Thy Word Is Truth John 17:17

Sermon For Sunday June 13, 2010

2010-06-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

Today is the third Sunday after Pentecost and we are back from a two week vacation from preaching. And the theme of the sermon today is a progression from Pentecost where the Holy Spirit was poured out on all flesh as was prophesied in the Old Testament by the prophet Joel who live 500 years before Jesus Christ was born but whom Peter quoted in the first sermon of the church on the first Pentecost Sunday.

But today’s sermon speaks to the order of salvation and what happens to those who are given two necessary conditions for their salvation. And those things that are given are grace and faith. But all this presupposes that human beings are in a state that makes salvation necessary.

And as I have said many times who good in the good news of the gospel of Christ if there is no bad news.

So we must go back to the beginning or near the beginning after God created the first human being and then he created the second human being for in God’s words the only thing that was not good about His creation was that it was not good for the first human being to be alone.

God pronounced all of his creation to be good but for this one important detail.

If was not good for Adam to be alone, he lacked something.

So God did not create Adam to be self sufficient. According to God Adam needed a helper and God proceeds to make Eve from Adam’s flesh.

But Adam and Eve rebel against God’s one command that Adam not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for if he eats of this tree He and since Eve did also, they will surely die. And when they do eat of the tree they must be removed from the garden for there is another tree of life in the garden and if they would eat of it they would continue in this fallen state forever. Genesis 3

But God is so angry at their rebellion that he curses the ground and all creation is cursed. Genesis 3:14-17

And so all human beings are born spiritually dead and have a depraved mind and in their flesh they inherit from Adam and Eve and natural rebellion against God.

But from the removal of man and woman from the garden, God has a plan of redemption, a remedy for this bent for sinning against him.

So today I will speak to what God’s remedy is for the fallen state of mankind being spiritually dead in their sins and unable to effect or accomplish their own salvation.

What is God’s plan for the reconciliation of mankind to himself? What are the steps to salvation and what is the theme or study of this plan.

The study of salvation is called "soteriology" or the study of salvation and this subject is taught in seminaries.

So we have all of mankind in a state of depravity unable to free themselves from their natural desire to rebel and be their own gods “so to speak”. To live their lives their own way and that is still as true today as it was in the garden of Eden. And Satan said it best. “Did God really say that you would die?" Genesis 3:1

Satan accuses God of duplicity and tells Eve that the reason God did not want her to eat of the forbidden fruit was that God did not want Adam and her to “be like God knowing good from evil”. Genesis 3:5

But back to the remedy and God’s plan for salvation.

So we have human kind living in a desperate state and needing a Savior for they cannot no matter how hard they try save themselves. And why? Because God gave them through the prophet MOSES a covenant of “WORKS”. The Ten Commandments was a covenant of works and was dependent upon obedience by human beings as a condition of the covenant.

But the Law became a curse for them because there was a blessing for obedience and punishment for disobedience and the standard of obedience to the law was to obey it completely and perfectly.

We know this because when the Savior of human beings came on to the earth what did he say in his ministry to his disciples, “Be ye perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48 KJV).

The opening words of his ministry were, “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)”

Jesus Christ set the conditions of entering his kingdom and that is "repentance.”

And the condition of perfection is reiterated by the teaching of the Apostle Paul who tells us all that those who follow the law must obey it completely and that failing on one single part of the law makes us guilty of breaking the whole law.
Here are Paul’s exact words from the book of Galatians chapter 3 verse 10:

All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

So Paul testifies that the Standard the Jesus has set was to obey everything contained in the Law of Moses and to live by it perfectly.”

And since no one but Christ has obeyed the law perfectly where does that leave us. It leaves is a state of desperately needing rescue from out fallen state. We desperately need God to come to our rescue and redeem us, to save us.

So God provided us a Savior in His Son. And this promise goes back to the first substitutional sacrifice that the Bible Fast Forward class should remember when God told Abraham to take his son Isaac on Mt Moriah on a rock and sacrifice him. And when Isaac asks his father on the way up the mountain where is the lamb for the sacrifice father. Abraham replied, “God will provide the lamb.” Gen 22:7-8

And 2000 years later Jesus Christ would be sacrifice on that sane rock on Mt Moriah and the place was then called CALVARY. Today that rock is under the roof of the dome of the rock, the Muslim mosques on the temple mount and it golden dome dominates the sky line of modern Jerusalem.

But God calls all who he gives to his Son Jesus his gift of grace through faith. And grace and faith are so intimately connected that faith is also a gift of God for those who would repent and believe in God’s son.

And the most central of all scripture was written by the Apostle Paul in the book of Ephesians Chapter 2 verse 8 and 9 where Paul defines what grace is and what it does.

And here are the words, “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

And so we have Paul telling us that grace of God was given to us as a gift and that God had created us to do good works by this His grace.

Are God’s kindness and mercy important aspects of his gift of salvation?

"For while we were still sinner’s Christ died for us". Romans 5:8

God could have left us in our fallen state could he not have?

God’s grace is his unmerited favor to those who he foreknew and for those he predestined to become conformed to the image of his son and to those who he predestined he also justified and those he justified He also glorified.

So this is the golden chain of the steps to salvation.

So let’s look at what justifies us for that is the title of the sermon. We are justified by faith in Christ, alone.

What does justification mean?

It means we are made righteous.

So what has to happen first! Remember before we are saved we are spiritually dead with a depraved mind and a flesh that is naturely bent toward rebellion against God.

In a word, we are "selfish", for that is what self-centered people are!

We are totally consumed by our selfish desires to gratify the flesh.

In words of John Calvin, we are totally depraved.

How can we now be justified in the sight of God without being changed in our nature?

The answers is, we can’t.

We must be changed?

And what was the subject of my sermon two weeks ago before vacation.

What did Jesus of Nazareth tell us we MUST do.

Jesus says we must be changed.

And he told this to the most self righteous religious people of his time.

What did Jesus tell Nicodemus and the Pharisees. "YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN".

No one can see the kingdom of God, unless he is born again! (John 3:3)

And Jesus means born of the Spirit of God.

And I said in that sermon last time, that the subject is "regeneration" in which there is a indwelling of the spirit of God in the believer.

And it is implied that without this fundamental change in the nature we cannot act in faith and believe in Christ.

Well some may object, is belief in Christ necessary for our salvation?

The answer is yes!

And how do we know that faith or belief in Christ is required?

Faith and belief are one and the same but some may say that trust is involved and they are also correct in this detail.

Well did anyone in the bible ask the question?

What must I do to be saved?

And the answer is yes.

In fact two people that I am aware of asked this most important of all questions anyone can ask of God for it effects our eternal destiny.

The first was the rich young ruler sometimes called the rich young fool. For he asks Jesus of Nazareth to his face "What must I do to be saved in Matthew 19:16. He asks the question, "What must I do to get eternal life." Jesus replies, "Obey the commandments."

Is obedience required for salvation or not?

And the young man replies, "I have kept them but what do I still lack.

And Jesus tells him, "sell all you have and follow me".

And the young man went away sad for he could not obey Christ's command for he was very rich.

And who was the other person who asked the same question and where in the bible did he ask it.

"What must we do to be saved?"

It is in the book of Acts and the question was asked and it was asked by the jailer who was in charge of keeping by the Apostles in jail and when an earthquake happened the jailer thought they had escaped and he would be killed but they assured him they were still there and the jailer asks, “What must I do to be saved?” And what was the Apostles, Paul and Silas answer him.

“Believe on the Lord, Jesus and you and your whole household will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Is faith or belief in Christ important or not?

It is required for our salvation for it is in our faith so that we are made righteous just like Abraham.

But can we be saved by faith in someone other than Christ? Can someone else save us?

Is Jesus the only way to salvation!

What do the apostles teach in regard to this question?

The Apostle Peter tells us plainly in regard to Jesus Christ's name. Peter says in Acts 4:12, "There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

But Jesus tells his disciples that there is no other way to salvation except through Him when He says, "No one comes to the Father Except Though Me". John 14:6.

Jesus tells us himself that he alone gives eternal life only to those who believe in him in John chapter 10 and here are his exact words.

25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish...

Jesus is the only "WAY TO SALVATION " by his own words!

Amen.

Sermon For Penetcost Sunday May 23, 2010

2010-05-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

THY WORD IS TRUTH

JOHN 17:17

“Do We Walk In The Spirit?”

