Easter is coming !

[Boaz]

Easter is coming ! As we prepare to celebrate the most important of our creator's miracles . The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ ! On Palm Sunday he was welcomed into the holy city of Jerusalem with crowds of people shouting . Hosanna ! Hosanna ! Which means save us, save us . A week later when he was offered to the people by Pilot the same people giving them the option to spare his life they shouted...........Crucify HIM, CRUCIFY HIM !

In a week he preached, he prayed to his father, he kept his disciples close, he broke bread and showed them how to keep him after he was gone, showing by example humility by washing their feet giving service to them, he instructed them. He offered himself up to death and humiliation to buy our salvation in as cruel a way as a man could die. So much happen in a week.

It's a special week for us . What will we do ? I pray we all honor our Lord with our own individual efforts through works, prayer, service, and all things we know to be good . Lets don't let the cock crow the third time before we act .






!

[Boaz]

Lord thank you for giving me the opportunity to know you . Thank you for working in my life . Thank you for your countless blessings given to me through your grace and boundless love . Thank you for dying that I might truly live . Thank you for my life . Thank you for my future with you there to guide me . Thank you for all you have given and withheld . Help me to honor you in the way you would have it , please be close to me and guide my thought and actions to glorify you . Please help me . In your name I ask your help . Amen

[buckwheatpaul]

Great points....Christmas and Easter are the two pivotal points in a Christians life. We went and saw RISEN several weeks ago and realizing it his historical fiction the crucification of Jesus shows how much He suffered for us. Like we say: "God gives us grace that we dont deserve." His love is there for everyone and He is sad when we fail....He doesn't set us up to fail....the devil and nonbelievers do that...... I hope and pray that we all reflect upon this great sacrifice that Jesus suffered for us as the Lamb of God. Paul

[Boaz]

Please help me put some Easter hymns on the Favorite Hymn thread . If you can't post them just pm me and I'll try to get them up. Thank you !

[Boaz]

I don't usually put up sermons but I think this is a universal work .

Sunday's coming;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn94B3GHcjY

[USMC87]

I serve a risen Savior, He lives. Thank you for posting and giving the reminder of the suffering Christ did for fallen man!

[Boaz]

He's alive !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBJF3_IZwnk

[Blackwater]

Many deniers poo poo everything in the Bible, but never seem to have an explanation for how ANY mere human could even THINK of such a complex, intricately interconnected and truly symbolic story as even one single story in the Bible, much less how it all fits together so perfectly. If supernatural fingerprints aren't all over the Bible, what COULD constitute evidence of the supernatural? But deniers deny because they CHOOSE to, NOT because of the improbability of the Bible's accounts. How could anyone make up such an intricately interlaces set of stories? It makes Shakespeare look like a Down's syndrome child!

Truly, the Bible IS true, just on the face of it. How could it possibly be otherwise?

And the story of Easter is wihtout doubt, the most important, poignant and striking story of them all in the Bible. Praise be to God for giving us all that is contained within and without the Holy Bible. And may we humble ourselves before Christ, who paid the price for OUR sins, that we might "have life, and have it more abundantly." How could we EVER repay Him for what he did for us? We can't. And all He asks is for our simple acknowledgement of Him, and what He did, and for at least a decent amount of love and respect. Even after His sacrifice, He still doesn't expect us to be perfect, and STILL extends all manner of mercies to us, even when we're willful and neglectful of Him. How could a savior be more ...... saving? And yet, we usually stay wrapped up in our petty concerns and emotions.

I will never understand Christ's love for us, but I'm not dumb enough to miss the lessons of it, or the magnitude of it. And the more we understand of Him, the more we find it difficult to remain willful and petty. Truly, no "man-made" God could be anything nearly as great as the one that is real. And thank God for it!

[jcwit]

This Easter is of special meaning to me. I've spent my whole 72 years in the Lutheran Church, and now after 6+ months of study I am being confirmed into the Catholic Faith, the church founded by Our Christ thru Peter.

It has been a journey of only months but has given me a far greater peace than I have ever known. Should have done this many years ago, but then it may not have been such an impact on my last remaining time.

[w5pv]

I like to read the start of bible that tells you about the beginning.

[Boaz]

This Easter is of special meaning to me. I've spent my whole 72 years in the Lutheran Church, and now after 6+ months of study I am being confirmed into the Catholic Faith, the church founded by Our Christ thru Peter.

