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Easter

Well, admittedly, it hasn’t been a particular wonderful Easter so far since the sitting President of a major nation state just used the Easter holiday to call me and my family radical lunatics, then accused us of stealing an election. 🤷

That said, Happy Easter to those few who respect the meaning and intent of what Easter is supposed to be about.
 
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Mass was unusually long this morning as more songs than even were inserted.

We were even treated to Bach's Cello Suite No. 1.
 
phoenix2020 said:
Well, admittedly, it hasn’t been a particular wonderful Easter so far since the sitting President of a major nation state just used the Easter holiday to call me and my family radical lunatics, then accused us of stealing an election. 🤷

But sure, Happy Easter those who escaped said person’s wrath I suppose.
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I"m happy and sad for you at the same time. Happy that you and your family can enjoy the blessings of this Easter day. And sad that Trump is being a grumpy old man again. To be frank, I don't keep track day to day what politicians are talking about,
 
I just came back from a short vacation where I attended a church for Good Friday. Here videos demonstrating are the songs sung and I've listed the verses that were read...
The first song was WHAT WONDROUS LOVE IS THIS?

The Shadow of Betrayal:

John 15:18-25​

​

Young's Literal Translation​

18 if the world doth hate you, ye know that it hath hated me before you;​

19 if of the world ye were, the world its own would have been loving, and because of the world ye are not -- but I chose out of the world -- because of this the world hateth you.
20 `Remember the word that I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord; if me they did persecute, you also they will persecute; if my word they did keep, yours also they will keep;
21 but all these things will they do to you, because of my name, because they have not known Him who sent me;
22 if I had not come and spoken to them, they were not having sin; but now pretext they have not for their sin.
23 `He who is hating me, doth hate also my Father;
24 if I did not do among them the works that no other hath done, they were not having sin, and now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father;
25 but -- that the word may be fulfilled that was written in their law -- They hated me without a cause.
 
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Happy Easter. We had a good one.
 
Responsive reading:

Psalms 35:1-3​


1 By David. Strive, Jehovah, with my strivers, fight with my fighters,
2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise for my help,
3 And draw out spear and lance, To meet my pursuers. Say to my soul, `Thy salvation I


Song: JESUS I MY CROSS HAVE TAKEN:

Scripture reading: John 18:33-40
33 Pilate, therefore, entered into the praetorium again, and called Jesus, and said to him, `Thou art the King of the Jews?'

34 Jesus answered him, `From thyself dost thou say this? or did others say it to thee about me?'

35 Pilate answered, `Am I a Jew? thy nation, and the chief priests did deliver thee up to me; what didst thou?'

36 Jesus answered, `My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my officers had struggled that I might not be delivered up to Jews; but now my kingdom is not from hence.'

37 Pilate, therefore, said to him, `Art thou then a king?' Jesus answered, `Thou dost say; because a king I am, I for this have been born, and for this I have come to the world, that I may testify to the truth; every one who is of the truth, doth hear my voice.'

38 Pilate saith to him, `What is truth?' and this having said, again he went forth unto the Jews, and saith to them, `I do find no fault in him;

39 and ye have a custom that I shall release to you one in the passover; will ye, therefore, [that] I shall release to you the king of the Jews?'

40 therefore they all cried out again, saying, `Not this one -- but Barabbas;' and Barabbas was a robber.

John 19:15-24

15 and they cried out, `Take away, take away, crucify him;' Pilate saith to them, `Your king shall I crucify?' the chief priests answered, `We have no king except Caesar.'

16 Then, therefore, he delivered him up to them, that he may be crucified, and they took Jesus and led [him] away,

17 and bearing his cross, he went forth to the place called [Place] of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha;

18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, on this side, and on that side, and Jesus in the midst.

19 And Pilate also wrote a title, and put on the cross, and it was written, `Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews;'

20 this title, therefore, read many of the Jews, because the place was nigh to the city where Jesus was crucified, and it was having been written in Hebrew, in Greek, in Roman.

21 The chief priests of the Jews said, therefore, to Pilate, `Write not -- The king of the Jews, but that one said, I am king of the Jews;'

22 Pilate answered, `What I have written, I have written.'

23 The soldiers, therefore, when they did crucify Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to each soldier a part, also the coat, and the coat was seamless, from the top woven throughout,

24 they said, therefore, to one another, `We may not rend it, but cast a lot for it, whose it shall be;' that the Writing might be fulfilled, that is saying, `They divided my garments to themselves, and upon my raiment they did cast a lot;' the soldiers, therefore, indeed, did these things.



Song of Praise : GO TO DARK GETHSEMANE
 
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I got one of my kids who is reluctant to go to church to go yesterday, so that was a win.
 
