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Wednesday, May 14, 2008 We will be at Whole Food Store at 5269 River Road, Bethesda, MD between 6pm – 8pm. Celebrating Manna’s 25th Anniversary. This comes from Angela the Administrative Director,
Exciting News! You may know that Manna is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year. As part of our celebration, Manna is partnering with Whole Foods Markets and Ride On Montgomery County Transit to hold a Stuff-A-Bus event on May 14, 2008 at the Whole Foods Markets locations in Bethesda, Rockville, Gaithersburg and Silver Spring. On this day, Whole Foods Markets will also donate 5% of sales from the four Montgomery County Whole
Foods Markets directly to Manna Food Center.
The goal of this event is for shoppers to fill Ride On buses with non-perishable foods from Whole Foods Markets to distribute to needy families in Montgomery County. Manna staff and volunteers will help bag groceries and fill the buses. Whole Foods will train the “Celebrity Baggers” when they arrive.
We hope that you will join us in making this happen. Individuals and groups are encouraged to volunteer. The minimum age for volunteers is 8 years old. This will be a fun and educational way to get Student Service Learning (SSL) hours for your teenager while helping our neighbors and the community around us. We have shifts available in two hour blocks from 8am until 10pm. We are serving more clients than ever and the food collected through this event is greatly needed. For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please contact me by email at volunteer@mannafood .org or by phone at 301-424-1130(Monday,Tuesday or Thursday).
If you are unable to help out that day, please remember to shop at Whole Foods on that day and buy a little extra food to donate to the cause. Thanks for your interest in fighting hunger and feeding hope!
Looking forward to serving Manna and Montgomery County in this way. It’s always a good time.
Here is a great teaching for both parents and teenagers with regard to Facebook and Godliness.
Above is the new updated link.
Tonight is our Good Friday Service at 7:30P.M. at TCC
Luke 23:46, Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
This is the 7th phrase and this word shows completion, a finished work. Six days God created the earth and rested on the seventh day. He declared it very good. The seventh declares rest and satisfaction. These words reveal contentment, faith confidence and love.
He speaks in a loud voice. He wanted everyone including his enemies who judged Him guilty to let them know He was not forsaken. These last words were to set a precedent for all His people.
He had spent six hours hanging on the cross. He was surrounded by a taunting crowd in intense agony. He was suffering at the hands of men and suffering at the hand of God. But now we see Jesus calling His Father to have communion with Him. What a privilege it is to enjoy communion with God.
He calls out, “Father, Into Your Hands I commit my spirit.” This reveals the fulfillment of prophecy in Psalm 31:5, “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” The word Father is such a sweet, encouraging and assuring title. A son who calls upon His Father in the midst of trouble and distress. Jesus like a child finds rest in His arms. What a glorious picture the Father’s arms are a place of rest and protection. He commits His Spirit to the Father. At this moment His Spirit was being separated from the body. This was an act of faith again a precedent for all believers.
Dying believers are warranted and encouraged by Christ’s example by faith to commend their souls into the hands of God. Just as Stephen did as he was being stoned (Acts 7:59). He committed His Spirit to the hands of God. The truth is our soul outlives the body. As life progresses our bodies fail they become weak. When we die our bodies do not go with us they return to dust. The believer’s soul finds true rest is in God.
What a contrast we see here. He was in the hands of men, he could have avoided arrest but He voluntarily gave Himself up in the Garden and here we see Him delivering His Spirit into the hands of the Father. Never again to be a the mercy of the wicked. Never again to suffer shame, He commits Himself to the Father to look after Him.
Another contrast shows Christ’s uniqueness. For Him to be the sinless sacrifice. Complete satisfaction must be offered to God’s outraged holiness and offended justice. Jesus suffered the wrath of God. “And having said this he breathed his last.” He died. Hebrews 9:27 says, he need to taste death. He had to die and breathe his last to finish his purpose. Sacrifices were not just cut but killed. With the sinner it is death first then judgment but with the Savior it was reversed. He endured judgment then died. His death unique to all others. It also reveals how he always accomplished His Father’s will to the point of death. It showed his dependency upon God.