Today is the Pentecost Sunday and we celebrate the birthday of the church. For on that first Pentecost Sunday the Apostle Peter we learn in the Chapter 2 of the book of Acts stood up to address the crowd after the Holy Spirit had settles upon then as they were gathered together in one place. And we have to read clear to the end of Chapter 2 of Acts to find out where that place was; for the author of the book of Acts identifies the place as the courts of the Temple which is just outside the Temple on the Temple grounds. And who is Peter addressing for Peter is about to preach the first sermon of the church. And after this first sermon, three thousand souls will be added to the church on the very first day of the church’s existence. Who is Peter addressing as he raises his voice to address the crowd. Who is Peter addressing and what has just happen to them that would radically change their lives?

2010-01-24T18:42:00.000-08:00

THY WORD IS TRUTH

John 17:17

“Signs Of The End Of The Age?” Part 2

Last weeks sermon was on the end times

Prophesy that is so popular on television and the subject of a book series called “Left Behind” by a man names La Hay and I am sure he is a good Christian but he has made a lot of money and attracted a lot of attention based upon I my opinion a misreading of scripture and not just one but many scriptures.

And that is why I have rededicated my ministry this year as one of my New Years resolution to the truth of the bible and to the truth of the gospel.

        Today in the second sermon in this series where we will examine the modern biblical interpretation of the church being removed from the earth before the wicked and unrighteous people in a rapture, which comes from the Latin word “rapere” which means to “snatch” or “take away”.

And since the original text of the New Testament was written in the Greek so any words taken from Latin roots are at the very outset suspect as being not inspired by the Holy Spirit.

All original greek scripture is God beathed but translations into Latin made by the early church father Jerome born in 342 AD were never identified as inspired.

And all claims that subsequent translations to the origina autgraohs i=od scripture which are not with us are inspired are false for the Holy Spirit is the source of Gods word and this is affirmed by Christ himself but explicitly state by Christ Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 1:21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit

Today we will look at this modern interpretation of the rapture which is being taught as if it was taught as doctrine in the first century church by the Apostles.

The rapture had it origin in a chruch in Scottland in the late 1800s.

We repeat the Apostle creed every Sunday as believing in the resurrection of the body meaning every human body.

It is strongly implied that both the righteous and the righteous will be raised at the same time in the resurrection at the end of time when the Lord returns in power and glory.

And there are two scriptures that must be brought together and compared when this great event happens.

There is a loud noise like the blowing of a trumpet and a shout.

And there is a change that takes place both in those living and those who are dead.

And the scriptures talk about the dead in a very euphemistic way.

And so there is no miss understanding here what to I mean by the word euphemistic way?

What is a euphemism?

A euphemism is a way of sugar coating an ugly word like the word “dead” or death.

Many times we don’t use these words but substitute and kinder or gentler phrase that means the same thing.

We euphemistically refer to some one who died as having "passed away".

Pasted away is a eupenism for death.

And in the scriptures and Jesus of Nazareth did the same thing by referring to those dead as “being asleep”. Jesus use this phrase as a euphemism for death.

And if there is a resurrection and a raising to new life then this is a good euphemism since all the dead in Christ are a waiting an awakening to new life. And as Jesus promise this new life will never end.

So let us look at some the scriptures that says this!

What does Jesus say about his friend Lazarus in chapter 11 of the gospel of John?

Starting a verse 4, and we learn when Jesus was told that Lazarus was sick her says this:

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."
5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.
7 Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."
8 "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"
9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light.
10 It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."

And then Jesus refers to Lazarus as if he were asleep rather than dead.

11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."
12 His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better."
13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead,
15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

        But As I have said many times before, if God the Father or his Son Jesus is going to tells us something important, they will not say it just once.

So a scripture that appears just once in the bible is not important enough to raise it to the level of a major doctrine or teaching.

Are there other places where the resurrection is referred to as someone who is just asleep and would be awakened?

And where should we look?

Yes, the words of the Apostle Paul and his words about the Resurrection.

Remember the Resurrection chapter of 1 Corinthians Chapter 15.

And here are Paul's words:

50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. “For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed”.

And there are the words of the returning of the Lord and the trumpet of God and the flashing of light.

Doesn’t that sound familiar?

Where have we seen these symbols before?

What did Christ say about lightning when he returns and the lightning will be from one side of the sky to the other.

Remember the reading from Matthew 24 last Sunday.

But this time I will select from that passage the description of the event from Jesus of Nazareth’s words from the NIV translation and especially notice the timing.

And here is the quote from Matthew 24:29

29"Immediately after the distress of those days "

The King James translation says "immediately after the tribulation of those days".

The NIV version has trivializes the time of the event and minimized it because the translators pf the NIV do not believe the church will go through the tribulation.

The phrase “the distress of those days” is simply not equivalent to the “Great Tribulation” that Jesus described to his disciples in the King James version!

And I believe this is a major error in translation!

And the reason is the idolatry of the modern mind which looks inwardly with pride that God would not put His chosen people through a great tribulation.

How self-centered and prideful is that "notion!"

But God put the original "CHOSEN PEOPLE", the Jews, into slavery not only once in Egypt but a second time in Babylon 900 years later so should we suppose for even an moment that God Almighty would not put his adopted chosen people (we gentiles) through the same sort of test of faith in a tribulation!

These modern Christians believe in a pre-tribulation rapture and not a resurrection like Christ had with His curcified body and like all of Christianity has believed in for 20 centuries.

To believe in a rapture is to deny that we are to have our own resurrection.

This denies the purpose of Christ's resurrection which is to lead the way to our own resurrection.

And it negates the "Resurreection" Chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul talks about how we shall be raised incorruptible!

It does not say we shall return with Christ "incorruptable" as these proponents of the "rapture" imply!

Is it not amazing how so many want to rewrite the word of God to make it say what they want it to say!

But lets pick up on Christ’s words from the NIV:

"29 the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
30 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

But where else in the scripture do we hear of this event!

It comes to us from the Apostolic teaching of the Apostle Paul. Where else in scripture would we see these same thing happening.

It was from the New Testament reading today from 1st Thessalonians.

Notice how similar this picture is so similar to 1st Corinthians 15 and Matthew 24.

All three scripture describe the return of Christ at the end of age.

1 Thessalonians:
“13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
18Therefore encourage each other with these words.

But how can these words be so misinterpreted as a rapture of the church rather than by the general resurrection of the dead that Christ talked about in Matthew 26 when he comes like the Son of Man in the clouds with great power and glory.

This is the same event is it not?

I contend that it is the same event!

There is the sound of a trumpet and the shout of the archangel. Christ says it is a world wide event in the sky as far as the east is from the west.

It clearly is understood by Paul using the word “sleep” the same way that Christ had used to refer to the dead.

        And so we find that the rapture is really and always has been the resurrection.

The :resurreection of the body" is a major tenet of the Christian faith and has been for 20 centuries of the church's existence!

Presbyterians have been repeating this tenent of the faith for 500 years of the reformed faith in the Apostle Creed that every Presbyterian says every Sunday morning!

We believer in "the resurrection of the body" and that is the correct doctrine and the tenet of the Apostles Creed.

And the symbols of sleep, the trumpet and the shout and the flash of light are to jog our memories as to being references to the same "big sky event" of the returning of the Lord and the end of the world.

There will be a change as fast as a twinkling of an eye and we will not have perishable bodies any more.

Our bodies will now be imperishable and then we will rise and meet the Lord in the air.

But those living will not be the first to rise.

As it said on the New Testament reading this morning “the dead in Christ will rise first” and then the living will be changed.

And what does that imply?

It implies that some who are not in Christ that will rise later.

Otherwise why would Paul make the distinction that those in Christ will rise first if there were not those who would rise second.

Those who do not belong to Christ!

This preceding of the dead in Christ rising first blows up the “rapture” as untenable and as a miss-interpretation of scripture.

There is no a taking of the church away but a taking of those who are sleep in Christ and those living when Christ returns and both will be taken to be with Him for they are the church!

But, what about the wicked? Where do they go?

Not to meet the Lord in the air to go with Him but they do go somewhere don’t they?

And where does it say where the wicked and unrighteous go in the bible.

In the Book of Revelation we read this.

But before we go there just one last thought about the rising of the dead.

The scripture read “the dead in Christ shall rise first”. Who will rise after them.

The answer is, “those who are not in Christ” the unrighteous, the wicked, the lost.

