And here is the video, check it out!
And here is the video, check it out!
He Is Risen!
Here are a couple links that will be helpful as well.
And here is a little bit of a blog a pastor friend mine wrote (read his post here)
Tonight is the Wednesday night of Holy Week. In the Anglican world, this often means it is time for Tenebrae (a Latin word meaning “shadows” or “darkness”).
Tenebrae is a traditional service that comes from the Benedictine monasteries of Europe. It is a time of experiencing the last week in Christ’s life through psalms, lessons, prayers, and gathering darkness. The centerpiece of the service is a gathering of fifteen candles which are snuffed out, one by one, as the service goes on. This increases the physical darkness, while also symbolizing Jesus’ life ebbing away.
— A excerpt from the blog of Fr. Thomas McKenzie
Here are a couple Palm Sunday pictures to have before you this week.
I wanted to find a cool, thought provoking video on the cross for this week. But i couldn’t really find anything that wan’t, a) cheesy or b) that didn’t just show lots of clips from the passion of the Christ with Hillsong music overtop of it.
I found this little intro video from a church that was cool, enjoy!
If you have any cool, thoughtful video’s on the Cross of Christ, do share!
Meditation ::.
To live is to love. To love is to lose. But to lose is to live. If we lose one part of our life, we become open to another part. If we love having young children at home, when they grow up and leave home the empty space created by their leaving opens the door to love something else — like the freedom to travel or to visit with adults without interruption. When something disappears, it opens the space for something else.
Loss opens new space with regard to faith as well. When the way we understood God as a child no longer helps us navigate the swirling waters of adult life, we sometimes give up faith all together. For those who continue to immerse themselves in the stories and rituals of faith, new insights into the character of the Divine can emerge.
—From Lose, Love, Live by Dan Moseley
And extra little quote from Bonhoeffer…
The cross is not adversity, nor the harshness of fate, but suffering coming solely from our commitment to Jesus Christ. The suffering of the cross is not fortuitous, but necessary. The cross is not the suffering tied to natural existence, but the suffering tied to being Christians. The cross is never simply a matter of suffering and rejection, but a matter of suffering and rejecting for the sake of Jesus Christ…
![And here is the full meditation from Oswald Chambers entitled “Sanctification.”
#1, The Death Side.
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized—something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, “If anyone come to me and does not hate… his own life… he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).
In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am i willing to be myself and nothing more? Am i willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest—simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, “But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me.” Our Lord is strict. and He does require that of us.
Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply “me”? Am i determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that i think of myself? Am i willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once i am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
When i pray, “Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” he will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me—it is Himself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30).
#2, The Life Side.
The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, not gradually, but instantly once i enter by faith into the realization that He “become for [me]… sanctification….” Sanctification means nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh. Sanctification is “Christ in you…” (Colossians 1:27). It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification—imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am i willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His Word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His presence, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy—it is drawing from jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, i slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness—”…kept by the power of God…” (1 Peter 1:5)
—From My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1vawjK13U1rohrm1o1_250.png)
And here is the full meditation from Oswald Chambers entitled “Sanctification.”
#1, The Death Side.
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized—something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, “If anyone come to me and does not hate… his own life… he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).
In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am i willing to be myself and nothing more? Am i willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest—simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, “But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me.” Our Lord is strict. and He does require that of us.
Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply “me”? Am i determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that i think of myself? Am i willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once i am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
When i pray, “Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” he will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me—it is Himself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30).
#2, The Life Side.
The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, not gradually, but instantly once i enter by faith into the realization that He “become for [me]… sanctification….” Sanctification means nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh. Sanctification is “Christ in you…” (Colossians 1:27). It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification—imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am i willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His Word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His presence, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy—it is drawing from jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, i slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness—”…kept by the power of God…” (1 Peter 1:5)
—From My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers
More from Cross Style Ministries.
This video if from my friend Jeremiah Bolich. Another guy connected to Cross Style. He shares a bit in this short video about the Cross being a style rather than just an event!
GO LIVE IT!
Early in my life and calling to travel and preach i traveled with the evangelist Stephen Manley. Stephen is an amazing man of God and was in the Word, soaking up the scripture more than any person i have ever encountered, and you could tell. The name of his ministry was Cross Style Ministries.
Here is a video of Stephen preaching. He’s pretty amazing and maybe a little long winded but 9 our of 10 times you don’t mind cause it’s so good! You can download video and listen to message on the Cross Style website. Stephen is the best but there are a few other guys that are worth a listen as well. Enjoy!
