday is called Black Friday.  In fact, that is the color in the church year calendar for Good Friday.  But now, in our culture, Black Friday has become the big shopping day after Thanksgiving.

Sorrowful Friday was another name for this day.  This emphasized our "great sorrow" over Jesus' death for us.

God's Friday  was another term used.  God is doing His work repairing the damage of sin.  Jesus became the one sacrifice for all time.  Some scholars believe that God's Friday was then transformed into Good Friday

What does Christ's death mean for us?  The suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God's plan to save people from their sins, which is good, at least for us... not so good for Jesus.

Human beings are God's good creation but we are also sinful.  We need to own both parts of this.  We are saints because of God's righteousness in us and we are sinners at the same time.

Sometimes we like to put a good spin on this. One boy came home from school before Christmas and told his Mom that he had good news and bad news.  The bad news was the he goofed around a lot and didn't work very hard, resulting in poor grades on his report card.  The good news was that he still got to be one of the 3 wise men in the Christmas Program!.

Even though we like to put a good spin on our sinful human nature, the Apostle Paul doesn't sugar coat our situation.  In the book of Romans he writes, "None is righteous, no not one.  No one understands.  No one seeks for God.  No one does good, not even one.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

The bad news is that God despises sin because sin causes pain.  We are sinful; we cause pain through our words and deeds.  The wrath of God comes against sin and wants to destroy it.

The good news is God is love.  God loves His creation.  God loves us in spite of our sin so He sent Jesus to take care of the sin problem, once and for all time.

I don't know if you've ever thought about the cross this way before, but it's the place where God's justice and God's love meets.

What kind of God would He be if he didn't care about sin and injustice?  What kind of a God would he be if he didn't love us?  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

God took care of the sin problem for us.  Martin Luther calls it "The Happy Exchange".  Christ takes the sins of the world on himself - our sins.  And then, he gives us His robe of righteousness to cover up our sinfulness.  So that when God looks at us, he doesn't see our sins. He sees us clothed in Christ's righteousness.  He sees us as part of His good creation, no longer slaves to sin but part of His Family.

Why did Jesus die for us?  Jesus endured the cross, knowing that it led to our redemption through his innocent suffering and death.  He bought us back from sin and set us free from both sin and death.

Now the future is opened for us.  Now we have new life, new beginnings every day because of Him.

So, Good Friday is good for us.  We are free.  Our sin debt is cancelled by the love of Jesus.

In John 15 Jesus speaks to His followers, "This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."

Jesus laid down his life for his followers, for the whole world, for you and me... that we might be free from sin.  What wonderous love is this?!  And so... What does Good Friday mean?  It was a bad day for Jesus but good for us.
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A Word From Pastor Mike - Patchwork of Sermons

I am so far behind on typing out Mike's sermons for you, I decided to do a medley of some to catch you up...

One sermon was about the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus from Luke 16.  Mike reminded us that it began with a certain rich man dressed in fine clothes and feasting lavishly.  A poor man, Lazarus was cast down at his gate. Lazarus was full of sores.  Lazarus was longing for even just the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table but he got none.

A great reversal occurs as both men die.  Lazarus is carried to Abraham by angels.  The rich man endured agony.

This sermon was about being a neighbor.  The rich man failed to be a good neighbor to Lazarus. He failed to care, feed or shelter him.  The point?  Be a good neighbor now. It will be too late to be a good neighbor later on.

Another parable sermon was from Luke 14:15-24, the Parable of the Great Banquet. In this parable a man was throwing a banquet and many were invited, but they all had excuses.  They were busy.  One just bought a field, another had to deal with oxen and yet another just got married.  When the man throwing the banquet heard of all these excuses he was angry.  Instead of cancelling the banquet, he sent out invitations to people who appreciated the invitation... the poor, crippled, blind, lame, etc.  He also sent out his people to bring in travelers, whoever would accept the invitation.  He then stated that none of the original invitees would taste of his banquet.

Lesson to be learned?  Respond to God's gracious invitation. Don't let excuses and busyness keep you from your relationship with God.

