Articles for tag: Luke 23

Near the Cross

By Victor Knowles “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother . . .” (John 19:25). Today is Mother’s Day. It is also the Lord’s Day. In this verse are three images: the cross, Jesus, and the mother of Jesus. Mary is positioned where we should be—“near the cross.” The Lord’s Supper does something both wonderful and horrible for us. It brings us “near the cross.” The Lord’s table becomes Mount Calvary. The bread and cup become the beams of the cross. There is wonder and horror at the cross. The wonder comes from the wonder of God’s love for

Mar 28 | Application

Christians can keep our feet on the ground while our eyes are on Heaven. We can be realistic without being cynical, and we can hold onto our ideals without being wild-eyed dreamers. We can live in the “now” while we anticipate the “not yet.”

His Mother Stayed Near

By Stuart Powell Many Galilean women followed Jesus during his ministry. We don’t know all they did. Some likely helped with cooking. We know others provided financial assistance for Jesus and his disciples. But one woman served Jesus more than any other: his mother, Mary. She swaddled him, nursed him, carried him, sung to him, laughed with him, and loved him throughout his life. From the day of his birth, Mary of Nazareth stayed near her oldest son. She surely stayed within earshot as he slept in the feed trough. She carried him to the temple on the day of

Listening to “˜Granny”

By Chris Moon They call her “Granny Jean.” I suppose every town has one like her””a quick-witted older lady who overcame hardship and spent her life teaching in the schools and being a fixture in the community. You really don”t need to know her name. You just call her “Granny,” and everyone knows who it is. Everyone has had an experience with “Granny Jean.” When I came to minister with Stanton (Kentucky) Christian Church, I would see Jean Derickson working across the hall in our preschool. She”s a slender woman, probably not much more than 5 feet tall, with grandmotherly

Piercings

By Ron Davis Piercings are popular. It started with the ear lobe . . . and worked its way up . . . and down. But piercing is not new. And it did not come from good or noble precedent. The notoriously vicious Assyrians, in ancient times, took their captives home by inserting a hook through the cheeks of those captives. Keep up, or else, as you are dragged along! In fact, many cultures, ancient and modern “marked” their captives as slaves by a ring in the nose or ear. It was always the sign of an ultimate death penalty.

Crying for Calvary

By Victor Knowles In 1983, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation establishing the first National Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. (It will be observed next on Jan. 15, 2017.) This day calls attention to the cause of the unborn and to the precious gift of life itself. Life is a sacred gift from God, but it was not considered so in the time of Christ. The Anglican priest and poet G. A. Studdert-Kennedy (1883″“1929) writes in his famous poem “Indifference”: When Jesus came to Golgotha they hanged Him on a tree, They drave great nails through hands and feet, and

A Stormy and Sweet Romance

By Daniel Schantz It was one of the best funeral sermons I had ever heard, and afterward I asked the preacher how he put it together. He explained, “I take the Bible that belonged to the deceased and I look through it, noting the things that were underlined and the comments written in the margins, then I build the sermon around those.” Back home, I said to my wife, “Under no circumstances are you to give my Bible to this preacher when I die.” I love the Scriptures, but I have a tendency to interact with what I read. It”s

Secret Link