Scripture Reading: The Shadow of Mocking Matthew 27:24-34

Matthew 27:24-34

Young's Literal Translation

24 And Pilate having seen that it profiteth nothing, but rather a tumult is made, having taken water, he did wash the hands before the multitude, saying, `I am innocent from the blood of this righteous one; ye -- ye shall see;'​

25 and all the people answering said, `His blood [is] upon us, and upon our children!'
26 Then did he release to them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered up that he may be crucified;
27 then the soldiers of the governor having taken Jesus to the Praetorium, did gather to him all the band;
28 and having unclothed him, they put around him a crimson cloak,
29 and having plaited him a crown out of thorns they put on his head, and a reed in his right hand, and having kneeled before him, they were mocking him, saying, `Hail, the king of the Jews.'
30 And having spit on him, they took the reed, and were smiting on his head;
31 and when they had mocked him, they took off from him the cloak, and put on him his own garments, and led him away to crucify.
32 And coming forth, they found a man, a Cyrenian, by name Simon: him they impressed that he might bear his cross;
33 and having come to a place called Golgotha, that is called Place of a Skull,
34 they gave him to drink vinegar mixed with gall, and having tasted, he would not drink.

Responsive reading: Psalm 69:17-21

Psalm 69:17-21

Young's Literal Translation

17 And hide not Thy face from Thy servant, For I am in distress -- haste, answer me.​

18 Be near unto my soul -- redeem it, Because of mine enemies ransom me.
19 Thou -- Thou hast known my reproach, And my shame, and my blushing, Before Thee [are] all mine adversaries.
20 Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am sick, And I look for a bemoaner, and there is none, And for comforters, and I have found none.
21 And they give for my food gall, And for my thirst cause me to drink vinegar.

HOW DEEP THE FATHER's LOVE FOR US
 
Slartibartfast said:
I got one of my kids who is reluctant to go to church to go yesterday, so that was a win.
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When we Christians are more known for our support of the poor, the immigrant, the marginalized, and the oppressed, then we are for sharing the Gospel with them ---- then we'll have a lot of repenting to do. What good is it to gain the entire world but lose one's soul.
 
LittleNipper said:
When we Christians are more known for our support of the poor, the immigrant, the marginalized, and the oppressed, then we are for sharing the Gospel with them ---- then we'll have a lot of repenting to do. What good is it to gain the entire world but lose one's soul.
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Those things are largely one in the same. Caring for the poor is following Jesus’s example and a form of worship.
 
Slartibartfast said:
Those things are largely one in the same. Caring for the poor is following Jesus’s example and a form of worship.
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But Christians are commanded to preach the Gospel to every creature. Helping the poor, etc., is not wrong, but if that is all one does, the eternal salvation of that individual is being neglected.
 
LittleNipper said:
But Christians are commanded to preach the Gospel to every creature. Helping the poor, etc., is not wrong, but if that is all one does, the eternal salvation of that individual is being neglected.
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Christians are commanded to love as the first and second greatest commandment. If you want to over analyze that term until you convince yourself that “doing to the least of these” doesn’t mean what it quite obviously means (as it is portrayed in multiple parables), that’s between you and your prayer life. Of course there is a practical side effect to loving the poor and that is that they will actually listen to you and believe you have moral authority when you tell them about a better way and give them some good news.

If you don’t love, you have no legitimate witness.
 
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Slartibartfast said:
Christians are commanded to love as the first and second greatest commandment. If you want to over analyze that term until you convince yourself that “doing to the least of these” doesn’t mean what it quite obviously means, that’s between you and your prayer life. Of course there is a practical side effect to loving the poor and that is that they will actually listen to you and believe you have moral authority when you tell them about a better way and give them some good news.

If you don’t love, you have no legitimate witness.
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I totally agree. If one really loves someone, one will not wish anyone to end up separated from GOD for all eternity. Both sustenance and spiritual food are very important. However, the Bible places what is spiritual above that which is temporal. But I agree that everything must be done in love or it counts as nothing.
 
LittleNipper said:
I totally agree. If one really loves someone, one will not wish anyone to end up separated from GOD for all eternity. Both sustenance and spiritual food are very important. However, the Bible places what is spiritual above that which is temporal. But I agree that everything must be done in love or it counts as nothing.
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Love is often a practical thing and Jesus lays it out quite clearly in the sermon on the mount, starting in Matthew 5:33 to 6:24 in the points of loving your enemy, giving to the needy, and the point about treasures in heaven. Ultimately, in my view, we are commanded to love selflessly (few can achieve that, but we should all try) and be exactly who we are, unashamed of our Christianity. In that authentic identity, The Good News will be shared and you will have people who are receptive because of the sincerity in that love. That is what I mean by saying that the two things are in in the same. We do not put our lamp under a bowl and we do not neglect love. Both things work together to help others understand who God is and to, hopefully, be inspired to make a choice that will be the start of something beautiful and cause the heavens to rejoice like a father does when his son comes back after taking half his inheritance.
 
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