In another sermon, titled "Jesus the Gutsy", Mike told about Jesus' courage as he lived his last days before his death.  He knew what was coming but he went anyway.  He celebrated the Passover with his disciples.  He washed their feet and reminded them that they were called to be servants in this world.  He gave his disciples a new commandment to LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU. He taught them about communion, so that we can always have him with us. He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He was given a death sentence. On the cross he forgave his enemies, converted a thief and gave him the good news of eternal life.

When Jesus died a Roman Centurion gave the first confession after the death of Jesus, "Truly this was the Son of God."

Jesus' death was summed up by John the Baptist, who pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

Easter Sunday Mike talked about Jesus' life as a story.  That story included being conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, baptized by John the Baptist, tempted in the wilderness, teaching and doing ministry.  He was crucified, died, buried and resurrected...victory over death!

Mike spoke of our lives as stories as well. The question being, what kind of story will we each live? He spoke of how our stories bump into one another, and our stories bump into the Jesus story as well.  Our stories may include tragedy, all include struggle at some point.  We may be living stories of rags to riches, satire, thriller, or fairy tale (he told the congregation that was my story because I was married to him).

Mike stated that he wanted to leave a good legacy with his story, one that says that faith is important. He stated that he wanted to be a life long learner, immersed in God's Word, prayer, repentance and service.  He also wants to have some fun at times, to be a comedy.

                Mission accomplished.

A Word From Pastor Mike "You Can Make a Difference For God"

I'm a bit slow, but the following was Mike's Easter Sermon:

Happy Easter! Here at our congregation we have been reading the Book of Acts during Lent, 50 readings in 50 days. The companion  book to the series is called, The Essential Question - How You Can Make a Difference for God.

The Essential Question  is from Acts 22. It involves the conversion of Saul, Christianity's greatest enemy, into its greatest missionary and theologian. The Essential Question Saul/Paul asks is "What do you want me to do, Lord?"

Let's hear the story from Saul/Paul...
   As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus about noon, a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me and I feel to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And I answered. "Who are you, Lord?"  And he said to me, "I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting." Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, "What do you want me to do, Lord?" And the Lord said to me, "Rise and go into Damascus and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do."

Saul went into Damascus, prayed and fasted. He regained his sight. He went into the Jewish synagogues and proclaimed that Jesus is the Son of God. He started going by Paul instead of Saul.  He spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Roman Empire.

What a turn around from trying to stamp Christianity out to becoming its greatest promoter. Paul's life made a difference. Two billion Christians in the world and not only is Christianity the world's largest religion, it's growing!

Since our series, The Essential Question, is about a question, I have been investigating questions. Did you  know that in the Gospels Jesus asked 307 questions? The questions were sometimes simple. How many loaves do you have? What's your name? Sometimes the questions were probing, Who do people say that I am? Who do you say that I am? And sometimes the questions were heart-wrenching... Why did you doubt, oh you of little faith? Do you want to be made well?

Jesus was also asked at least 183 questions. Depending on who you listen to, he only answered 3 to 8 of them directly.

Questions help us to learn and to gather information. Questions even help us to believe. Questions are fascinating.

Back in 1993 a two word question became one of the most successful advertising campaigns ever. Do you know what it was?   ...Got milk?

At first they weren't going to run it because
     a) it was lazy
     b) it was grammatically incorrect

The popularity of the ad spilled over into other fronts...
Got Jesus? Got God? Got coffee? Got talent?

Friends got your back. Atheists got nothing. Kids - got your nose.  A Colorado billboard before you get into Wyoming... Got Weed? (Mike had many more examples and photos on the big screen to go with them. I guess you would have had to have been there.)

In our Gospel reading the woman, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Salome had a question, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"

The Gospels tell us that Jesus was wrapped in a linen shroud and laid in a tomb cut out of rock, then a larger stone was rolled in place to seal the tomb. When the women got to the tomb their question was answered, the stone was rolled away. Inside a young man in a white robe said, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples. He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you."

