Christ Fellowship of Wise County

The Bible has a lot of commands, doesn’t it? Do this. Don’t do that. Kill that. Don’t wear that. And don’t even think about thinking that. And sometimes we just have to be obedient even when things don’t always make sense to us. But sometimes God explains to us why and I like that. We are continuing our sermon series through 1 Peter this Sunday at Christ Fellowship and God says through Peter that we are to be holy. And I hear ya. That doesn’t sound very fun or even interesting. But 1 Peter 1 explains to us why and how it will be worth it to us. I like that!  And I love you so I can’t wait to see you Sunday morning at 10 and Sunday evening at 6. If you aren’t here, it’s just not the same. — Todd

This is just a reminder that we are having lunch at Christ Fellowship after the worship time this Sunday 4/12. We are asking the men to provide the main course and ladies, you provide the dessert. There will be no evening Bible study that day. — Todd

Have you seen the news lately? Well, don’t. It’s depressing. Talked to your doctor lately? Well, don’t. It’s depressing. Talked to your kids and grandkids lately? Well, you know. How about some good news? I have some good news to share with you this Sunday at Christ Fellowship and not “just” the Good News of the Gospel. 1 Peter 1 has some encouragement for Christians that I can’t wait to share with you as we start a new sermon series that is meant to encourage and give hope. 

Also, today is auction day at our building. Thank you to all who helped move our stuff out on Wednesday. But we really need some help later today putting everything back. It’s a lot of work and it is more than 2-3 people should have to do. The auction should be done by early to mid-afternoon sometime. If you can help, please let me know and I will text you when it is almost over. Thanks so much! I love you all! — Todd

Can you just imagine? It was about this time in the morning (just before daylight) when the two Marys went to the tomb expecting to see a sealed tomb but instead saw the rock had been rolled away and two angels were just sitting there having a pleasant Sunday morning. Confused and crying, the one Mary turned around and saw who she thought was the gardener. She hadn’t slept much. She was crying. She was confused. It was early. She didn’t know where the body of Jesus was and this was horrible.

Then Jesus just said her name. He said her name and she recognized His voice and everything changed. Everything changed for Mary and everything has changed for you and me because Jesus is alive!

I’ll see you in a few hours at Christ Fellowship to celebrate!

Also, after church we will all meet at Wise County Park to baptize our sweet Linda Forester! I can’t wait! I love you all! — Todd

Jesus was crucified on Friday and finally gave up His Spirit after six hours. Then Matthew 27:57 says, “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.”

Isaiah prophesied 700 years previously that,

“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.” (Isaiah 53:9)

Can you imagine what was going through the minds of His disciples and loved ones on this Sabbath day?

In the Holy Week or Passion Week of Jesus, today is called Good Friday. When you understand that this is the day that Jesus was crucified it’s hard to make the claim that it was in any way good but according to GotQuestions.org this is the reason it is commonly called that:

What is “good” about Good Friday? What the Jewish authorities and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good—it was evil (see Matthew chapters 26—27). The answer lies in the etymology of the English word good. In Middle English, the adjective gọ̄d held the sense of being “holy” or “sacred.” Before standardized spelling, the word also appeared as gode, goed, gude, goid, and good (Middle English Dictionary, Regents of the University of Michigan, 2025). The connotation of being “holy” is carried through in modern observances of “Good” Friday. (What is Good Friday / Holy Friday? | GotQuestions.org)

This day is holy in the sense that we set it apart from other days because we remember that Jesus, who was arrested and tried overnight in a sham, illegal trial, was then beaten and tortured and nailed to a wooden cross to die. The end result was, of course, good for us (as we understand the word “good”) but it was a dark day in history.

I encourage you to read about it in all four Gospels and meditate on it as you go about your day. Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 22:66—23:56; John 18:28—19:37

I woke up early this morning to the sound of thunder, lightning, rain and high winds. It was a typical spring storm that popped up unexpectedly overnight.  On the Thursday of Passion Week, we see a storm popping up that was predicted all the way back to Isaiah 53 and Psalms 22 and 31as well as Zechariah 13:7. Jesus spent the evening celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples. We commemorate that celebration with what we call the Lord’s Supper.

After the meal, Jesus went with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives to pray. It was a common thing for them to do but this night was different. Tonight Jesus was betrayed and arrested by a crowd of evil men. The last thing Jesus said to the crowd and His disciples that night was, “This has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” (Matt. 26:56)

You can read about this in all four Gospels. Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22 and John 17-18.

While nothing is specifically written in any of the Gospels about what happened on the Wednesday of Passion Week, there is a fascinating story that must have happened sometime in that timeline that is worth mentioning. Mark 14 and John 12 both mention Jesus having dinner at a table and Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, poured some very expensive perfume on the head of Jesus.

Judas complained but Jesus said she did a good thing because she was preparing His body for burial. This just shows where the thoughts of Jesus were and, of course, He was thinking about the end. Of course He was thinking about what was about to happen to His physical body. He was all God but He was also all man and I can’t imagine having to deal with that kind of pressure while continuing in His ministry or even just sitting down to dinner.

Something else I have thought about with this story is how since Jesus probably did not wash this perfume off, it was probably still with Him even on the cross and what a small comfort it would have been to be able to have that physical reminder – that beautiful smell – in His last moments. No wonder the Lord blessed sweet Mary.

If you knew that in just a couple of days you would be brutally murdered by a group of people, what would be going through your mind? What would your attitude be, especially toward that group? How interested would you be in minor issues like where to eat or what to wear? Wouldn’t you want the truth about that group of people to be made known? I think you would and I think that was what was going through the mind of Jesus on Tuesday of Passion Week. He didn’t spend that day blaming the Romans for their treatment of the Jews. He didn’t lay guilt on unbelievers for their lack of faith. He poked a figurative finger in the eye of the religious leaders for their hypocrisy and double standards. He wasn’t calling them out for the coming murder they had planned for Him. He called them out for the lack of truth they lived and taught. Above all, we strive for truth.

Read about the last Tuesday of Jesus in these passages and meditate on what is truth.

Matthew 21:23—24:51; Mark 11:27—13:37; Luke 20:1—21:36

We don’t do much to celebrate most holidays on the calendar at Christ Fellowship. If you want to celebrate Valentine’s and Groundhog Day, that’s just fine. It’s just not something we pay much attention to around here. But Christmas and Easter are pretty important and I believe Easter should really get the priority. Without Easter, there is no Christmas. Without Easter, we don’t celebrate Jesus. Without His death, burial and resurrection, why celebrate His birth? 

So, this week I would like to prepare us for Easter by observing what is called “Passion Week.” Some people say it is called Passion Week because Jesus had such passion for us that He was willing to die on the cross in our place to pay the price for our sin that the Father said was due. I believe the real reason we use the word “passion” is after the Greek verb pascho, meaning “to suffer.”

It began with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Sunday as found in Matthew 21:1–11; Mark 11:1–11; Luke 19:28–44; and John 12:12–19. We talked some about that yesterday morning. That triumphal entry fulfilled the prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9.

On Monday of that week, Jesus went into the temple. You can read about that in Matthew 21:12–17; Mark 11:15–18; and Luke 19:45–48. You might remember that story. Jesus found the temple to be filled with vendors making a lot of money selling things and He drove them out declaring that “My house will be a house of prayer but you have made it a den of robbers!” This fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi 3:1-3.

Tomorrow we will look at what Jesus did on the Tuesday of that week but for today I just ask you to read these passages and meditate on them for a while, thinking about what must have been going on in the mind of Jesus this most painful of all weeks.