Episodes
Friday Mar 29, 2024
S7E42: Seven Last Words (Good Friday Messages)
Friday Mar 29, 2024
Friday Mar 29, 2024
Each year on Good Friday, the churches of the Ministerium of Penns Grove, Carneys Point, and Pedricktown hold a joint worship service from Noon until 3 PM. The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross are presented, with worship music and sermon messages for each word. Each year for the last six years I have participated in this service, and each year I have preached on a different word. This year (2020) was to be my seventh year, but because of the Coronavirus, the service was cancelled. And so, because I had already written the sermon, I recorded it... But I also decided to compile all seven of the messages into one podcast for Good Friday. And so, in the order below, we present to you the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross.
1. “Father, forgive them…” Sermon #387
Luke 23:34
April 10, 2020 – Ebenezer UMC
2. “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:43
“The Tale of the Thief” Sermon #51
April 18, 2014 – St. Paul’s UMC
3. “Behold your son…Behold your mother”
John 19:26-27
“The Heart of the Master” Sermon #161
March 25, 2016 – St. Paul’s UMC
4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:46
“Forsaken” Sermon #219
April 14, 2017 – St. Paul’s UMC
5. “I Thirst.” Sermon #107
John 19:28
April 13, 2015 – St. Paul’s UMC
6. “It is finished.” Sermon #332
John 19:30
April 19, 2019 – New Hope UMC
7. “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit” Sermon #273
Luke 23:46
March 30, 2018 – New Hope UMC
Compiled on April 5, 2020 (originally published April 10, 2020)
S.D.G.
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
S7E41: Passion & Tenebrae (Maundy Thursday 2020)
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
Tenebrae is a Latin word that means "Darkness." The Tenebrae service is a reading of the Passion account from John's Gospel, broken down into 16 readings, and after each of the first fourteen readings a candle is extinguished until the entire sanctuary is clothed in darkness. This represents the light of Christ being extinguised on the cross, and it also represents the three hours of darkness that the people experienced as He hung on the cross. After the 15th reading, a loud noise is made, symbolizing the earthquake that occurred at the death of Jesus. It is a somber and solemn service of contemplation. We have attempted to recreate the service in its entirety here, and hope that you will be blessed in its re-enactment.
Entrance - Gathering
The Call to Worship:
God is light, in whom there is no darkness at all.
Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world,
and we loved darkness rather than light.
Hymn:
Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed (UMH #294)
Opening prayer:
Maundy Thursday (UMH #283)
The Passion of Jesus Christ
Sixteen readings, after each is extinguised one candle until the sanctuary is in "Darkness" (Latin: Tenebrae)
Sending Forth
Hymn:
Were You There (UMH #288)
Dismissal with Blessing
All depart in silence.
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on April 4, 2020 (Originally published April 9, 2020)
S.D.G.
Wednesday Mar 27, 2024
Lectionary Readings for Wednesday of Holy Week
Wednesday Mar 27, 2024
Wednesday Mar 27, 2024
March 27, 2024
Old Testament: Isaiah 40:4-9a
Psalter: Psalm 70
Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 12:1-3
Gospel Lesson: John 13:21-32
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
S.D.G.
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
S11E38: A Song of Victory (Draw Near to God pt. 7)
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Sermon #598
When we look at the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, we find a story that we know very well. After all, we celebrate Palm Sunday every year; ever since we were kids in Sunday School we learned about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people threw their cloaks and palm branches at his feet, crying "Hosanna!" But it's that word, Hosanna, which always confused me as a child. I thought it was a cry of praise for Jesus the conquering king. But it is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words "yosa 'ana" which means "Save now, we beseech you!" The people were crying out to be saved, and Jesus came to do just that... But not how the people expected.
Psalm 118
Recorded at Hudson UMC on March 24, 2024
S.D.G.
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Lectionary Readings for Tuesday of Holy Week
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
March 26, 2024
Old Testament: Isaiah 49:1-7
Psalter: Psalm 71:1-14
Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Gospel Lesson: John 12:20-36
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
S.D.G.
Monday Mar 25, 2024
Lectionary Readings for Monday of Holy Week
Monday Mar 25, 2024
Monday Mar 25, 2024
March 25, 2024
Old Testament: Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalter: Psalm 36:5-11
Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 9:11-15
Gospel Lesson: John 12:1-11
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
S.D.G.
Sunday Mar 24, 2024
S8E49: The Coming Kingdom (Journey to the Cross pt. 7)
Sunday Mar 24, 2024
Sunday Mar 24, 2024
Sermon #437
Like so many other stories in the Bible, the account of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem is so familiar to us that we might just gloss over it's deeper meaning. What we see in these eleven brief verses in Mark's gospel is that Jesus is who he says he is - the very Son of God, God of very God, and complete and utter master over time and space. And what we might deem as human failure after such a great victory, God considered to be the ultimate victory over sin and death. This Palm Sunday I pray that you will hear these words anew and learn from God's Spirit as we celebrate God's coming kingdom.
Mark 11:1-11
Recorded at Hudson UMC on March 28, 2021 (Originally published March 31, 2021)
S.D.G.
Sunday Mar 24, 2024
Lectionary Readings for Palm and Passion Sunday, Year B
Sunday Mar 24, 2024
Sunday Mar 24, 2024
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
S2E46: We Wish to See Jesus (Lent 2015)
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
Sermon #105
Jesus' ministry began with the Jews, God's chosen people whom he came to save. But in today's text we see a group of non-Jews seeking to find Jesus, and to see what all the comotion is about. Like the Greeks, we need to see Jesus revealed to us, not just as a great teacher, not just as a worker of miracles, but as the very Son of God who came to the world He created, to save it from sin and death. So grab your Bible, turn it to John chapter 12, and prepare your heart and mind as we declare, We wish to see Jesus.
John 12:20-33
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on March 22, 2015 (Originally published May 11, 2015)
S.D.G.
Monday Mar 18, 2024
S11E37: Persevere in the Word (Draw Near to God pt. 6)
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Sermon #597
People often say it is impossible to know if there is a God, and if there is one, it is impossible to know anything about Him. Two weeks ago we looked at the difference between General Revelation - the existence of God revealed in creation - and Special Revelation - God's specific attributes revealed in the inspired word of God, the Bible. This week we dive deeper into how we can know God by reading His word. God's word reveals to us as much about ourselves as it does about Him, and if we truly love God we will desire to know Him more, and we can know Him more by reading about Him in the Bible. The question and challenge for us today is, how much time are you spending in God's word, and what is keeping you from reading the Bible, when it is God's revelation to us about Himself?
Psalm 119:9-16
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on March 17, 2024
S.D.G.