So from the book of Revelation and here are the words, “

11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

That’s right those who are not "in Christ" suffer a second death!

Is it important to be “in Christ” or not?

So it is clear from a careful reading of Scriture that both those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life and the wicked are resurrected.

But only those “in Christ” are given eternal life with Christ.

Let me close in prayer:

Sermon For Sunday January 03, 2010

2010-01-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

THY WORD IS TRUTH

John 17:17

“Signs Of The End Of The Age? Part 1”

We have had this week a large earthquake on the Island of Hispaniola. The western half of the Island is the nation of Haiti.

And it appears as if there maybe as many as 100,000 thousand dead for there are reports on the news

Friday night that 40,000 bodies have already been buried.

And it immediately made me try to put this terrible tragic event into perspective. Just how strong was this earthquake compared to others we have had in history and in past history.

The initial reports were a 7.0 on the Richter Scale.

The Richter scale is a logrhymic scale so the first number on the scale is 10 times the force of the next number.

In other words a 7 on the Richter scale is ten times stronger than a 6 magnitude quake.

But for most of us that does not help us much understand just how strong one earthquake is from another. So to get a comparison we might go to the Internet to find something to get the clear in out minds just how strong one earth quake is versus another.

And I found a fact about earthquake that was healpful ion this regard.

When I looked up the word Richter I found a good comparison that jumped out at me. The webpage made this statement.

An earth quake of 5.0 on the Richter scale releases as much energy as the atomic bomb exploded over
Heroshima Japan in WWII.

And this quake in Haiti this week was a 7.0 so it was 100 times more powerful than a nuclear exposion.

And then the Richter scale was laid out like this.

A 4.0 quake is widely felt and is strong enough to crack plaster.

A 5.0 is strong enough to damage chimneys and weak building.

A 6.0 is strong enough to damage average buildings.

A 7.0 earthquake is strong enough to damage well built buildings.

An 8.0 quake will damaged reinforces well built structures.

And a 9.0 will have flatten all structure in a widespread area.

So the next question is how does this quake stand up in comparison to other earthquakes in human history. Have there been 8 and 9 magnitude quakes strong that the one in Haiti in modern history.

The answer is yes.

There was a 8.0 quake in Chile in 1964 but it was not a deadly as this one.

Even a small earthquake a 5.0 is deadly is the epicenter is near a population center.

So the most deadly modern earthquake happened just a few years ago in Indonesia and it happen on the day after Christmas in 2004 and more than 250 people were killed in the Tsumami that it cause.

So what about the strongest and most deadly earthquake ever recorded?

That happened in on January 23, 1556 in China and was 8.0 (but that has to be estimated because the Richter scale was not in existence yet) and it killed 800 thousand people.

The highest death toll is the 230 thousand death toll of Jan 26th 2004.

The earthquake is as old and as deadly as a devastating as far back as human history goes and is well documented in the bible and in the days when Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth.

And we hear Jesus this morning in the New Testament reading from chapter 24 of the gospel of Matthew answer a question that one of his disciples asked him when they were gathered on the steps of the Temple.

The beautiful Temple remodel by Herod the Great just before Jesus was born.

And Jesus said that this temple would be destroyed and not one stone would be laid upon the other.

This prophecy of Jesus came to pass just 37 years after his death on the cross in AD 70 when the emperors son Titus burned Jerusalem and tore down th temple and over 1,000,000 Jews were put to death by the sword according to the Jewish historian Josephus who was an eyewitness to this event.

But after Jesus says that not one stone of the temple would be left upon the otherm Jesus and his disciples had arrived on the Mt of Olives and the disciples came up to him privately asking, “Tell us, when shall these things happen and what shall be the sign of the coming of the age.

The New International Version translates this question as “What will be the sign of the coming of the end of the world?”

And this is a big question of life for anyone.

It is like on of the other big questions of life like what happens after I die or why am I here and what is my purpose in life.

What is the meaning of life and how did this earth an all of nature happen.

So the disciples must have eagerly anticipated Jesus answer for they had seen his power over nature by calming the storm and walking on water.

And we hear from the reading this morning Jesus answer.

And these are his words, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many shall come in my name, saying I am the Christ; and shall deceive many. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars… for nation shall rise against naton and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in many places…. And later he says many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

And the modern translations like the NIVsays: “

12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. The King James says, “Because of the iniquity of those time the love of many will wax cold”.

Regardless, both phases are not well understood by the modern mind.

When is the last time you heard the biblical word iniquity in comversation?

And let me know when you heard the word “Wicked” spoken in every day conversation.

Both are very old fashioned words because the world view of many modern Christians is that human beings are basically good and when we do bad we are either mentally ill or have made a mistake.

The concept of "sin" is obscure and a mystery to the modern mind.

Sins become mistakes or bad choices or are due to illness that any one can fall into!

But Jesus is not done describing the end of the world!

He says when the end of the word will come about in his next sentence. “But he who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all the nations; and then shall the end come.

So Jesus acknowledges that there will be an end of the world.

And Jesus quotes that when an abomination of desolations appears in the temple and desecrates the Temple as spoken about by the prophet Daniel then:

Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything form his house. Neither let him who is in the fields return back to take his clothes.
But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that are nursing children.
But pray that your flight might not be in winter or on a Sabbath day for there shall be a great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be but for the sake of the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

Jesus tells us that the church or the "elect" are on the earth and going thorugh the great tribulation and becasue they are going though the tribulation the trubulation is shortened!

In Jesus words, "there is no rapture of the chruch".

And later in the passage Jesus says, “Just like the lightning comes from the east and shine in the west shall the coming of the Son of Man be".

(The son on man is also from the prophesy of Daniel and Jesus refers to him self of 70 times in the gospels as the fulfillment of the Son of Man prophesy of Daniel 7:14).

Jesus is talking about his second coming after his death.

And then we come to his words that are removed from the modern translations like the NIV. The King James gives exactly when the tribulation will happen and who will be in it.

Here are his most misunderstood word perhaps in the whole bible!

“IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS.” (KING JAMES).

What will happen?

Jesus continues, “The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give it’s light and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be shaken and then the tribes of the earth will mourn for they will see the Son Of Man coming on the clouds of heaves with power and great glory.”

And so Jesus describes in gruesome detail what will happen at the end of the age but does that help us with the interpretation of the current age.

Many modern interpreters of unanswered biblical prophesy would have you believe that these are the birth pangs and the great tribulation is just around the corners for we have the earthquakes and the pestilence and the wars and rumors of wars that our Lord spoke of right now.

But we have always had those conditions on the earth thorough out history since the cross and resurrection.

What about the black and bubinic plauges of the middle ages.

The aids epidemic is real and has caused thousands of orphans not only in Haiti but thorugh out the world especially in Africa where millions have died from this terrible pestilence but it pales in comparison with the black plague and the bubonic plague of the middle ages and around two centuries before the Reformation of the Church.

So antibiotics and other drugs have made these plagues an non treat but there is not antibiotic effective against viral diseases.

But we could focus on when the end shall come according to Christ.

Many biblical scholars do not go back to the original Greek and take their biblical research to the Latin translation of the Church Father Jerome.

Jerome translated the New Testament from Greek in to Latin and that bible is known as the Vulgate.

And we have scholarship in the their self-center humanistic way translating the gathering of the elect as the gathering of the church and a concept called the "Rapture" of the church before the tribulation and some have splintered away and interpreted the rapture of the church in the middle of the tribulation.

As I said before word rapture is a modern word taken from a vision of a woman named MacDonald in Scotland in the 1800s.

But the King James version makes it clear and tells us when it will happen amd the taking away of the chruch is at the "Resurrection of the dead" that all the disciples of Christ belived in.

It will happen after the tribulation so the church will go through the tribulation and Jesus reinforces this with "if these day were not shorted no flesh would be saved."

Let Me Close In Prayer:

2009-04-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

THY WORD IS TRUTH

John 17:17

From the desk of a believing biochemist and pastor:

Ted Whitaker, Ph.D, CLP

Today is Earth Day in all it’s ungodliness and self centeredness.

For radical environmentalism is just one of the many IDOLATRIES OF THE MODERN MIND.

Radical environmentalism is dedicated to the worship of the creation and not the Creator.

There is a stern warning in Romans for the idolatry of worshiping the creation and not the creator that most humanists ignore or do not understand if they ever read it.

