The Passover Sacrifice
C. Hayden
3-22-23
The Good Friday/Easter event has many comparisons as we travel through the pages of the Old And New
Testament. None more prominent than the Genesis account of Abraham and his son Isaac. Most of us know the
story. God spoke to Abraham and told him to take his son Isaac to the mountain of Moriah, there to offer Isaac up
as a sacrifice and show of obedience and faith to the Lord his God.
We find this account in Genesis the 22nd chapter. Verse 6 says that Abraham took the wood of the burnt
offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went
together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My
father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then Isaac said, “Look, the
fire and the wood, but where is the [ b ] lamb for a burnt
offering?” By this time Isaac must have thinking that something is not
right here. But like the trusting son he was, Isaac was obedient to
follow Abraham regardless of how things looked. Abraham, of
course, responds to his son. In verse 8, Abraham said, “My son, God
will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”
We know the end of this episode. God indeed provided a lamb, a real lamb (actually a ram) that became the substitution for Isaac satisfying the requirement that God had first laid upon Abraham. Sound familiar?
This Abraham/Isaac episode is known as a type of the sacrifice God made for us. We are a type of
“Abraham” and a type of “Isaac.” Deserving to be put to death (Like Isaac), but because of our faith (The faith of
Abraham), God indeed provided a lamb for the sacrifice. The lamb provided was not our death. We are unworthy
to pay the price for, not only our own sin, but in no way for the sins of all mankind. But God provided His Son Jesus
to die on the altar of the cross. And by God’s grace and through our faith, just like Abraham and Isaac, we are
saved from certain death and given eternal life instead. There are other types of the Christ saving us in scripture.
Noah and the type of Jesus being the Ark being one and the Israelites and the lamb’s blood on the doorposts
saving the firstborn being another. They tell us what Jesus did for us on Good Friday and what the result would be
for all that believe in His resurrection. He gave His life for our sin so that we would have eternal life in Him! Have a
wonderful Easter season this year.
May God bless you even more!!
Pastor Chris
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What Do People See?
3-15-2023
J. Fields
This may seem a bit strange but I just finished watching “The Chosen” series. My life over the past couple of years has been a bit crazy so having enough downtime to stop and watch a whole series is tough. After our church rented the theatre a few months back to watch a bit of season 3 I figured I better find out what I’ve been missing, oh my I’ve been missing a lot. I’ve been in church for years, I’m about done with seminary, and I’ve studied the Word of God in detail but still, I was captured and left in awe of the goodness of the God we serve. I know the Chosen is only a series that takes us through the life of Christ but I was blown away at
how real it seemed. The thing that struck me the most was literally how much Jesus loves us, even when we least deserve it.
There are days that I look at myself in the mirror and I feel ashamed for all the wrongs I’ve done. Just because I’m a pastor, I won’t pretend that I haven’t made a lot of messes but I know that my God washes my dirt away as white as snow. As a Christian, it’s easy to see someone that you may have known in the past and remember all the “crud” from their life. Have you ever seen someone come into the church and you’ve questioned their real motives? I guess that’s one of the big takeaways after watching this series, rather it is Matthew the tax collector,
or the adulterous women at the well, Jesus Christ looks past our faults and is willing to forgive us if we will just say “yes to Him”.
Let me ask you, as we get closer to one of the biggest foundations of the Bible, Easter, are you wanting to live a life that mirrors Jesus? I’m not asking you out of any disrespect but I’m asking because if you are it means that you are willing to forgive everyone who has hurt you. If you want to live out the life of Jesus it means taking your “blinders” off and looking at someone’s potential or the beauty that someone has locked inside. Are you willing to stop judging someone especially when you don’t even know them or have never given yourself a chance to know them?
I am blown away as I study Scripture at how much love Jesus Christ has for us. Everything that He does is because He wants to have a relationship with us. Can you imagine that even though He knew he was going to be crucified, He never stopped doing the will of His Father? The life He lived was for you and me if He loves us so much that He was willing to be crucified don’t you believe that we should be going that extra mile in everything we do to be Christ-like? I’m not saying we should be crucified but what I’m saying is we should live a life, and I know many of you do, that resembles the God that we worship. When people see you do they see Jesus or do they see the world?
This Easter season, take some time and remember who created us and why we were created. Remember our true calling in life, be the Hands and Feet of Jesus. 1 John 2:6 “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 1 Corinthians 11:1 ”Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
Love you all,
Jason
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The Book of Revelation: Part 1
3-1-2023
C. Hayden
I love the Book of Revelations. I know that many read it and have difficulty understanding the hidden meanings found in the Apostle John’s writing (I do too sometimes), and some ministers will even council believers not to even attempt to read it because, in their opinion, “it cannot be understood!” Well, those “councilors”are wrong to the nth degree! God would never have John write this most important, although cryptic, portion of the Bible if it was not meant to be understood and/or meant to edify Christians as other portions of the Bible most certainly do.
Now I will admit, some portions of this Book seems to have hidden meanings, and we often see passages that are difficult to pin down with perfect understanding, but the Holy Spirit was given to us so that we can actually have a decent grasp on what the Book has to say. First of all, the title of John’s prose is “The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.” While “Revelations” does reveal end time events and a panorama of futuristic scenery, it teaches so much more. The Book actually is a revelation of who Jesus Christ is, has been, and always will be. Through Revelations, we get the picture of Christ, not as the baby in a manger, or suffering Messiah on the cross, but He is displayed as the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the omnipotent, omniscient Conqueror who will soon return to bring justice to the world and receive His Church unto Himself. Revelations 1:7-8 says this, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him. Even so, Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Jesus is not just a wonderful Holy Man; He is so much more!
Revelations is also a writing which is sent to the Churches to receieve encouragement and warning on what they are doing and what God wants them to do. Would you like to know what God wants you to do?! The first 3 chapters of the book is mostly Jesus speaking to John, dictating to him on the message He wants to send to His Bride through the Angelic head of each Church. Verse 1:11 declares that John heard a voice saying (it was Jesus) “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,’ and, ‘What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, the Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphio, and to Laodicea.'” Wowser!!!
The Lord revealed to John what to write SO THAT THE CHURCH MIGHT KNOW SOME THINGS THAT GOD WANTS THEM TO KNOW. Well, in the next couple of months, we will explore some things from Revelations that God wants us to know.
May God bless you even more!!
Pastor Chris
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