Of course, all the questions were answered for the women (sarcasm). They were afraid! They fled. Their heads were probably about to explode with questions.

Of course, when the women told the disciples, all their questions were answered. No way! They had to check it out for themselves. Even then, though they believed, I'll bet they still had questions.

What are we to make of Saul, a Jewish hit man, a thug. He knew for a fact that Christianity was a lie and he wanted to stomp it out. He has an encounter with the living Christ and he asks the essential question, "What do you want me to do, Lord?" He made a difference for God.

You can make a difference for God, too! Maybe you have questions, that's ok. The women at the tomb had questions. The disciples had questions. Saul had questions. Augustine, a great church leader had questions. Martin Luther had questions. The Protestant tradition was born out of questioning.
The thing is, what are you going to do with questions?

For some people questions lead to a negative road of bitterness, indifference, a hard heart and despair. Questions can also lead to understanding, eyes being opened, an "Aha" moment, confession... thank you God for all you've done for me.

If you were to ask me what all this Good Friday and Easter stuff means I'd tell you 3 things.

     1) What Jesus did for us on the cross brought reconciliation between us and God. Right relationship with God has been restored. Our sins are taken away.
     2) Jesus won the victory over death. Because he lives, we shall live, too. We don't need to fear death. it brings us closer to God.
     3) In his instruction, Jesus taught us how to live with God and neighbor. His teaching brings meaning to life. Now I get it!

When I asked God the Essential Question, "What shall I do, Lord?" the answer was Preach the Gospel.

• You are God's good creation but we are sinners. We fall short. We miss the mark. Repeat every day...tell God you're sorry and that you trust and believe in his forgiveness.
• God loves you. God is not as worried about your past as your are. God's all about new starts, beginning again. God wants us to have life and have it abundantly. God wants us to have joy. God wants to bless us and he wants us to have a life of purpose.
• God wants relationship with us. He'll take our doubts, our questions. He'll take our thanks and praise. Thank God for Easter, for the beauty of creation, thanks for Easter dresses, thanks for family and friends, thanks for health, for food and drink. Thank God for all good gifts. Let your Easter and everyday be filled with thank yous for God.

So this Easter you have:

1. The cross restoring relationship with God 
2. The empty tomb is victory over death 
3. The teaching of Jesus brings meaning and purpose to life

You also have the Essential Question, "What do you want me to do, lord?"

Well, that will be answered differently by everyone but let me suggest a few things:

•    Use your talents.
•    Be kind, be encouraging, be thankful.
•    If something jumps inside you... do it.

Whatever you do, ask God to help you and whether it be big or small, do it to the Glory of God. I know you can make a difference for God.

Easter Photo Blast

We enjoyed a wonderful Easter!  Our church service was beautiful and meaningful. We had time with family.  The weather was beautiful.  And now, better late than never, I have photos to share...

Happiness

Today was such a lovely day! Although we had snow just days ago, today we had green things, warm weather and a noticeable lack of Wyoming Wind.

I love Easter! It is, by far, my favorite holiday. Today we spent a lot of time with our church family as well as our own family. I got to connect with Ben and Sara by phone and later, Mike and I went to the movies. It was a full but happy day. I took plenty of photos but I'll just start with a few for now. I hope your day was as sweet as mine.

Easter Collage

I hope your Easter was also wonderful!

It's Not About the Bunny!

I love, love, love Easter!

Yesterday we spent quite a bit of time at our church. We helped with decorating for Easter in the morning then I went back to practice singing with my friends in the afternoon. I snapped some photos while there and I'd like to share them with you now.

We have a lot of Easter Lilies...which I love.

Did you know my name, Susan, means Lily?

You remember my friend, Allen? 

Thank goodness, he is feeling better!

Sorry, I couldn't seem to stop taking lily photos. 

Believe me, I am holding back as there are MANY more!

We sang and sang.

Easter songs are the best!

Now, I think it is time for some very deep, very theological insight for you.

I thank my friend, Kiley, for sharing this via Facebook...

Have a Happy Easter!