April 3rd F Preblast, New Life.

This month we celebrate both Easter, and the Passover.  There are no more important festivals to the Christian Faith than these, even greater than Christmas.  In Exodus Chapter 12, God commanded Moses saying: ²⁴ And ye shall observe this thing as an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. ²⁵ And it shall come to pass, when ye come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. ²⁶ And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, ‘What mean ye by this service?’ ²⁷ that ye shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’S Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.”  God gave the command to Select a lamb for the house, kill it and spread the blood on the doorway, and then eat the lamb with unleavened bread.  This was a new thing in Religious history.  Many worshiped their gods with sacrifice and idols, but this God promised deliverance through the sacrifice and made good on His promise with the Passover!

In celebrating the Passover with his disciples, Jesus reminded his them of this promise and gave them a new promise.  No longer was the animal to be sacrificed, but now he, the Lamb of God would be the sacrifice to take away all sins.  In Luke 22: Jesus shared the last supper with them:”¹⁹ And He took bread, and gave thanks and broke it and gave it unto them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”²⁰ Likewise also He took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you.”

Again, God brought a New ordinance, yet one that fulfilled the same plan of sacrifice he had already shared through Moses centuries before.  Through the sacrifice of His body and the shedding of His blood, we can now all celebrate the Passover by faith!

During this Passover month, I hope you will be mindful of this sacrifice and the covenant that God made for you through his son. Each week we will meditate on a verse and I hope you will discuss these during Coffeeteria,

Week  1: Isaiah 43:1921st Century King James Version (KJ21) “¹⁹ Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  

Week 2: Exodus 12:1321st Century King James Version (KJ21) “¹³ And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt.”

Week 3: “Luke 24: 1-8, the Resurrection of Christ: “⁶ He is not here, but is risen!”

Week 4: John1: 12-13 ” ¹² But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to those who believe in His name, ¹³ who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Week 5: Romans 5:8 ESV But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Do these verses give you hope?  How do these verses demonstrate New life to you?

Beginning 4/22 We will begin meeting at 6:30 at the Schiele for 3rd F. Looking forward to Men sharing their heart and their testimonies throughout the summer.  When a #HIM shares in these meetings it does not have to be a scripture or bible lesson, but anything that will lift up his brothers and put the focus on “I am third”.  If it makes your brothers better Men, Husbands and Fathers, you are open to share!  And coming soon, Sargento will be drafting someone to organize 3rd F meetings at the Fighting Yank, and Folsom is encouraged to begin as well.  If you would like to step up, let your sight Q know!