Highlands
Community Church -- March 21, 2008
Pathway to the
Passion
Good Friday has
always been a time of confusion, it is still confusing today. For some of
us this weekend is about going to church, eating a family meal, and gorging
ourselves on candy and treats, but it is so much more!
The first Easter
was confusing as well, yet in a much deeper and more wonderful way.
This is a pathway
to the Passion, true Passion, true love; shown by God to us.
First Step: The
Last Supper… STATIC!
As you read the following passage, think about the static in your life, the
things that keep you from hearing the voice of God, the love or Christ, speaking
to you.
Read
Matthew 26:26-30
While they were eating, Jesus took
bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and
eat; this is my body."
Then he took the cup,
gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is
my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of
sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until
that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."
When they had sung a
hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
So often when we look at Jesus we are left with
questions… this first last supper must have raised a lot of questions in the
minds of his disciples. What does this mean? Who is this man? And what's he
saying? "Bread and Body Broken? Wine and Blood poured out?"
Look at the bread. Look at the cup.
Acknowledge the static in your life, the stuff that keeps you from hearing
Jesus.
Take time to pray about your doubts and the things you don’t quite understand
about Jesus. Offer them to Him, and then ask that He would begin to offer you
the answers…. Ask for the strength and the wisdom to seek them! It’s time to
keep walking!
Second Step: Walking to the Garden
Think about your life, the sharp
attitudes, the hard realities that you face. Walking with Jesus is hard… read
the following passage...
Matthew 26:31-35
Then Jesus told them,
"This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: "'I
will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'
But after I have risen,
I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
Peter replied, "Even if
all fall away on account of you, I never will."
"I tell you the truth," Jesus
answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three
times."
But Peter declared,
"Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other
disciples said the same.
Third Step: Jesus in
the Garden of Gethsemane
Think of Jesus entering the garden, knowing what was going to happen, and
praying for it to happen!
Mathew 26:36-46
Then Jesus went with his disciples
to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over
there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and
he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is
overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with
me."
Going
a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if
it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you
will."
Then he returned to his
disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one
hour?" he asked Peter.
Contemplate your prayer life... What do you pray for? How often? How much? How
intimate are your talks with God? Are you asleep? Can you pray,
“Yet
not as I will, but as you will.”
Take some time to pray… ask Jesus to strengthen your prayer life as you walk
with Him.
Fourth Step: Jesus Betrayed, Condemned and Denied
Betrayed - Matthew 26:46-49
Rise, let us go! Here
comes my betrayer!"
While he was still
speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed
with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the
people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is
the man; arrest him." Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!"
and kissed him.
Think of the times you’ve taken the
money and run… been expedient in your relationship with God… ask forgiveness
because we are
Condemned -
Matthew 26:65-67
Then the high priest tore
his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more
witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
"He is worthy of death,"
they answered.
Then they spit in his
face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him
Consider the humiliation of Christ…
Denied - Matthew 26:69-75
Now Peter was sitting out in the
courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of
Galilee," she said.
But he denied it before
them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
Then he went out to the
gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow
was with Jesus of Nazareth."
He denied it again, with
an oath: "I don't know the man!"
After a little while,
those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for
your accent gives you away."
Then he began to call
down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!"
Immediately a rooster
crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster
crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Think of the times
you deny Jesus and the times you don’t speak up for our Savior. Each of us has
a part in the death of our Savior. Each of us have betrayed Him, condemned Him,
denied Him, and yet His love for us continues. He not only died for us, but
because of us!
Take time to write down a few of your
sins on the paper provided (Don’t worry; none of them will be read). When you
have finished, fold the paper and hold it.
Fifth Step:
Judgment
Mark
15: 1-5, 12-15
Very early in the
morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the
whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed
him over to Pilate.
"Are you the king of the
Jews?" asked Pilate.
"Yes, it is as you say,"
Jesus replied.
The chief priests accused
him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to answer? See
how many things they are accusing you of."
But Jesus still made no
reply, and Pilate was amazed…
"What shall I do, then,
with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them.
"Crucify him!" they
shouted.
"Why? What crime has he
committed?" asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the
louder, "Crucify him!"
Wanting to satisfy the
crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him
over to be crucified.
Feel the weight of the paper in your hands... judgment... getting what you
deserve. Yet here is Jesus, getting what WE deserve. Spend some time in prayer
thanking and praising Jesus for bearing the weight of judgment for you!
Sixth Step:
Jesus in our place
Turn and think of the Cross
John 19: 1-3, 6, 15-17
Then Pilate took Jesus
and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it
on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and
again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face…
As soon as the chief
priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!"
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.
Finally Pilate handed him
over to them to be crucified.
So the soldiers took
charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull
(which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).
Take the paper with your sins on it to the cross and pick up a nail.
Read Luke 23: 32-34
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.) 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. Jesus said, "Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
Nail your paper to the cross, thanking Jesus for forgiving you!
Seventh
Step: Jesus Dies on the Cross
Look
at the cross covered in our sins. Realize that Jesus has taken them, paid the
price for us and forgiven you. Christ’s death changes everything!
Luke 23: 44-46
It was now about the
sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour for the
sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called
out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had
said this, he breathed his last.
Take a moment, think, and then commit
YOUR spirit and your life to Christ!
Eighth
Step: Jesus is placed in the Tomb
Think of the tomb, feel the coldness and the darkness. Breathe in deeply the
reality that it is finished, the price is paid, you are forgiven, your sins are
dead. Contemplate the cost...
Matthew 27: 57-60
As
evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had
himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body,
and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in
a clean linen cloth, 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.
Now remember... the tomb is empty! Praise God for the Risen Savior! Praise Him
for the hope of and eternal relationship with Him!
Ninth Step: EASTER! The Risen Lord!
Look back at the bread and
the cup, sense the light...
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it
to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."
Then he took the cup,
gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is
my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of
sins.
Move to the table... and remember...
and take part in communion…
REMEMBERTHAT YOU HAVE BEEN CHANGED BY
WHAT CHRIST DID!
Now, let’s take some time to share what
Christ has done for each of us.
Contact Information
- HighlandsCC Telephone
- 619-667-4337
- FAX
- 619-667-4337
- Postal address
- P.O. Box 1954, Spring Valley, CA 91979
- Electronic mail
- General Information:
alan@highlandscc.net
Webmaster:
alan@highlandscc.net
