strands.blogs.efca.orgStrands of Thought | A blog from Greg Strand

Trending Theological Convictions Definitions Recommendations Commentaries Pastoring About A New Home For Strands of Thought Greg Strand – April 6, 2018 Leave a comment It has been a great joy and privilege to write and post on Strands of Thought. I pray it has been helpful. More so, I pray I have been faithful. This will be my last post on this site. Strands of Thought is moving to a new home on the EFCA blog . I will continue to write and post as I have in the past, but you will now access them from a new website. You will be able to search and access all previous posts, both from the archive and new articles, through the author page . You will also have to subscribe to this new site in order to receive updates whenever new posts are published. This can be done in the blog sidebar. I encourage you to read and comment, so that we can continue learning together. As I often say, theology is best lived in community. As we make this transition, and as you make this journey with me to a new site, I remind us of two important truths in the Christian life with an accompanying call to remain faithful. First, having just celebrated the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are reminded that we live and wait between the times of Christ’s first and second comings. As we do, we seek to live faithfully as those who waited for Christ’s first coming who died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Heb. 11:13-16). We are living and waiting in and by faith for Christ’s return with the absolute certainty that his second coming will be as certain as the first. Being strangers and exiles with a heavenly home elsewhere, affects how we live here and now. This has much to say to us in the present day. Second, it the midst of changes and transitions, we are reminded of the absolute truth that our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Phil. 3:20-21). This does not make us passive, but gives us convictional certainty, compassion and courage. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14). In Uncategorized Meditations On And For The Passion (Holy) Week of Christ Greg Strand – March 27, 2018 Leave a comment This week is referred to as the Passion Week or Holy Week of Christ. It begins with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, what has traditionally been referred to as Palm Sunday, his final entry into Jerusalem on his way to the cross. It consists of Jesus’ celebration of the last Passover meal with his disciples, a meal which will transition and be transformed into the Lord’s Supper after Jesus’ death and resurrection. It consists of the crucifixion of Jesus, what is referred to as Good Friday. It is not good in the sense of what we would normally consider good. But it is good in that it is through the death (and resurrection) of Jesus that our sins can be forgiven and we can experience peace with God. This is reflected in Jesus’ final words from the cross, It is finished” (Jn. 19:30). It culminates in the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ on the first day of the week,” Sunday, which transformed this day to be known as the Lord’s day (Rev. 1:10). After his resurrection and upon meeting the disciples, Jesus greets them with the words, Peace be with you” (Jn. 20:19, 21, 26). The bookends of Jesus’ last words on the cross and these first words spoken to the disciples go together. The peace promised in his birth (Lk. 2:14) is accomplished through his death on the cross, which is the foundation upon which we, through faith, have peace with God (Rom 5:1). Here is a series of readings from the Gospel of John for your mediation, reflection and worship this week. Palm Sunday: Triumphal Entry – Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13) Thursday: Passover (Last Supper/Lord’s Supper) – He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). Friday: Crucifixion – It is finished” (John 19:30). Sunday: Resurrection – Peace be with you” (John 20:19). In Pastoring , Recommendations , Trending Holy Week , Meditations Jesus’ Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem Greg Strand – March 26, 2018 4 Comments As we enter begin this Passion (Holy) Week focusing on life, death and resurrection of Jesus, our Savior and Lord, I trust your meditations and reflections will lead to that of thanks, gratitude and worship for what Christ did. Although we remember this historical event as occurring in the past, we can never only approach it as a past event, since we live in the present tense on the basis of the implications of what Christ did. A right understanding of the gospel requires us to say, what has Jesus done !” not what would Jesus do ?,” since the right understanding entails a done, i.e., it is finished” (Jn. 19:30), not a do. If it is a do, then we are still in our sins. Thanks be to God it is done, which means we can be saved, which makes it good news! Jesus lived a perfect life of obedience and died a sinless death of submission. This he did to display his nature and uphold the justice and righteousness of God. He also did this for us and for our salvation. This Palm Sunday we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on his journey to the cross. In our morning gathering as the people of God, we read Mark’s account of Jesus’ entry (11:1-11). In the evening during our family devotions, we read Matthew’s account of Jesus’ riding on a donkey into Jerusalem (21:1-11). In this historical account, we read the crowd picked up a liturgical expression from Psalm 118:26, which was also a prophecy. Through their recollection and exclamation of these words, they were also playing an important role in redemptive history as part of the fulfillment of this prophecy. The psalmist writes (vv. 25-29), Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalms 113-118 are referred to as the Hallel Psalms. This title is fitting for two reasons. First, the command to praise recurs throughout these psalms. Second, they became part of the Jewish Passover liturgy, remembering and celebrating their deliverance from Egyptian slavery and freedom to worship and serve God: God’s people, in God’s place, under God’s rule and blessing. Although we are getting slightly ahead of the events that occurred this final week, after celebrating the Passover meal, the disciples departed singing a hymn, which was most likely from these Hallel Psalms (Matt. 26:30; Mk. 14:26). These psalms of praise were not only the hymns of Israel, they were the hymns of Jesus, Israel’s promised Messiah. Here are the accounts from each of the Gospels. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matt. 21:9; cf. 23:39) And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our...