tbc – Page 103 – Tabernacle Baptist Church

March 28, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Thirty-Eight, 3.28.13

“Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain” (v 10). We can hardly read the sentence. We search for a way to explain the words and the image, and the God. Jesus’ physical, emotional, and spiritual pain is described in this passage as anguish.

Pain and anguish are familiar words to many people.They experience anguish in our world and, often, the suffering is private and unknown to others. On the cross, Jesus’ anguish was on display for all to see. Indeed, God sees anguish wherever it exists. Those in physical anguish and mental torment are not alone. God the Creator sees the anguish; Jesus has experienced the anguish. What those who suffer in private must know is this, “God knows.” For many, it is true that only God knows.

Yet in this passage there is “light” (v 11). Jesus bore our sin and experienced our pain. He knows. Pain becomes a spiritual matter.

Only God Knows

Only God knows

The pain of nails in hands and feet.

Only God knows

The pain of bending neck and knees.

Only God knows

The pain of nails that will not cease.

Only God knows;

God the Parent, God the Child.

Only God knows

This pain that’s running wild.

Only God knows

The pain beyond the cries.

Only God knows

The pain through which I hear and see.

Only God knows;

God the Parent, God the Child.

Only God knows

The pain of arms outstretched.

Only God knows

The pain in every breath.

Only God knows

This pain that’s sacrament and prayer.

Only God knows;

God the Parent, God the Child.

Through our pain we pray and sense Your presence.

Help us know and respect the pain of others.

A word about the series

The Lenten season has always inspired many people to create everything from poems, art and music to a completely new direction in their lives. This Lenten season Tabernacle will be exploring many of those creations in the hope of inspiring you to compose in a medium that is natural for you. The paintings in the Sanctuary are of the Biblical Stations of the Cross. The artist, Grieg Leach, completed them in 2010. They will help us to visualize the events leading to the crucifixion of Jesus. In addition to the paintings there is a Lenten devotional booklet, Return to Me, which is available in print or online. The Stations of the Cross also inspired these devotions, written by Terry York of Baylor University. Living with these two bodies of artistic expression based on the Biblical Stations of the Cross throughout the season of Lent should help us as we seek to return our lives to God by walking with Jesus though his final days.

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 27, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Thirty-Seven, 3.27.13

Father, Forgive Us, Luke 23:32-38

Now, on the cross, in the painful process of crucifixion, Jesus hangs between two thieves. He is their fellow victim in this cruelty. Jesus knows the plight of the prisoner and the humiliation of the criminal. He knows what it is to be the brunt of jokes and sarcasm. Yet, he loves and forgives those who are so weak as to do these things and say these things.

What Was That He Said?

Strip him of his clothes,

Soon he will be dead.

What was that, what was that,

What was that he said?

Nailed upon the cross,

He dies with the thieves.

Roll the dice, roll the dice

For the clothes he leaves.

Shame upon shame,

The people stare.

Name upon name,

The people sneer.

Are you now a savior?

What is that you say?

Can he save himself

If he’s dressed that way?

Strip him of his clothes,

Soon he will be dead.

What was that, what was that,

What was that he said?

“Father, Father, forgive them, forgive them,

They know not what they do.”

Father, forgive us for what we do and say, for what we fail to do and say.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 26, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Thirty-Six, 3.26.13

Do Not Weep for Him, Luke 23:27-28

There were women in the crowd who fell in step behind Simon of Cyrene, who was walking behind Jesus, carrying his cross. Jesus turned to the women in the crowd and told them not to weep for him, but to weep for themselves and their children. Women and children were among the oppressed of the society of that time. We, too, are to weep for the oppressed of our society. Women and children remain overly represented in that category. We are to weep for the poor and the oppressed as if we were weeping for Jesus, for he relates to them and walks among them. We are to weep for the oppressed and for those who, in their ignorance and arrogance, oppress them. Jesus brings grace and mercy into the picture, even though the world seems to cultivate oppression. Weep, says Jesus, for your children are being born into such a world. Weep and live grace and mercy into the world. The condemned Jesus knows the plight of the oppressed. He calls us to kinship with the oppressed.

Daughters of Jerusalem, Weep

Daughters of Jerusalem, weep.

Weep not for me,

But for yourselves and your children;

Daughters of Jerusalem, weep.

Weep for yourselves,

For the sources of your tears.

Weep for your children,

For their fate in coming years.

Weep for yourselves,

Your destruction and disgrace.

Weep for your children,

From their fate you’ll turn your face.

Sing your lament; sing your sorrow and oppression.

Sing your lament; sing abuse and its frustration.

Daughters of Jerusalem, weep. I know your tears.

Daughters of Jerusalem, weep.

Let us feel kinship with the oppressed of the world.