I will quote it below just in case the secular humanists stumble upon it and just somehow the light bulb will finally come on.

This is a prayer by the Apostle Paul.

Romans 1:18-25 (NASB)

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident, within them.

19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their own speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing to be wise they became fools,

23 and exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24 Therefore God gave them over to the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies may be dishonored among them.

25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

The proponents of earth day are so self consumed that they are under a powerful delusion that the earth is finite and can be permanent damaged by the action of mankind.

These people are undereducated in both the biblical and scientific technical sense.

The do not understand the creation or the planet and how it works. The warnings of global warming soon to be relabeled and repackaged as climate change are distortions of the truth as described by the Apostle Paul in the Romans 1 prayer.

We used to have a children book called “Chicken Little” who professed to the whole world that the sky is falling. We used to teach children the lack of wisdom of such an alarmist without the facts.

But now we have people with jurisprudence degrees winning the Nobel Prize like former Vice President All Gore expounding on the evils of green house gas effect and it the end of life on this planet upon us and as if his Nobel Prize was in science.

To bring some smelling salts under our collective intellectual noses let us come to some resemblance to the truth.

The Greenhouse gas effect is false on the basis of the amounts of green house gases in the atmosphere alone.

We have put into society as whole generation that are mathematically illiterate and put them in positions of power and influence.

People who are so under educated that they cannot grasp the principle of balance.

They no longer have to balance chemical equations as a requirement to become a scientist or to earn a scientific degree.

They do not know what is a big number and what is a small number nor do they know what concept of equilibrium is or how to apply it.

God made this planet in perfect balance.

The perfect balance of nature us the signature of the perfect Creator!

To claim otherwise is what the Apostle Paul says is foolishness, ungodliness, unrighteousness and a suppression of the truth.

So to observe earth day and all it ungodliness, I will be posting both biblical and scientific and mathematical proofs of the idolatry of environmentalism as a believing biochemist and pastor.

The first post will be an email sent by this pastor to Fox News refuting global warming.

I should have mad an opening statement to Fox News and that should have been.

THE AMOUNT OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE IS CONSTANT!

Why should I have lead with that statement. Because it is the truth!

Carbon dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere by the plants of this world much faster that man could ever be able to put it into the atmosphere.

The rate of removal which was the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1961 is 6,000 tons per second.

This fact is being totally ignored by the scientific community of the post 1970 time frame.

This rate of removal is so large and dominant that it takes only 22 minutes to remove all the carbon emissions put human beings into the atmosphere for the whole year of 2005!

Please read my email below for the mathematical proof:

Hello Fox News

I am a retired biochemist and I have been trying for years to be heard on the global warming issue.

I received my Ph. D. in 1970 from an Agricultural School at West Virginia University in Agricultural biochemistry.

I will try once more to point out the scientific errors in the greenhouse gas effect as briefly as possible and then expand upon it if you will contact me at my email address: whitaker_ted@yahoo.com.

The EPA has refused to respond to my emails:

The concentration of greenhouse gases is less the 1 percent of the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide is 0.055 percent of the atmosphere of the earth (55 thousandths of a percent). That is a very small amount not a large amount.

The EPA refuses to acknowledge the Nobel Prize winning speech of Melvin Calvin in 1961 at the University of California where he determined the rate of uptake (removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere) as 6000 tons per second.

The University of California website for this speech is http://www-library.qov/

The click on Melvin Calvin and there is his 1961 Nobel prize winning speech and look at the body of the speech and you will see the carbon dioxide removal rate of 6000 tons per second.

The EPA global warming site gives the whole output of carbon dioxide for 2005 in teragrams as a total amount.

Go to http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/index.html

The total emissions for 2005 is 7,200.4 teragrams or 7,200,400,000,000 grams

Do modem EPA scientists know the size difference between a gram (a tiny measure of weight) and a ton?

I think they do not!

So at the rate published by Dr. Calvin:

How long will it take for the photosynthetic bacteria of the oceans to remove 7,200.4 teragrams of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

The answer is just 22 minutes.

PLEASE SEE BELOW THE FOLLOWING CALCULATIONS:

7,200,400,000,000 grams divided by 454 grams per pound = 15,992,070,484 pounds

15,992,070,484 pounds divided by 2000 pounds per ton = 7,996,035 tons of carbon dioxide

How long will to take to remove this many tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for the whole year of 2005 of the earth by Dr Calvin's Nobel Prize winning rate of 6,000 tons per second?

7,996,045 tons divided by 6000 tons per second = 1,333 seconds

1,333 second divided by 60 seconds per minute = 22 minutes

I rest my case.

Is there global warming. NO! Only to the under educated!

Theodore (Ted) Whitaker, Ph.D. 1970, retired

2009-04-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

NT Reading 03.15.09 John 19:7-24 Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

18 "I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'
19 "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.
20 I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me."
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."
22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.
23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.
24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means."
25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?"
26 Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.
27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him,
28 but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.
29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor.
30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

2009-04-16T05:39:00.000-07:00

THY WORD IS TRUTH John 17:17

From the desk of the believing biochemist and pastor.

Ted Whitaker, Ph.D, CLP

Warning: Preaching from just one gospel account like Mark just because it was the scrupture of the lectionary may be hazardous to your spiritual health because it is incomplete!

The four gospel scripture passages about the Resurrection that were read at the Easter Sunrise Service are printed below.

As I have presented before, the gospel of Mark is from Peter's account to Mark because Mark was Peter’s scribe and Mark wrote down everything that Peter told him and therefore Mark's gospel is not an eyewitness account.

There are details missing form Mark's account that are clearly remembered by Matthew and John and included in their gospels.

In Marks account Mary Magdalene and the other women did not tell anyone because they were afraid.

If I were to blindly follow the lectionary and only preach on Mark, I would have given a distorted and inaccurate and incomplete account of the resurrection.Matthew tells us that although the women were afraid they were full of joy and hurried to tell the disciples.

So Mark tells an incomplete account because he forgot all the details that Peter had told him.

Mark tells us that there was a young man in the tomb.But Matthew and John identify this young man as an angel.

John who actually was in the tomb tells us that there were two angels and not one.

Matthews account is also second hand because Matthew was with the disciples and did not accompany Peter and John to the tomb and some one forgot to tell him there were two angels instead of just one.

I will always give all four gospel witnesses in my sermons to get the full picture of exactly what happened in Jesus life.An incomplete witness is not the complete truth.

This blog is dedicated to the full truth of God's word.Anything less would be bad scholarship.To preach the truth of the gospel all four gospel writers must be considered as each adds details that the other three leave out of their accounts.

Yours in the love of Christ,

Pastor Ted Whitaker, PhD, CLP

Mark 16:1-11 (NIV)

The Resurrection

1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.

2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb

3 and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"

4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.

5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6 "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.

7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "

8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.

11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

Luke 24:1-12 (NIV)

The Resurrection1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.

2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?

6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:

7' The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' "

8 Then they remembered his words.

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.

10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.

11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.

12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Matthew 28:1-10 (NIV)

The Resurrection

1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 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.

3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

7 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."

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.

10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

John 20:1-19 (NIV)

The Empty Tomb

1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.

4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.

6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,

7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.

8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

10 Then the disciples went back to their homes,

11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb

12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him."

14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.Jesus Appears to His Disciples

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"

2009-04-13T06:04:00.000-07:00

THY WORD IS TRUTH John 17:17

From the desk of the believing biochemist and pastor:

Ted R Whitaker, PhD, CLP

Easter Morning Sermon

Delivered at the joint Easter Morning Sunrise Service April 12, 2009

Hopedale United Methodist Church 7:00 AM

Annapolis Presbyterian Church 9:30 AM

Hopedale Presbyterian Church 11:00 AM

“They Have Taken His Body Away”

He is risen! Response: He is Risen Indeed. Alleluia!

I would like to welcome everyone to the service of the celebration of the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus from the dead here at (Annapolis / Hopedale United Presbyterian Church).

And what joy has filled our hearts and minds as we celebrate the Resurrection and what it means to every believer.

And the glorious ending of Holy Week and the passion and death of Jesus and the darkness and despair that Jesus disciples must have felt at the Jesus death on the cross and his burial in the tomb.

The rich man's tomb hewn out of solid rock just as the prophets of the Old Testament had foretold.

