Archive for the ‘Good Friday’ Category

30 Mar

Holy Week

Posted by sandhillspastor in Cross, Easter, Faith, Good Friday, Gospel.

Dear friends,

Our warm weather continues and still no precipitation of any consequence. The large fires in western Nebraska have been extinguished, but smaller blazes continue to pop up here and there. The balmy weekends show an increase in activity here at Lake Ericson andzss4444 I’m sure people are looking forward to spring and summer activities.

This morning (Sunday) we observed Palm Sunday in our church. At this time of year, Christians are reminded of the sacrifice the Lord Jesus provided when He died for our sins. From His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on that Sunday, to Good Friday and the Resurrection three days later we follow those events with gratitude and respect.

In Jesus’ day, there were those who believed He was who He said He was, but there were many more who had no idea that He was God in the flesh. They thought he was some kind of nut job, not worthy of their time. This same thinking prevails among many in our world today.

Some say Jesus was a great teacher, or just a good man. Some deny His deity, insisting that He was just a man like you and me. If we believe the Bible, we understand that He has always existed, He is God in human flesh, who came to die on a cruel cross so that those who believe will have eternal life.

In John’s gospel we read, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:16-18).

In Acts 4:12 we read, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Everyone since Adam and Eve is born with a sin nature. We are naturally sinners from birth, separated from God. The only way to restore that relationship is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. Will you come to Him today, if you haven’t already?

In His grip,

Pastor Jerry

31 Mar

Have a Good Day

Posted by sandhillspastor in Cross, Easter, Good Friday, Resurrection, The Good News.

Hello everyone,

March is over and for some folks it was not a good month in the weather department. In our little corner of the world we missed any major storms, but not everyone can say the same. We are still in need of some beneficial moisture. My prayer is that April will bring those proverbial showers and some genuinely soaking rains.

As we enter the time leading up to Resurrection Sunday, or Easter as it is called, it is a good time to reflect on what it is we celebrate. I am reminded of a B.C. comic strip by Johhny Hart. It goes as follows:

Character #1… “I hate the term Good Friday!”Character #2… “Why?”#1… “My Lord was hanged on a tree that day.

#2… “If you were going to be hanged on that day, and He volunteered to take your place, how would you feel?”

#1… “Good.”

#2… “Have a nice day.”

I am sure the Lord’s disciples didn’t see that Friday as a good day. To see the one they saw as their Messiah tried, convicted, and executed for speaking the Truth of God was not what they had expected, even though Jesus had told them this is what was going to happen. They were expecting Jesus to kick out the Romans and set up His kingdom.

The Old Testament scrolls, and Jewish prophets had predicted that one from the lineage of David would rise up to be the salvation of Israel, they didn’t understand that Jesus was the one. After Jesus was resurrected and appeared to His followers, they then began to understand. They went out and boldly spread the good news, taking the gospel to the world. Their message was that Jesus is indeed the long-expected Messiah, and that through His sacrifice those who believed would be saved from their sins.

“Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).

“But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

“It is by faith you are saved, not by works” (Ephesians 2:8).

Have a nice day,

Pastor Jerry