It has been a journey of only months but has given me a far greater peace than I have ever known. Should have done this many years ago, but then it may not have been such an impact on my last remaining time.

Good deal jcwit , be there Easter Sunday for vespers ! May this move help you in your walk with our Lord .

[Boaz]

...............the rock was rolled away ,


.........................the tomb is empty ,


.......................................he lives !

[Boaz]

Where Christ was crucified ? To the best of my knowledge This is the most accepted place of the crucifixion . I have talked to several that have been there . This video is the best I could find for a short explanation .

http://jerusalem.com/videos/garden_tomb_golgotha

[Hickok]

Then said Jesus unto the twelve, "Will ye also go away?"

Then Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life."

"And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

I have no where else to go but to the One, true Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, my Lord.

[Boaz]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZqTRSVA1YA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWgOVG63blU

[nagantguy]

A question if I may, on the tenth hour when Jesus gave up the ghost what happened in Jerusalem? And where did he go?

[nagantguy]

It's a favorite part of the story for me and it doesn't get talked about a whole lot.
For all my faults and short comings and sins I have asked Jesus to forgive me, guide me and grant me the wisdom and patience to know HIM. I believe he was born of immaculate conception, fulfilled the prophecies, lived among us as a man, preformed miracles at will, gave us his blood and flesh, showed us the path to.the Father died for our sins and did rise again.

[Blackwater]

Good question Nagantguy, and the answers vary according to who you're talking to and how well they've studied the issue. One version at least goes that Jesus died and spent the next 3 days until the resurrection in hell, paying for our sins today. Personally, I've pondered it, and all explanations seem problematic to me, so I just take on faith that He handled whatever happened as it had to be handled for the Father's and our benefit. Beyond that, I just don't really have a clear handle on it. Not what you were looking for,I know, but it's all I personally have to offer. I guess I just can't get my head wrapped around the idea of the Son of the Living God in hell, but that's MY limitation, and not Christ's. So .... it's one of those questions I can't really offer much help with. As time has progressed and I've gotten older, and come to realize and to at least a degree, be comfortable with my limitations, I've become more comfortable saying "I don't know." Nothing really says that, beyond what it takes to acquire and maintain our faith, that we have to have all the answers. That's just me, of course. Others see it differently, as is their right and privilege.

[jcwit]

The Apostles' Creed states irrevocably that in fact He did descend into Hell, and on the 3rd day rose from the dead.

The Apostles' Creed was written on or about 390 AD, so it wasn't long after the first Easter.

[nagantguy]

Yes I believe he did indeed decent into the land of the dead, in REV 1:18 he says he has the keys to hell and death. And when he died did not an earth quake strike Jerusalem and righteous men long dead come out of their tombs and walk around....talk about the big bang! And the world would be diffrent for ever more, us rotten weak sinners now had a new covenant and interface with the Lord and a promise of salvation if we do our part!!!!!!

[Hickok]

Here is an explanation.

At the time of Christ's death and before, Hell, Hades, Sheol was in the center of the earth, and divided, as in the telling of Lazerous and the rich man. One side held the righteous dead, those who by faith in a coming Savior, were saved, they lived in a paradise.

The other side held the departed who were damned, because of a lacking of any faith toward God and a coming Messiah. THey were in torment and misery.

This promise of a Savior goes back to Genesis and Adam and Eve.

There was a gulf between the two sides of Hades, or Sheol, to separate the saved from the unsaved.

Jesus at His death, decended into the inner most post of the earth, Hades, Hell, Sheol, and announced to those of faith, that HE indeed was the promised Savior, the Messiah, the one whom they had believed would one day come. Jesus preached the good news, the Gospel to those who by faith had believed long before His actual earthly appearance, that indeed God would send a Savior for mankind.

Jesus was simply telling them, you always believed God would send someone, He did, and I am that ONE!

THe Lord then took all these righteous out of underworld of Hades, hell, Sheol, and led them to Heaven above, to be with Him.

Hell now holds those that are damned, and one day Hell will be thrown into the eternal Lake of fire, with the devil, demons, Anti-Christ, false prophet, etc.

At a time after the Crucifixion, and after the resurrection, some of the graves around Jeruselum opened and the dead saints arose and went into Jeruselum and were seen by many. These also were part of the first fruits, and were taken by Jesus to Heaven.