He died as a representative of His people. He presented the believer’s spirits along with His to the Father’s acceptance. Jesus Christ neither lived or died for Himself but for believers. The Father’s hands is the place of eternal security. We are weak in ourselves but kept the power of God. Every spirit born again is eternally safe in the Father’s hand.
What can we learn from this portion? Death awaits us all. Pink says, “You are in a world full of trouble. You are unable to take care of yourself in life, much less do it in death. Life has many trials and temptations. Your soul is menaced from every side. Every hand has dangers and pitfalls. The world, the flesh and the devil are all against you; they are too much for your strength. Here we see God a beacon of light among the darkness. Here we see the shelter from all storms. Here is the canopy that protects all from the fiery darts of the evil one.” Why does this culture promote immortality in this life in our physical bodies? Is it because the unbeliever fears death because judgment awaits?
For the believer in Christ death does not hold terror and fear. It holds safety and protection for the soul that when our bodies fail our residence is transferred into heaven. How is this accomplished? It is through the death and resurrection of Christ by God’s great mercy regenerating the believer’s heart from enmity with God to Christ imputing His righteousness making us holy in God’s sight. Finding rest in God’s arms. What a comfort we have just as Christ has, His Father is our Father. What assurance it conveys. God is my Father and He loves me and cares for me. Can we call upon Him as Christ called upon Him in our distress? Not only can we trust Him with our souls but we can trust Him daily with all our cares and concerns. What a glorious celebration at the moment of death to know our residence in forever in heaven. Our eternal purpose is to glorify Him for all eternity. Thank God for this blessed hope. Thank God there is a refuge from life and death.
1 Peter 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
May we say what Christ has declared, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”
Related Posts
It is finished
AW Pink’s Book
If you are looking for another great book about Christ. I highly recommend In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson. I’m about half way through it and enjoying it immensely. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This book is devotional in nature but I’m having trouble putting it down. He has divided the book into six sections, The Word became Flesh, The Heart of the Matter, The Spirit of Christ, The Privilege of Grace, Life of Wisdom, Faithful to the End. He gives the understanding that Christ is the key to the OT which supports the unity of Scripture (I’ve been learning a lot about the unity of Scripture lately)
“God, who at various time and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Ferguson states, “The OT message is: in time past, multifaceted revelation expressed through the prophets given to the Fathers. The NT message is: Now, in the last days, focused revelation, expressed in Christ the Son given to us. The two are related because as Hebrews explains both the promise and fulfillment. Hebrews displays the greatness of Jesus Christ, focuses on the theological and practical importance of the humanity of Christ, and emphasizes the nature of true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” (Ferguson 47-48).
I challenge you to read the book of Hebrews this weekend and remember the theme of Christ, the Prophet, Priest and King.
When we see salvation whole
its every single part
is found in Christ
And so we must beware
lest we derive the smallest drop
from somewhere else
For if we seek salvation, the very name of Jesus teaches us
that he possesses it
If other Spirit given gifts are sought
in his anointing they are found; strength in his reign; and purity in his conception; and tenderness expressed in his nativity, in which in all respects like us he was, that he might learn to feel our pain:
Redemption when we seek it, is in his passion found; acquittal in his condemnation lies; and freedom from the curse-in his own cross is given.
If satisfaction for our sins we seek-we’ll find it in his sacrifice; and cleansing in his blood.
If reconciliation now we need, for this he entered Hades. To overcome our sins we need to know that in his tomb they’re laid. Then newness of our life-his resurrection brings and immortality as well comes also with that gift.
And if we also long to find inheritance in heaven’s reign, his entry there secures it now
with our protection, safety, too, and blessings that abound-all flowing from his roayl throne.
The sum of all this: For those who seek this treasure-trove of blessings of all kinds in no one else can they be found than him, for all are given in Christ alone.
-John Calvin
April’s book will be switched with August’s scheduled reading. Below is the updated Reading plan.