The congregations here at Annapolis and Hopedale church has through out the season of Lent been hearing of all the Old Testament prophecies that predicted Jesus betrayal and beatings and piercing of his hand and his feet.

Last Thursday both churches celebrated the Passover meal that Jesus celebrated with his disciples just before he was betrayed by one of His disciples Judas Iscariot with a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The Old Testament prophets foretold that Jesus would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.

The word of the Lord from the prophet Zechariah chapter 11 verse 12 reads, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it."

So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"-the handsome price at which they paid me!

So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter." Nothing is left to chance in the Word of God.

Everything that happen to Jesus was recorded by the prophets of the Old Testament even to the details of the exact amount of money that Jesus was to be betrayed by a friend.

And where the Jesus friends on the first dark, Good Friday, when he was nailed to the cross by the Roman soldiers.

And where the 12 men that he had chosen to be fishers of men.Only John, the disciple that Jesus loved stood at the foot of the cross and received the request of the Lord to take care of his mother, Mary.

We should all remember that when Jesus told the 12 that one of them would betray him.

Peter brashly replies, "even if all fall away on account of You, I never will!

And Jesus rebuked Peter by saying, "I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.

And after Jesus was arrested, Peter was identified as one of his followers and Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times and the rooster crowed and Peter wept bitterly.

And then after Jesus had died and the Solder had put a lance, in his side to see that he was truly dead and his body was taken' down from the cross because it was the Sabbath.

The Jews were forbidden to touch a dead body on the Sabbath so Jesus was wrapped in grave cloths and placed in that rich man's tomb and the massive stone was rolled into the opening of the tomb.

And the Sabbath came and passed and can you imagine what must have been going though Peter and the rest of the disciples minds.

Judas was now dead having killed himself.

They must have been heart broken and in despair and terribly confused.

For they had been with this man for three years and in their own words has witnessed "His Majesty".

They had seen with their own eyes the power that this man, Jesus, had displayed right in front of their eyes.

He showed his supernatural power in healing every disease that they knew about leprosy, blindness, deafness, demon possession, lameness and every other infirmity.

(But much, much more).

They had seen him calm the storm and walk on the water and Peter had walked on water with Him but then doubted and the Lord had to catch him.

Peter, James and John had seen his face shine like the sun on the mount of transfiguration.

How can such a man with the power that Jesus had ever die?

But then came the morning!

We have hear the four accounts from the Apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of Mary Magdalene in the sermons in this season of Lent.

And to day we heard in the New Testament readings of the other Mary (the mother of James and Salome) and the two disciples John and Peter going to the tomb and finding it empty of the body of Jesus.

The head cloth was folded up by itself away from the strips of linen that had wrapped Jesus body.Who folded the head cloth of Jesus?

But then Mary starts to cry.And a man she thought was the gardener of the tomb asks Mary Magdalene why is she crying.

And she tells him, "they have taken my Lord body away and I don't know where they have put Him.And they Jesus says to her, "Mary".

And she recognizes him and says, "Rabboni teacher.

He asks her not to touch him but tells her to go and tell the disciples.

And when she arrives and says, "I have seen the Lord."But disciples don't believe her!"

The question is "Do we believer her?"Jesus has to prove his resurrection to each of His disciples by letting them touch him and for doubting Thomas he has to let him put his finger into his wounds to make Thomas believer.

Are we all like Thomas?

Do we need to see the resurrection with our own eyes and touch him to believe?

But the clincher of the evidence of the resurrection is when "Jesus says to disciples when they are gathered beside the Sea of Galilee one morning, "See I am not a ghost".

Galilee is thirty mikes north of the tomb in which Jesus was buried!

A ghost does not have bones like I do and He lets them touch him, again.And then he gives the best of evidence that his is physically alive.

He turn to them and says, "Do you have anything to eat".

And they give him a piece of fish and he ate it."

The tomb is empty!

The cross is empty!

And these supernatural events stand for all time that Satan was been defeated and the grave has no power over us any more.

We are free from their power and that is why we have a blessed hope and a joy unspeakable when we consider what Mary and the disciples saw on that first Easter morning.

And the evidence of the truth of the resurrection will go on for many, many days with the appearances of the Lord to as many as 500 witnesses at one time the Apostle Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians Chapter 15 verse 6.

But I will leave you with the best witness in the Book of Revelation where the risen and glorified Lord Jesus is dictation to his beloved disciple John and these are his words.

Jesus testifies that there is no longer a sacrifice for sin and that his sacrifice is permanent and for all time with these words.

He has made an eternal sacrifice.

“I have the keys of death and Hades.

Do not be afraid,

I am the first and the last and the living One.

I was dead,

And now I am alive forever more”.

Amen.

2009-04-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

THY WORD IS TRUTH John 17:17

From the desk of the believing biochemist and pastor:

Ted Whitaker, Ph.D, CLP

Now that Good Friday is over and Jesus of Nazareth has been laid in the tomb and that massive stone has been rolled over it’s entrance, and we wait for the Jewish Sabbath to be over and we wait for the first day of the week.

It gives us pause to remember the appearance of our Lord that first Easter morning to a woman.

God chooses a certain woman to be the first witness to his resurrection and that is Mary of the city of Magdela.

We know her as Mary Magdalene. And sadly she is a much maligned woman. For many so called biblical scholars has labeled her as a prostitute.

THE BIBLE DOES NOT SAY ANYWHERE THAT MARY MAGDALENE WAS A PROSITUTE!

But please don't take my word for it! I have made a exhaustive computer search for the bible verse that tell us that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute.

I have presented all the relevant Scriptures in the table below and none contain the evidence for this claim.

If you know of any scripture please sign up and comment and I will respond.

The THY WORD IS TRUTH blog is dedicated to the truth of Gods Holy Word for Jesus is the living Word of God.

Jesus is WORD made flesh and dwelt among us. The Word of god is inspired by the Spirit of God. And the Spirit is the spirit of Truth.

And that is why I chose the title of this blog for the Apostle John gives us this title in John 17:17. Thy word is truth.

So this blog is dedicated to the truth of this word and for as long as this blog is on the world wide web, this pastor will be point out what the scriptures (the bible) say and what they do not say.

We live in a time where our memories are enhanced by a microchip and an optical disc called a hard drive. And so what the text of the bible says or does not say is no longer a matter of some ones feeble mind or memory.

What the bible says is true and since ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD BREATHED; all scripture is therefore the spoken words of God recorded by men and is no long in doubt or a matter of conjecture.

So when there are inaccuracies, mistaken interpretation, errors, conjecture or even willful distortion of the truth called heresies, this Pastor will be publishing the correct text and the errors side by side for comparison.

So let me get back to the point of the error of labeling the first witness to the resurrection Mary Magdalene as a prostitute.

This is a very serious error indeed since Mary Magdalene and the other women traveled with Jesus it implies a serious doubt as to Jesus character.

Jesus was erroneously accused by the self righteous Pharisees of guilt by association by eating with sinners.

Since human being is conceived in sin (notice the words was not born in sin), Mary Magdalene was indeed a sinner.

BUT JESUS WAS NOT CONCEIVED IN SIN. Jesus had a supernatural conception by the power of the Holy Spirit and that is the meaning of the incarnation and the virgin birth.

JESUS WAS SINLESS unblemished lamb of God.

And for an important reason although this fact is not understood by many.

The distinction is crucial to the understanding of who Jesus is and why his sacrifice and atonement on the cross is different from the atonement of the animals in the Temple of God built by King Solomon and later rebuilt and remodel by King Herod.

The Temple was destroyed twice for a reason. That reason was that it was TEMPORARY.

But Jesus atonement on the cross of Calvary is different for a very important reason.
Jesus atonement on the cross was PERMANENT and once and for all time (ETERNAL).

The bible tells us this in the Book of Romans and the Book of Hebrew and I will share with you those scripture in a future post dedicated to the atonement.

But what was Mary Magdalene sin? Was it prostitution?

The answer is NO. The bible never says that anywhere. A computer search of the scriptures does not produce a verse that tells us that Mary was a prostitute.

I have done the required computer search of all the verses of the bible that have the word prostitute in them and then a follow up search that have Mary Magdalene’s name.

Please scroll down the TABLE below through all those scriptures as see for your self that Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute.

But before we do that let us consider what the scriptures actually say about Mary Magdalene’s sin.

Luke 8:1-2
1After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
Mary Magdalene was demon possessed and Jesus made those demons come out of her.

