In short
- I've found Intro to the Bible to be quite boring, but we are still in the introductory part of the subject, so I'm hoping it picks up a bit soon!
- Salvation Army Youth Ministry is going fantastic!! LOVE IT! We have been doing quite a bit on the History of the Salvation Army, and I'm learning heaps! Made me realise that the aim of the Salvation Army has drifted a bit and we have become to comfortable in the way things are done. I believe we need to remind ourselves (and others in the Army) of the original mission William Booth started. Our aim is to reach the lost, the last and the least. We need to be innovative in how we do things, ready to fight and Win the World for Jesus. We need to remember to have a practical faith (because that's what separates us from other churches!!) and take on board what James Barker (The first Officer sent to start the Salvation Army in Australia) told us before he left Australia for bigger things "By all means aim to reach heaven, but be like Jesus and take a thief with you!"
This afternoon I'm heading to Mount Evelyn for the MCD youth Easter camp, tomorrow morning the MCD group of Mark*d Foundation-ers is doing the Good Friday Service the theme quite obviously being the Crucifixion of Jesus! I'm doing the talk because I'm the oldest? and Love to talk?? haha. Any who, below is a copy of what I'm saying (edited from a listeners point of view, to a readers). Let me know what you think!
Good Friday Morning Service – The Crucifixion 
Passion Of Christ Crucifixion scene played.
Who has ever been blamed for something they didn’t do? I remember once when I was seven or eight getting told off for lying about something I did. I then lied again and blamed my younger brother James for the lie. James, not understanding what he was doing, admitted to the crime and as a consequence got his mouth washed out with soap. Like James took the blame for my lie, Jesus took the blame for our sins.
Before the actual crucifixion, Jesus was beaten, whipped and tortured. The Romans took Jesus and tied Him to a post leaving his back exposed. They used a whip made of small pieces of bone and metal attached to a number of leather strands. It doesn’t say in the bible how many times they use the whip to hit Jesus, but in Jewish law the number was set to 39 (believed at the time to be one hit before death). During this beating the skin was stripped from the back, exposing a bloody mass of muscle and bone. Isaiah 52:14 described his face as being so disfigured, that he seemed hardly human. By looking at his appearance one would not even know he was a man!
Before the actual crucifixion, Jesus was beaten, whipped and tortured. The Romans took Jesus and tied Him to a post leaving his back exposed. They used a whip made of small pieces of bone and metal attached to a number of leather strands. It doesn’t say in the bible how many times they use the whip to hit Jesus, but in Jewish law the number was set to 39 (believed at the time to be one hit before death). During this beating the skin was stripped from the back, exposing a bloody mass of muscle and bone. Isaiah 52:14 described his face as being so disfigured, that he seemed hardly human. By looking at his appearance one would not even know he was a man!
After this beating, the Romans clothed Jesus in a scarlet robe and twisted together a crown of thorns and stuck it on his head. They then made fun of Jesus by spitting on him, kneeling in front of him and shouting ‘Hail, King of the Jews’. After the mocking and horrendous beating Jesus was forced to carry his own cross. The cross is said to have weighed about 135kg. Which was probably about 1 and a half times his own body weight.
You just watched how Jesus was nailed to the cross. These nails would have been about 18 cm long and about 1 cm thick, and driven into his hands and feet. Being crucified this way was a slow and painful process. It was a slow suffocation of a person because the way the arms were nailed in place, forced the ribcage out only letting them take short breaths. The shallowness of the breaths would eventually cause parts of the lung to collapse and eventually fill with fluid. Some would last up to 3 days on the cross! But because Jesus had lost so much blood from the beatings and floggings before that his death came much quicker.
You just watched how Jesus was nailed to the cross. These nails would have been about 18 cm long and about 1 cm thick, and driven into his hands and feet. Being crucified this way was a slow and painful process. It was a slow suffocation of a person because the way the arms were nailed in place, forced the ribcage out only letting them take short breaths. The shallowness of the breaths would eventually cause parts of the lung to collapse and eventually fill with fluid. Some would last up to 3 days on the cross! But because Jesus had lost so much blood from the beatings and floggings before that his death came much quicker.
We heard Sean tell us earlier about how Jesus was human just like us. Could you imagine having to go through any of this? What if was for something you didn’t even do? I know that I’m one to squirm when people get hurt in movies because I think I can feel the pain too.
The bible tells us that Jesus was pure he didn’t commit any sin, yet Jesus went to the cross ready and willing to die for sins he didn’t commit. He knew that this is what he was sent to do. Isaiah 50:6 tells us Jesus offered his back to those that beat him, his cheeks to those that pulled OUT his beard and he did not hide his face from the mocking or spitting. He went through all this for all our sins, mine and yours. God loves us so much he sent his son to die. Jesus loves us so much; he willingly went to die so that each one of us here could live forever in God’s kingdom.
‘For God so loved the world that he sent his only son to die. So that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life’ John 3:16
2 comments:
Hey Amy,
Mark*d Foundation did great at Easter Camp. You're talk really hit home for me. Keep up the God work ;)
Tish
Well done sausage
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