Let us work for mercy and grace.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 25, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Thirty-Five, 3.25.13

Simon of Cyrene, Luke 23:26; Matthew 11:28-30

Finally, Jesus fell beneath the load. The weight of the cross brought him to his knees. When that happened, those in charge of the processional pulled a black man from the crowd of on-lookers. They forced him to carry the cross behind Jesus, the rest of the way up the hill. Burdens in the moment are burdens, even if later they are seen to have been a blessing in disguise. It was not an honor at the time for black Simon of Cyrene to be pulled from the crowd and to be tainted by association with the condemned Jesus.

Simon of Cyrene was seen as little more than a donkey, a beast of burden. Jesus was in the process of fulfilling his role as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. The trafficking of humans as nothing more than animals or slaves is still a cancer spread around the globe. Jesus, Lamb of God, still walks among the slaves and offers forgiveness to the slaveholders.

One does not have to own slaves to possess a slaveholder mentality. Letting others suffer for our own comfort is a philosophy that is common in conscious and sub-conscious forms throughout the world. God, in Christ, counters the sin with grace and mercy.

In our day, the yoke of slavery still brings the innocent to their knees. But the yoke of the gentle and humble Jesus is offered to those who are oppressed and weary. It is easy and light. The shoulders of Jesus and his disciples are to be found lifting up the yoke of the oppressed. At least, that is how it is supposed to work.

Black-skinned Simon

Black-skinned Simon,

Tote the cross.

Dark-skinned Simon,

Bear the load.

Black-skinned Simon,

Back bent low,

Know what man-beasts know.

Black Simon,

Know what man-beasts know.

Tote it like a donkey; tote it for the Lamb.

Fully God, fully man, fully lamb, Jesus falls beneath the load.

Black Simon, tote it like a donkey; tote it for the Lamb.

Black-skinned Simon,

On your back

You carry the law’s own death.

Carry the trial; carry the verdict;

You carry the law’s own death.

Black Simon, you carry the law’s own death.

Tote it like a donkey; tote it for the Lamb.

Black Simon, know what man-beasts know.

Help me to not add to the burden of the oppressed,

but to bend my back with them, as if their burdens were mine.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 24, 2013 tbc Media

Worship, Palm Sunday, 3.24.13

Our worship service focuses on Jesus procession into Jerusalem.

March 23, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Thirty-Four, 3.23.13

Who Is Our King? John 19:15-17

At the very center of this passage of scripture is the pivotal and fundamental question of who is our king. Jesus is our king, of course, unless his teachings make no sense in our situation; then, Caesar is our king because he’s more realistic. Jesus is our king, of course, until our lives or livelihoods are in danger; then, for a while, Caesar will be our king. He has the power that counts in this world. All that is too wordy for a chant, so it is boiled down to, “We have no king but the emperor” (v 15b). The slogan is printed on our hearts and held high by our actions and decisions.

One king: we know this is the only way to peace. One king: who controls power rather than is controlled by power. We know the right-ness of this. But we find ourselves in the mob-mentality throng shouting, “Crucify him.” We don’t want to say it, but our lives shout it. “We have no king but the emperor.” We don’t want to say it, but our actions shout it in times of crisis.

Yet, love will not allow Jesus to avoid the cross. He will die for us, not for himself or for trivial reasons. He is not a hero; he is more than that. He is the Savior.

Caesar is Our King

Crucify him!

Shall I crucify your king?

Away with this man,

For Caesar is our king.

Away with this man,

Whom it pleases us to hate.

Away with this man,

For Caesar is our king.

Away with this man,

For Caesar is our king.

Away with this man,

For his teachings make no sense.

Away with him; Caesar is our king.

Away with this man,

For Caesar is our king.

Away with this man,

For his claims amount to treason:

Away with this man, can there be more damning reason?

Away with him; Caesar is our king.

So Pilate delivered him,

And Jesus bore His cross to the Place of the Skull.

Lord, be our King, now and forever more.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 22, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Thirty-Two, 3.22.13

We Cannot Disengage, John 19:1-3

The Innocent is punished and the punishment is somehow cruelly relished.

His prison clothes mock him. Those in power over him use polite words of honor in ways that slight him and belittle him. “Hail, King of the Jews!” (v 3). Right words, wrong heart. How can such regal words be turned into profanity? What heart and voice can do such twisting? Power cannot resist opportunity. Once was not enough. “They kept coming up to himÖ” (v 3).

Pilate could not make a case against Jesus, but things bigger than Pilate had been set in motion. We cringe at the sight; we sense our participation in the noisy scene; we see innocence and guilt entangled and inseparable; we see fear build upon fear; we find ourselves present in the heart of Jesus and in the hearts of the false accusers. We can look away, but we cannot disengage.