In modern terms Mary Magdalene was mentally ill! So she was not immoral!

And this makes Jesus traveling with her no compromise with his character or hers.

The claim of Mary Magdalene is a prostitute and is immoral is prejudice and error and bad biblical scholarship!

Please review all the scriptures of the New Testament below and see for yourself for the computer does not leave any of them out.

Was Mary Magdalene Ever a Prostitute?

TABLE OF COMPARISON:

1) Matthew 27:55-56

55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.

56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

Context: Women list of women identified as witness to Jesus crucifixion.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE.

Text notes: Foot note refers to Mark 15:40 note.

2) Matthew 27: 59-61
59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

Context: List of women as witnesses to the burial of Jesus.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE.

Text Notes: Foot note refers to Mark 15:46.

3) Matthew 28:1-9

1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 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.

3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

7 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."

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.

10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Context: List of women as witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE.

Text Notes: Foot notes refer to Mark 16:2-6; Luke 24: 1-7; John 20 .

Conclusion: Matthew’s Gospel does not identify Mary Magdalene as a prostitute.

4) Mark 15:33-40

33 At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.

34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."

36 One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.

37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"

40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.

41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

Context: Women list of women identified as witness to Jesus crucifixion.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE.

Text notes: Foot note refers to Mark 16:9 and Luke 8:2 notes.

5) Mark 15: 38-41

38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.

41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

Context: Women list of women identified as witness to Jesus death.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE.

Text notes: No footnotes given on these verses.

6) Mark 16:1-16

1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.

2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"

4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6 "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.

7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "

8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.

11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

Context: List of women as witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE.

WE ONLY FIND A REFERENCE TO MARY AS DEMON POSSESSED.

Text Notes: Foot notes refer to Mark 15:40

Conclusion: Mark’s gospel does not identify Mary Magdalene as a prostitute.

7) Luke 8:1-2

1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,

2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;

3 Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE.

WE DO FIND A REFERENCE TO MARY AS DEMON POSSESSED.

Text Notes: Foot notes refer to Mary’s home town as Magdala.

Text Note: Mary Magdalene is not to be confused with sinful woman that anointed Jesus feet with expensive perfumes and wiped his feet with her hair of Luke 7:36-50. The woman who anointed Jesus was not identified by name.

Context: The context changes from Luke 7 to Luke 8 and Jesus is with Mary Magdalene in Luke 8 but in a different time and place from the sinful woman who anointed his feet.

This confusion of the unidentified sinful woman and Mary Magdalene is most likely the source of the bad scholarship!

8) Luke 24:1-12

1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.

2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?

6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7' The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' "

8 Then they remembered his words.

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.

10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.

11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.

12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Context: List of women as witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE.

Text Notes: Foot notes refer to Mark16:1; John 20:1

Conclusion: Luke’s gospel does not identify Mary Magdalene as a prostitute.

John 19:24-27

24 Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son,"

27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Context: List of women identified as witnesses to Jesus crucifixion.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE.

Text notes: Foot note refers no other scriptures.

John 20:1-18 The Empty Tomb

1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.

4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.

6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,

7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.

8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

10 Then the disciples went back to their homes,

11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him."

14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Context: Mary Magdalene as witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE.

Text Notes: Foot notes no references to other scriptures.

Conclusion: John’s Gospel does not identify Mary Magdalene as a prostitute.

To make this bible study thorough and accurate, we need to look at the New Testmanent scriptures than contain the word “prostitute”.

Perhaps Mary Magdalene is referred to in the scripture verses that contain the word "prostitute"?

There are only 2 such scriptures in the New Testament that refer to prostitutes that might refer to mary Magdalene also.

Matthew 21:30-32 The Parable of the Two Sons:

30. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Context: Jesus does not identify Mary Magdalene as a prostitute in this passage.

In fact Mary Magdalene does not appear in this chapter of Matthew.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE

Conclusion: The gospel of Matthew does not identify Mary Magdalene as a prostitute.

Luke 15:11-31 The Parable of the Prodigal Son

28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.

29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.

30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'

31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.

32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "

Context: Jesus does not identify Mary Magdalene as a prostitute in this passage.

In fact Mary Magdalene does not appear in this chapter of Luke.

NO REFERENCE TO MARY MAGDALENE AS A PROSTITUTE

Conclusion: Holds that the gospel of Luke does not identify Mary Magdalene as a prostitute.

So to make sure that we are not missing some reference to Mary Magdalene as a former prostitute let us examine all the New Testament that have the word prostitute in them outside of the gospels.

1 Corinthians 6:9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders

1 Corinthians 6:15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
Corinthians 6:16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."

The Apostle Paul does not identify Mary Magdalene or anyone else as a prostitute.

But he does identify anyone who is not repentant as a prostitute “will not inherit the kingdom of God.’

The Apostle Paul says our bodies belong to Christ as believers and whoever unites himself with a prostitute unites Christ with a prostitute?

There can be no stronger statement about prostitues in the whole bible!

Hebrews 11:31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

James 2:25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?

James and the Author of Hebrews identify Rahab of the Old Testament as a prostitute but they do not identify Mary Magdalene as a prostitute?

The book of Rebelation has 5 scriptures with the word prostitute in them:

Revelation 17:1[ The Woman and the Beast ] One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
Revelation 17:5This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREATTHE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTESAND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Revelation 17:15Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.

Revelation 17:16The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

Revelation 19:2for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants."

None of these scriptures in the book of revelation identifies Mary Magdalene as a prostitute:

CONCLUSION:

NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE IS MARY MAGDALENE IDENIFIED AS A PROSITUTE!

Jesus was sinless! An God would not let him associate with a positute.

And if Jesus associated with a prostitute he would not be God.

This is the false claim of the Pharisees about Jesus and it is not true.

THY WORD IS TRUTH John 17:17

LET ME CHALLENGE THOSE WHO HAVE MADE THIS CLAIM TO PRODUCE THE

BIBLICAL REFERENCE THAT TELLS US THAT MARY MAGDALENE WAS A PROSTITUE.

All references outside of the bible are not valid because such sources are not inspired by God Holy Spirit and therefore are false witness.

Gnostic gospels are not gospels at all and are heretical accounts.

We will explain the heresy of Gnosticism in future posts.

2009-04-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

THY WORD IS TRUTH John 17:17

From The Desk Of The Believing Biochemist and Pastor:

Pastor Ted Whitaker, PhD, CLP

I would like to welcome the members, family and friends of Hopedale and Annapolis Churches to the Good Friday edition of Thy Word Is Truth Blog.

We are not having a service this year on Good Friday.

I would like everyone to remember our Savior's death on the cross and later his burial in the rich man's tomb.

To do this please read the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John printed below.

In doing this we should remember that Matthew and John are eyewitness accounts and Luke was the scribe of the Apostle Paul and Mark is the scribe of the Apostle Peter and are second hand accounts.

This is not to diminish Luke and Mark in any way but since we have four accounts to compare at one time please see the details that are presented in Luke and Mark and compare them to the first hand accounts of Matthew and John and you will see that we get a complete picture of Jesus death and burial only form reading and paying attention to the detail of all four witnesses.

I hope to see you all Sunday morning as we hear from these four witness about the appearance of Jesus alive risen from the grave first to Mary Magdalene and the other women with her and then later to the disciples.

See you all Easter morning.

Yours in the love of Christ,

Pastor Ted Whitaker

Matthew 27:27-66 (NIV)

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

27Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him.
28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,
29and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said.

30They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.
31After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.
33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).
34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

35When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
36And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.
37Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.
39Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads
40and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"
41In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
43He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' "
44In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah." 48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.
49The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.
52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.
53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

The Burial of Jesus

57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.
58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.
63 "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.'
64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."
65 "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how."
66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Mark 15:16-47 (NIV)

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.
17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.
18 And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!"
19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.
20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.
22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).

23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
25 It was the third hour when they crucified him.
26 The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27 They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.
29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,
30 come down from the cross and save yourself!"
31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!
32 Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
33At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."

