Lent 2021 - TURNING POINT Sunday, April 4th Victory , Matthew 28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Je...
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Lent 2021 - TURNING POINT Saturday, April 3rd Transfigured , Matthew 17:1-6 - Written by Kristen Raine After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. Matthew 17:1-6 Can you imagine this moment? Seeing Jesus in perhaps His heavenl...
Lent 2021 - TURNING POINT Friday, April 2nd Turning Point , John 18:1-40 - Written by Jerry Ruff Read Matthew 18:1-40. The drama on this day in ancient Judea was palpable with the events being world changing. Emotions ran high. Uncertainty reigned. Vindictiveness cascaded. Regret flowed. Fear gripped. On this day, the world would change forever. While it seemed to be the enemy’s day, it was in reality God’s day of great victory, even in the throes of seeming defeat. Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah that so many claimed Him to be, was dying on a cross like an ordinary criminal or insurrectionist. His disciples had fled during Jesus’s arrest. Peter, the Rock, had denied Him. Judas betrayed Him. The soldiers mocked him. One thief cursed Him. Even God turned His back on Him. Mary cried. The sky darkened. The earth shook. The curtain surrounding th...
Lent 2021 - TURNING POINT Thursday, April 1st Basin & Towel, John 13:1-17 - Written by Noah Raine Read John 13:1-17. Jesus Christ as a historical and religious figure is prominent partly because of the great works he completed throughout his life. From healing to resurrection, Jesus’s miracles are his most famous acts. Ironically, it is his least supernatural act that offers the best insight for us as modern Christians to understand what it means to be holy as I am holy . The washing o the disciple’s feet found in John 13 is the pinnacle of Jesus’s ministry before his death. I believe that nowhere is Jesus’s message so simple and so powerful. His remark, “ So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash another’s feet ,” is the unveiling of the literal heart of God. As Jesus gave up all his heavenly powers and pleasures to serve his creation, and pay the ultimate price in sufferable death, then so we must give ...
Lent 2021 - TURNING POINT Wednesday, March 31st The Final Evening Matthew 26:27-56 - Written by Ralph Homan Read Matthew 26:27-56. Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father’s kingdom”. When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Matthew 26:30 tells us that Jesus sings a hymn with his disciples before they went to the Mount of Olives. We don’t often think about Jesus singing. In fact, I’m not sure if I have ever paid attention to this little verse placed between establishing the New Covenant and the cross. But Jesus sang! He lifted His voice in praise and adoration to His Heavenly Father. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to ...
Lent 2021 - TURNING POINT Tuesday, March 30th Broken & Poured Out Matthew 26:36-46 - Written by Patty Skwirut Read Matthew 26:36-46 . It’s a troubling scene. As he is praying in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” (v. 38) We’ve never seen him like this before! The cross is ahead of him; he will be arrested tonight. Jesus just shared the last supper, where he told the disciples his body was the broken bread, and his blood was the wine, poured out for them. Our humanity sees the physical torture of the cross, but Jesus sees what we can’t really imagine. Jesus doesn’t say he is afraid, as we would be. He says he is sorrowful . Webster defines sorrow as “deep distress, especially for the loss of someone loved.” His sorrow is for us! His agony is knowing that our sinfulness will eternally separate us from God, from him - the loss of someone dearly loved. The cup he will drink now holds the full wra...
Lent 2021 - TURNING POINT Monday, March 29th Hosanna! , Matthew 21:10-17 Written by Bernice Willadsen 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” 12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” 14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. 16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,”...