Lent, A Time of Remembering
Read: Luke 18:31-34, John 19: 28-37, Romans 5:6-11
“Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not
come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for
many.” Matthew 20:28 (TLB)
In the Daily Guideposts, I read about a church that prepared for Lent
by having a large basket filled with black antique, two sided nails
with flat heads. Members were asked to take one or two nails to
remind them of the sacrifice that Jesus made for them on the cross.
One woman put a nail in her coin purse where she kept her credit
cards and cash. “Every time she was out shopping or eating out or
buying anything, she saw the nail and was reminded what Jesus endured
for us. It helped keep her aware of God’s infinite love and the
painful sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.”
This story reminded me of the most meaningful Good Friday Service I
have experienced. When we entered the sanctuary, we saw a large
rustic wooden cross with nails and hammers. We were encouraged to
hammer nails into the cross by the ushers while the organist played.
Since this was an interfaith service with four services there were
people coming and going. The hammering was at the beginning and end
of each service.
At the end of the final service the cross was carried out as the
worshipers followed. Next the cross was used to seal the front door
of the church shut. Easter morning, our MYF group took the cross
down. They carried it in and begin our Easter sunrise service with He
Lives!!!
“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners
Christ died for us”. (Romans 5:8) “Forgiven much, we can now
forgive and thereby discover a human expression of what God is like.”
(Arden Mead)
“Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Your only Child to teach us
how to get along in this world and that all good things come with a
price.”
Karen Bromley, with inspiration from Patricia Lorenz in Daily
Guideposts
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