36 One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.

37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

The Burial of Jesus

42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.
44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.
45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.
46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

Luke 23:1-55 (NIV)

1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate.
2 And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king."
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man." 5But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here."
6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean.
7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle.
9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.
10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him.
11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.
12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people,
14 and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.
15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.
16 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him."
18 With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!"
19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again.
21 But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
22 For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."
23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.
24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand.
25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

The Crucifixion

26 As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
27A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.
28 Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.
29 For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' 30Then " 'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" '
31 For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" 32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.
34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar
37 and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: sc THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence?
41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
Jesus' Death
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,
45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.
47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man."
48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.
49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus' Burial

50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man,
51 who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.
52 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body.
53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.
54 It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.
56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

John 19:1-41

Jesus Sentenced to be Crucified

1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.
2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe
3 and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.
4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him."
5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"
6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."
7 The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."
8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,
9 and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.
10 "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"
11 Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar." 13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).
14 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.
15 But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.
16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).
18 Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read:sc JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.
21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."
22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24 "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
The Death of Jesus
28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."
29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.
32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.
33But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
35The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.
36These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"
37and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."
The Burial of Jesus
38Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.
39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
40 Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.
41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.
42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

2009-04-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

THY WORD IS TRUTH John 17:17

From The Desk Of The Believing Biochemist and Pastor:

Pastor Ted Whitaker, PhD, CLP

I would like to invite all friends and family of Hopedale and Annapolis Presbyterian churches to the celebration of the Passover of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
on a Seder meal on Maunday Thursday April 9, 2007 at 6:00 PM.

We need to remember that The Last Supper on the night of Jesus betrayal and arrest was a Passover meal.

Please find below the bible readings from the book of Exodus and gospel of Luke that apply.

Then read the back ground material that explains the Seder meal.

Please notice that the origin of the Easter egg originally comes form the sacrifice in the Temple and the Seder or Passover meal as a roasted egg.

Please read the gospel accounts also that speak to the facts that Jesus and his disciples relined at the table of the last supper as they recalled their forefathers freedom from slavery and bondage in Egypt over 1500 years before the Last Supper.

Passover is really like the 4th of July in the United States becasue Passover is independence day for the Jews.

Yours in the love of Christ,

Pastor Ted Whitaker

Exodus 12 (New International Version)

The Passover

1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt,
2 "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.
3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.
4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.
5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.
That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.
9 Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire—head, legs and inner parts.
10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.
11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover.
12 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
14 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -a lasting ordinance.
15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.
16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat—that is all you may do.
17 "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day.
19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born.
20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread."
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.
22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.
23 When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
24 "Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.
25 When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?'
27 then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.' " Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
28 The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron.
29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.
30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

Luke 22:1-38

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

1Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching,
2and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.
3Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.
4And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.
5They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

The Last Supper (A Passover Meal)

7Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
8Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover." 9"Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.
10He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters,
11and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?'
12He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there."
13They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. 14When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.
15And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
16For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." 17After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you.
18For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
21But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.
22The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him." 23They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
24Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.
26But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
27For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
28You are those who have stood by me in my trials.
29And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,
30so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 31"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
33But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."
34Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."
35Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered.
36He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.
37It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment."
38The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords." "That is enough," he replied.

WELCOME TO HOPEDALE AND CELEBRATE THE PASSOVER

MAUNDAY THURSDAY COMMUNION SERVICE
APRIL 9, 2009

THE PASSOVER FEAST EXPLANATION:

PASSOVER – (The Hebrew name is PESACH) is called the festival of freedom because it is independence day to the Jewish people. It commemorates in prayer, song and fasting the flight of the children of Israel from Egypt, the story of which is described in the book of Exodus.

It recalls the time 3000 years ago, when as slaves, they had built great cities for the pharaohs. Led by Moses, they were delivered from bondage on the night of PESACH.PASSOVER takes its name from the time of Egyptians enslavement when the angel of the Lord passed over the homes of the Israelites and spared their first born-sons.

This story is the heart of the PASSOVER, from which comes its symbols, rites, rituals, its music, and it types of foods eaten during the 8-day celebration.

In ancient times, PASACH was a beautiful pilgrim festival when PASSOVER sacrifices were made and magnificent celebrations were held in the temple.

There is a great deal of special preparations for PASSOVER. The house must be thoroughly cleaned and special dishes that are used only for the feast are taken from the cupboards. Special foods are prepared from newly purchased and newly opened supplies.

Only unleavened bread is eaten for eight days to show Moses command received from God, “Seven days ye shall eat un-leavened bread.”

It recalls the day when the children of Israel fled to freedom in such haste that they carried unleavened dough with them to be baked in the desert sun.

The PASSOVER begins at sundown with the SEDER dinner, the most impressive of the entire week.

Candles light the table, and each part of the meal is eaten with special ceremony. Before any food is eaten, there is a reading of the HAGGADAH, an ancient book whose oldest portions date back at least 3,500 years.

The appointed order for the SEDER is contained in the HAGGADAH.

In the center of the SEDER table is placed a goblet of wine called “Elijah’s Cup”.Orthodox Jews believe that the prophet Elijah will foretell the coming of the Messiah.

By filling this cup with wine, they welcome his presence at the SEDER, and thereby express their hope that the promise of the Messianic Age will someday be fulfilled.

By ancient custom the following foods are placed upon a plate on the table:

Matzoth –representing the bread of Affliction.A roasted lamb bone – symbol of the Paschal Lamb.

A Roasted Egg – symbol of the ancient festival offering.Horseradish (bitter herb) – symbol of the bitterness of slavery.Parsley (sweet herb) – symbol of spring and growth.

Charseth (apple, nuts and wine) – symbol of the clay and the bricks used by the Israelites to build the “treasured cities of the Pharoah.

Salt Water – symbol of the tears shed by a captive people

Glasses of Wine - used four times during the SEDER.

A TYPICAL SEDER MEAL

Roasted lamb or fowl

Baked noodles, rice or potatoes

Carrots or spinach

A green salad

Fruit bowl or fresh fruit

Sponge cake

2009-04-09T06:31:00.000-07:00

SEDER

GRACE

PLEASE FOLLOW THE COOKS DIRECTIONS FOR SERVING OF THE MEAL

THE CALL TO WORSHIP:

“Behold the LAMB of God”

John the Baptist used these words when he pointed out Jesus to his disciples. Peter said, “We are ransomed with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

The lamb has always been a symbol of innocence and trust, dependent upon the care of the shepherd. Even in the Old Testament we find, “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, and gather the lambs in His bosom.” (Isaiah 40:11)

In the Jewish Worship, the unblemished lamb was the most sacred of temple sacrifices. It was used in all the important ceremonies and feasts in the temple. The one most deeply rooted in the Hebrew tradition was the PASOVER sacrifice of the lamb, for it was lambs’ blood which was smeared on the door-posts of all Jewish homes and prevented the slaying of first-born children by the avenging angel.

The Hebrew word PASCILA denotes both the PASSOVER feast and the PASSOVER lamb, so 1st Corinthians 5:7, when Paul writes “Christ, our Paschal Lamb has been sacrificed, “ we can understand the reference.

In the Jewish Worship, the PASSOVER lamb was also the sign of deliverance. To us, then, Christ as the Lamb of God is the symbol of deliverance, and the real means of deliverance and salvation.

John 19:14 shares that Jesus was crucified at the exact moment of the killing of the Passover lamb in the temple. The symbolism here is that Jesus is God’s PASSOVER lamb, sacrificed for the deliverance of God’s people.

We can miss the entire message of the crucifixion and the resurrection if we fail to see through the symbolism as it is presented to us in both the Old and the New Testament.

THE SEDER TABLE
The traditional Seder table includes a number of symbolic objects which are placed together on a Seder plate in front of the person who leads the service. The setting includes the following:

THREE MATZOHS
Placed separately in the sections of the special Matzoh cover. Two of these Mastzohs symbolize the two loaves of bread over which the usual benediction is pronounced on Sabbaths and Festivals. The third Matzoh emphasizes the role of the Matzoh in the Passover ritual.

A ROASTED SHANK BONE
To commemorate the Paschal sacrifice which our ancestors brought to the Temple on Passover in ancient times.

A ROASTED EGG
To symbolize the Haggigoh or Festival sacrifice which was always brought to the Temple on festive occasions and which, on PASSOVER, suppliments the Paschal lamb.

BITTER HERBS
To symbolize the bitterness of Israel’s bondage in Egypt.

CHAROSES
A symbol of the mortar which the Israelites used in building the treasure cities for Pharoah. It is a mixture of grated apples, chopped nuts, cinnamon, and a little wine.

PARSLEY
A dish of salt water into which the parsley is dipped before it is eaten. This symbolizes the coming of spring and suggests the perpetual renewal of life – hence, the ever-sustaining hope of human redemption.