The resurrected Jesus remained for 40 days, and was seen by many, (only believers) before He ascended back Heaven, He was taken up, and entered into a cloud, while the disciples stood and watched.

This is one of many explanations, you can trust it or not. This is what I believe. They are others also. Whether you take this account or another, it will have no effect on your eternal salvation or reward. Your salvation lays in faith and acceptance of Jesus Christ as you Savior, and the power of His shed blood.

[Hickok]

I am with you Jcwit. Some today leave out the portion, "He decended into hell." I prefer the "decended into hell" "traditional English version."

[nagantguy]

Hickok I totally agree with your tellimg, that's the way I learned it as well, all the righteous souls wanted in a holding area, hedes whatever and awaited the messiah. I can't recall the verse now but didn't Christ tell the people that no man had seen God's face except through him? I don't think the place the righteous waited was unpleasant or they were in pain but they had to wait for the Sony to Reach the Father. The only difference between your understanding and mine, and it's small and I could be wrong, the hell the evil wait in for their judgement isn't the big hell of the Forever hell cause that's not open for business yet until the archangel depends from the sky to open it up, even the fallen Angeles are bound somewhere until they Lucifer and the wicked are defeated, judged and tossed into hell in the lake of eternal fire. Please correct me if you believe me to be wrong, I welcome and respect others knowledge and opinions and am the very first to say I don't know it all or even most. That's they way a reverend who I trust and respect taught it and he also said he would hear others views on any subject related to the word of God.

[Hickok]

Nagantguy, good point. These verses may help.

Isaiah 5:14

Isaiah 14:9

[Hickok]

Just some verses to ponder about and read. The decisions as to their meaning is for each one to decide.

Ephesians 4: 8-10

1 Peter 3:19

[Boaz]

I have a tendency to join in but am enjoying ya'll's discussion too much !

[Hickok]

Friend talk with us. There are many questions and views as to our Lord's activites during those 3 days.

What we all stand firm upon is "He arose!"

[Boaz]

Yep, one of the more controversial biblical topics . No , Keep up the discussion , dad told me there's time's to keep your mouth shut and your ears open . lol. folks that talk too much never learn anything new .

[exile]

"Then they said to him, 'What must we do, to be doing the works of God?' Jesus answered them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.'" John 6:28-29 (E.S.V.)

exile

[Blackwater]

I'm with Boaz on this one. I've found these type questions intriguingly interesting, but mostly full of human conjecture, but that never ceases to keep me interested. I suspect that we may likely never really fully understand the real answers to these questions, but I think there's something in the quest that makes it worth while anyway, and so, I just tend to listen a lot more than I feel competent to contribute to these discussions. Long ago, I decided to concentrate on trying to understand God's mind and His will for me here. That doesn't keep questions like this from being very intriguing, but I keep remembering the advice to "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God, the things that are God's," and kind'a expand that a little so that it covers these discussions. I've found questions like this intriguing for as long as I can remember, and it seems logical that Christ HAD to enter into hell for those 3 days to pay for our sins, but I still just can't get my head wrapped around Him there. My lacking, I know, but what I call "understanding" is more than just accepting a report or idea, so .... it remains something I just cannot for the life of me fully "get." We all have those spots in our understanding, I think, and this is just mine, and I have no real belief or opinion one way or the other, but just accept it as something I just can't fully understand. I think that's part of our essential beliefs, too - just accpeting on sheer faith that whatever it is, is good because God allowed it, but not fully being able to grasp the reality of it. I keep hoping for that "Eureka!" moment some day on many issues. Maybe that goes along with today's verse of the day, above? Patience has never been my strong suit, but God has managed to teach me despite my shortcomings, or at least He has in some areas. Until I reach the point that I think I have a good enough grasp on it, I just sit and listen .... and marvel at it all.

[Boaz]

I put this up on a thread a while back but thought this was an appropriate time to re post it . Plus ............I just like to see it .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itM9lMaOzF4

[Preacher Jim]

Remember as Christians we meet on Sunday and every time we meet we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. don't just celebrate Easter, celebrate your salvation and worship him every Sunday.

[Hickok]

God bless each and everyone, and have a glorious Resurrection Day!

"He is risen!"

[Boaz]

Thank you Hickok . I would echo preacher Jim's thought ! Doesn't have to be a 'special ' day just go ! Our lord and savior still lives .