Yet, the love of Jesus seems to engulf the whole scene. The love of Jesus seems to absorb all the vitriol and venom. Can love survive this environment of hate? Can love leave that courtroom and reach my soul? Condemnation and love launch from the scene and race toward us, and the trial proceedings take place in our hearts and lives.

Oh, how Lent and Passion week make Easter so necessary. Can Easter really blossom where hate so freely blooms? We can turn away from depictions and remembrances of this terrible week, but we cannot disengage from its message. Hope is on trial; love is on trial; mercy and grace are on trial. We are there.

The scene has a turmoil that seems to grow and spiral toward disaster. But the turmoil cannot break the embrace of love. Hope is, indeed, on trial, but it has not conceded to power or fear. We read. We close our eyes. We open our hearts and minds. We receive what Jesus offers. We anticipate what must come, lest we die.

Hail, King of the Jews

Rejection pierces his heart;

Thorns pierce his brow.

Betrayal slaps his soul;

Soldiers slap his face.

Laughter saddens his spirit

As those he deeply loves mock his name.

The Innocent stands condemned;

Hate stands to cheers.

Betrayal slaps his soul;

Hatred slaps Love’s face.

Cursing covers their fear;

Self-righteousness and pride mock his name.

Hail, King of the Jews.

Condemnation is the purple robe he wears.

A crown of thorns, fearful lies,

Tears and love flow from his eyes.

The Lord of Life condemned to die;

Crucify! Crucify!

Help us as we hold the burden in our hearts until we can lay it down.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 21, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Thirty-One, 3.21.13

Read the Whole Story, Luke 22:14-23:56

This is a long passage and, at first, we may balk at having to read so much scripture at one time. But it is good for us to see the whole story, the big picture. We have grown accustomed to receiving our information in small doses, sound bites, and video clips.

Information taken out of context is dangerous and susceptible to misuse and manipulation. In our reading for today, important scenes are given context; we see their place in the complete narrative. When we start with the Last Supper and read through to the burial of Jesus, we see the environment in which important events took place. We don’t see as separate occurrences the prayer on the Mount of Olives, Jesus’ betrayal and arrest, Peter’s denial, the trumped up trial, the crucifixion, and the burial. These dots are connected; each event sheds light on the other.

Reading a passage of this length works against our tendency to pick and choose isolated events that suit us in one way or another. It keeps us from avoiding difficult passages and scenes. The exercise, encountered here, carries over into our engagement with all of scripture. To pick and choose and ignore is to construct our own scripture.

Lent will not allow us to skip over scenes that contain blood and spit and sweat. Lent will not allow us to skip over accounts of betrayal by disciples, or of greed and cowardice. But, when we see such things in scripture, they relate to those same things within us. It hurts at first, but eventually those things are forgiven and redeemed. That won’t happen, though, until we read the whole story and see ourselves in that story. Would we skip over such an important pivotal point? We must read the whole story in order to find ourselves, as we really are, in that story. Picking and choosing will serve to make us look better than we are, perhaps not even in need of Jesus’ sacrifice. An encounter with the whole story reveals the whole truth.

When we reach the end of Luke 23, we join the friends and followers of Jesus in that day. The “end” they experienced was the end of a dream and deep commitment. We shout back to them that chapter 24 is coming, but they cannot hear us. Their grief and sorrow would drown out our cries even if the centuries didn’t. They could only see themselves in the context of loss and failure. They were heartbroken and maybe even a little embarrassed that they would ever believe Jesus could be their messiah. From the depths of our hearts we often join them there, at the end, not knowing or not believing that there would be a next chapter.

The whole story of Jesus’ last days on earth draws us into the emotions and world of real people, in real time, in a story as real as ours. Would we read a shorter version? Would we read a version we edited? We read of dark days that look very much like our darkest days. We see ourselves in Jesus’ life. We see Jesus in our life.

Help us to read the whole story and to see ourselves in each scene.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 20, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Thirty-One, 3.20.13

In Christ Is Life, Philippians 2:5-11

This passage of scripture tells us how Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and up to Golgatha started. It was a journey that began with Jesus emptying himself of all that was his in heaven. The next step was to take “the form of a slave, being born in human likeness” (v 7b). The journey continued, fueled by more humility as he “became obedient to the point of death-even death on a cross” (v 8). Verse five calls us to have the same mind in us that was in Christ Jesus when he began and continued the journey.

Christ-followers, this is a big part of what it means to follow Jesus. Emptying ourselves of reputation and position and entitlement is evidence of the right mind, not of having lost our mind. It is the trail head, the path of humility, the journey of Christ-following. Calling upon God’s grace, we too often opt out of this particular approach to Christianity. Lent comes around to give us a season in which to reconsider that decision.