FOUR CUPS OF WINE
To be offered during the Seder service. The four cups symbolize the four-fold phases of redemption which, according to the Bible, God pledged to Israel.

CUP OF ELIJAH
A special cup of wine in the center of the table. This cup remains untouched throughout the service.

KINDLING THE FESTIVAL LIGHTS
Leader – This is the festival of Passover, a time of happiness and rejoicing, of celebration and of cheer. This flame of freedom has never been quenched; its brightness has never been dimmed. As a symbol of God’s eternal light, our beacon and goal, we kindle these festival lights.
All – Praise be the Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with his commandments, and instructed us to kindle the festival lights. Praised be the Lord our God, king of the universe, who kept us in life, sustained us and permitted us to reach this joyous season. Amen

(All lights are kindled).

INVOCATION
Leader – Let us raise our cups in gratitude to God that the call of freedom can still be heard in the land. Let us give thanks that the love of freedom still burns in the hearts of our fellowmen. Let us pray that the time not distant when all the world will be liberated from cruelty, tyranny, oppression, and war.

SANCTIFY (All raise the hold the filled first cup).
Leader – Praised be the Lord our God, King of the universe who has created the fruit of the vine. Amen. (All drink from the first cup and are seated).

GREENS (Parsley, dipped in salt-water, then eaten).
Leader – These greens are a symbol of the coming spring.
People – Praise be the Lord our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the earth. Amen.

EGG
Leader – These eggs are a reminder of the second offering brought to the Temple on Passover.
People – Praise be the Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who creates the fruit of the earth. Amen.

DIVIDE (The middle Matzoh is broken and in half put away as the Afikomon)
Leader – This portion of the Matzoh is called the Afikomon. After dinner we shall share it, in remembrance of the time when our ancestors would partake of the festival sacrifice
Of the Pascal Lamb. (The Matzoh is raised as the following is said)

Leader – Behold the Matzoh, symbol of the bread of poverty our ancestors were made to eat in their affliction as slaves in Egypt. Let us resolve to strive unceasingly for that blessed day when poverty will be no more, when Israel will be fully redeemed, and when all mankind will enjoy freedom, justice and peace. Amen.

LET MY PEOPLE GO
We dedicate the Festival this evening to the dream and the hope of Freedom. Through the sacrifice be great and the hardships many, we shall not rest until the chains that enslave all people be broken.

But the freedom we strive for means more than the broken chains. It means liberation from those enslavements that warp the spirit and blight the mind. People can be enslaved in more ways than one.

People can be enslaved when they permit harmful habits to tyrannize over them. When envy, bitterness and jealousy sour their joys and darken the brightness of their contentment – they are slaves themselves.

People can be enslaved intolerance. When Jews, are forced to give up their Jewish ways of life, to abandon their Torah, to neglect their sacred Festivals, to stop rebuilding their ancient homeland – they are slaves. When they must live in constant fear of hate and prejudice - they are slaves.

Passover calls upon us to put an end to all slavery. Passover summons us to freedom. Passover cries out in the name of God; “Let My People Go!”

HYMN OF PRAISE (All sing)
O God, our Help in ages past, Our Hope for years to come, Our Shelter from the stormy blast , And our eternal Home.

O God, our Help, in ages past, Our Hope for years to come, Be Thou our Guard while life shall last, and our eternal Home. Amen

THE FOUR QUESTIONS
Why us the night of Passover so different from all other nights of the year?
On all other nights we eat either leavened or unleavened bread;

Why on this night do we eat only Matzoh, which is unleavened bread?

We eat only unleavened bread this evening because when our ancestors left Egypt there was no time to prepare the ordinary bread out of dough that has to leaven, so they made a thin bread instead, out of unleavened dough that would bake quickly.

On all other nights we eat vegetables and herbs of all kinds, on this night why do we eat bitter herbs especially?

We eat only bitter herbs this evening to remind ourselves of the bitter time our people had in Egypt before God’s deliverance?

On all other nights we never think of dipping herbs in water or in anything else; why on this night, do we dip parsley in salt-water and bitter herbs in Horoses.

We dip parsley into salt-water so that we shall remember that everything that grows is a gift of God and that for this gift we owe Him thanks. We dip bitter herbs into Horoses to remind ourselves of the bricks and the mortar that our forefathers made while they were in the harsh services of Pharoah.

On all other nights everyone sits up at the table, why on this night, do we all recline at the table?

This evening we eat in the leaning position because we celebrate this festival of Passover and set aside this night from all other nights of the year. In the words of the Bible” “That you may remember the day of your departure from Egypt all the days of your life.”

READINGS
Ten times was Egypt punished with plagues and each time Pharaoh promised to free us. With the last plague, the slaying of the first-born, Pharoah listened to Moses and let our people go in peace at last.

These are the ten plagues which we recall in ten dopes of wine. (A litte wine is poured as each plagues is mentioned).

1 Blood
2 Frogs
3 Vermin
4 Murrain
5 Insects
6 Boils
7 Hail
8 Locusts
9 Darkness
10 Slaying of the First-born

So we give thanks for our deliverance from Egypt and we express gratitude for our redemption from the hand of Pharaoh. In every generation tyrants have tried to destroy us and God has always delivered us from their hands.

How did this Festival get the name Passover?

Just before the slaying of the first-born of the Egyptians, the children of Israel sacrificed a lamb and marked the door posts of their homes with its blood. In this way their houses were PASSED OVER whenthe plague came.

THE EXODUS WITNESS

SECOND CUP (All fill a scond cup and pray together)

Praise be the Lord our God, King of the Universe. Who has created the fruit of the vine. Amen.

Praise be the Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and instructed us to eat unleavened bread. Amen

BITTER HERBS
(Put bitter herbs on a piece of Matzoh and eat and pray together).

Praise be the Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and has instructed us to eat bitter herbs, which remind us of the tears and bitterness our fathers shed in bondage. Amen

CHAROSET
(Put Charoset on a piece of Matzoh and eat and pray together)
Praise be the Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments. We eat this Charoset as a reminder of the mortar with which our forefathers made bricks for the building of Egyptian cities. Even the most bitter of tribulation is made sweet to the eyes of faith. Amen.

GRACE, PRAISE, ACCEPTANCE
Leader - Let us thank the Lord for His kindness.
People - Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever.
Leader - Let us bless God who sustains us all.
People - Blessed is God who gives us food and keeps us alive.
Leader - May He rule over us forever.
People - May He be praised throughout the universe.

(All pray together) Praise be the Lord our God, King of the universe, Who
Provides sustenance for all His children. Amen

THIRD CUP
(All fill a third cup and pray together) Praise be the Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has created the fruit of the vine. Amen.

HYMN OF PRAISE (All sing)

Joyful, Joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, God of Love;
Hearts unfold the flowers before thee, Opening to the sun above,
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day.

All thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee,
Center of unbroken praise,
Field and forest vale and mountain,
Flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain,
Call us to rejoice in Thee.

CUP OF ELIJAH
Elijah, prophet of comfort, Elijah, prophet of cheer, may your spirit enter our hearts so we, too, may comfort, give help, and spread cheer.

FOURTH CUP (All fill a fourth cup and recite together)
Praise be the Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has created the fruit of the vine. Amen.

HYMN OF PRAISE (All sing).
Now thank we all our God
With heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In Whom His world rejoices;
Who, from our mothers’ arms,
Has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.
All praise and thanks to God

The Father now be given,
The Son, and Him Who reigns
With One eternal God,
Whom earth and heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.

Readings: Isaiah 53: 1-12

1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

HYMN OF PASSION (All sing)

When I survey the wondrous Cross,
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride,
See, from His head, His hands,
His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down,
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

LORD”S PRAYER

SHARING OF THE BREAD AND CUP

The Bread: The Body of Christ

The Cup: The Blood of Christ

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

BENEDICTION

2009-04-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

OT Reading 04.05.09 Isaiah 62:6-12

6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest,
7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.
8 The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: "Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled;
9 but those who harvest it will eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather the grapes will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary."
10 Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations.
11 The LORD has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.' "
12 They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD;

2009-04-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

NT Reading 04.05.09 Matthew 21:1-11 The Triumphal Entry

1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,
2 saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.
3 If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "Say to the Daughter of Zion,
5 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' The 6 disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.
7 They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.
8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!"
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."