January: The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes (128 pp)
February: The Mystery of Providence by John Flavel (221 pp)
March: The Godly Man’s Picture by Thomas Watson (252 pp)
April: The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs (228 pp)
May: Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ by John Bunyan (225 pp)
June: The Mortification of Sin by John Owen (130 pp)
July: A Lifting Up for the Downcast by William Bridge (287 pp)
August: Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks (253 pp)
September: The True Bounds of Christian Freedom by Samuel Bolton (224 pp)
October: The Christian’s Great Interest by William Guthrie (207 pp)
November: The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter (256 pp)
December: A Sure Guide to Heaven by Joseph Alleine (148 pp)
Looking for a great sale on all 12, click here
Christ’s Example of Humility
2:1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Psalm 136
Thanksgiving to God for His Enduring Mercy
1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!
For His mercy endures forever.
3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!
For His mercy endures forever:
4 To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His mercy endures forever;
5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
For His mercy endures forever;
6 To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,
For His mercy endures forever;
7 To Him who made great lights,
For His mercy endures forever—
8 The sun to rule by day,
For His mercy endures forever;
9 The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His mercy endures forever.
10 To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn,
For His mercy endures forever;
11 And brought out Israel from among them,
For His mercy endures forever;
12 With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm,
For His mercy endures forever;
13 To Him who divided the Red Sea in two,
For His mercy endures forever;
14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it,
For His mercy endures forever;
15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
For His mercy endures forever;
16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness,
For His mercy endures forever;
17 To Him who struck down great kings,
For His mercy endures forever;
18 And slew famous kings,
For His mercy endures forever—
19 Sihon king of the Amorites,
For His mercy endures forever;
20 And Og king of Bashan,
For His mercy endures forever—
21 And gave their land as a heritage,
For His mercy endures forever;
22 A heritage to Israel His servant,
For His mercy endures forever.
23 Who remembered us in our lowly state,
For His mercy endures forever;
24 And rescued us from our enemies,
For His mercy endures forever;
25 Who gives food to all flesh,
For His mercy endures forever.
26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His mercy endures forever.
As a sports fan, I’m always loyal to my teams. Name a season or sport and I will tell you who I’m rooting for. The loyalty runs deep. At the beginning of the season you always think they have a chance to win and they do. You think if they add this player or that player this will put them in the best position to win a championship. When the season starts your loyalty is shown each week by what you wear and say during the game.
“The word mercy used in this passage translates in Hebrew chesed. Chesed gives the bond of loyalty and depth of love. It binds those who are joined in the oath of a covenant. It reveals Jonathan and David’s relationship in 1 Samuel 20:8. Even though the word does not appear in this section the loyalty of David to His might men can be shown in 2 Samuel 23:13-17″ (Clowney, Preaching Christ in All of Scripture 110).
Not only did David have strong relationships with others, God has a strong relationship with his people. God has made a covenant with His people that will never fade through the redeeming work of Christ and His blood shed on the cross. Meditate of God’s enduring love. Are you ministering mercy and compassion to those who need it? Thank God for His loyalty and show your loyalty to God and others today.
The deadline to sign up for Acquire the Fire is coming Wednesday, March 19th. The cost will be $65 per person. This does not include money for 1 meal on Friday and 3 meals on Saturday. Please let me know if you are interested in going.
We will be leaving from church on Friday evening around 5:30pm and coming back Friday night. Then leaving Saturday morning at 7am and getting back around 10pm on Saturday night.
Here are more details about the event.
Here are the photos from our March event last Friday.
After talking about translations and being thankful for William Tyndale translating the Bible into English. I thought I would post his biography from Desiring God.
So let Tyndale’s very last word to us be the last word he sent to his best friend, John Frith, in a letter just before he was burned alive for believing and speaking the truth of Scripture:
Your cause is Christ’s gospel, a light that must be fed with the blood of faith. . . . If when we be buffeted for well-doing, we suffer patiently and endure, that is thankful with God; for to that end we are called. For Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow his steps, who did no sin. Hereby have we perceived love that he laid down his life for us: therefore we ought to be able to lay down our lives for the brethren. . . . Let not your body faint. If the pain be above your strength, remember: “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, I will give it you.” And pray to our Father in that name, and he will ease your pain, or shorten it. . . . Amen.