The journey might be described in other terms for us. How does “journey from being the lord of our life to humbly imitating the life of the Lord” sound? Why would someone begin such a journey? The answer is “for the love of God, and the sake of the world.” It was Jesus’ motivation, and it just may be what separates Christianity, the movement, from Christ-following, the commitment. We are called away from the righteousness of causes and works to the righteousness of Christ. Humility seems to be the ingredient that makes the difference. Christ humbled himself and calls on those who would be Christ-followers to do the same. Salvation is a person, not a concept.

Humility, the kind found in Christ and his followers, is exalted by God to the point and end that every knee in heaven and earth should bow before Jesus and every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord. This all finally comes back around to giving the glory to God the Father. The journey is from the glory of God the Father to the glory of God the Father, and we are both called and implored to join the journey (vv 5 and 11).

In Christ is life. In Christ is the relationship with God that our hearts seem to know is needed. In Christ is peace. It cannot be found at any level, anyplace else in the world. We cannot be both sinner and savior. Jesus, fully God and fully man, could be. That’s a humbling thing-for Jesus and for us. But God exalts the humble, those whose humility is Jesus’ humility. It results in glory that is God’s glory and in life that is Jesus’ life in us, through us, and attributed to us as righteousness.

Humility: one cannot set out to attain it. One gives up the project and submits to Christ-likeness as a way of life. There is all kinds of glory in that, and it all belongs to God. Humility saves us from humiliation-that sure result of glory we would heap upon ourselves.

Let the mind of Christ be in me.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 19, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Thirty, 3.19.13

My Times Are in Your Hand, Psalm 31:9-16

The psalmist is crying his eyes out. His soul and body are exhausted, and his whole life seems to be a dark cloud. His enemies, friends, and neighbors seem to have bonded in their opposition to him. Distress and depression this deep has a color to it-a deep blue gray that envelopes his entire life.

Yet this description of his current state of mind and heart is being poured out to God. The psalmist has just enough emotional energy left to ask God for a bit of grace. In fact, there is grace in the verbal regurgitation. The thought that the words have somewhere to go is a bit of grace. The hope that the words might be received at that place is a moment of relief, but the heavy darkness of mind and soul remains.

This state of being is not unknown in our time. This state of being is not unknown in the Church, and can be found in both pew and pulpit. Lent is supposed to be a season in the life of the Church that gives voice to such emotions. But, it can also be a time that seems to mock the distress, as those who do not suffer from it try to imagine it as the last days in the life of Christ are remembered and honored.

Another small burst of energy has the psalmist whisper, “But I trust in you, O Lord.” (v 14) Then comes verse 15 with its poetic turn on the word “hand.” “My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.”

Specific suggestions to God, in prayer, about how you or your loved one might be delivered, have emptied you of words. There are no more. There is some faith left, but little emotional strength and no words. At that point, we put our plight in God’s hands. “God, you love my loved one more than I do. I turn him/her over to you. God, you love me beyond description and reason. I turn what’s left of me over to you. I’ve told you how I want this problem to be solved. Now I simply give it to you.” You know this prayer. It’s often prayed in the depth of the night when you can’t sleep. The psalmist prayed a version of it in verse 15. We are not alone in this.

The One to whom we pray never sleeps. The Lord’s face will shine when nothing else will. “Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.” These words of verse 16 constitute a prayer that will put you to sleep.

The night starts to break out in stars. The clouds move out under cover of darkness, and God’s steadfast love brings calm and peace. The problems still exist, but they are confined to the day and grasp of God’s hand. You still care and you still pray, but now under blue skies and renewed sunshine. This is deliverance and peace. This is real faith at work in real life. This is real light shining in real darkness. Enemies and persecutors, adversaries and acquaintances have to take their case to God.

“My times are in your hand” is a wonderful prayer, especially when you’ve had some hard times. See how the blue lightens in to clear skies and hope that stretches from horizon to horizon. That almost makes the darkness worth it.

I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.”

A word about the series

The Lenten season has always inspired many people to create everything from poems, art and music to a completely new direction in their lives. This Lenten season Tabernacle will be exploring many of those creations in the hope of inspiring you to compose in a medium that is natural for you. The paintings in the Sanctuary are of the Biblical Stations of the Cross. The artist, Grieg Leach, completed them in 2010. They will help us to visualize the events leading to the crucifixion of Jesus. In addition to the paintings there is a Lenten devotional booklet, Return to Me, which is available in print or online. The Stations of the Cross also inspired these devotions, written by Terry York of Baylor University. Living with these two bodies of artistic expression based on the Biblical Stations of the Cross throughout the season of Lent should help us as we seek to return our lives to God by walking with Jesus though his final days.

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO