Episodes
Wednesday Mar 30, 2016
Whom Are You Seeking? (John 20:1-18)
Wednesday Mar 30, 2016
Wednesday Mar 30, 2016
We have finally come to Easter and as is our tradition at Hudson UMC, we hold our Easter Sunrise Service at 6:30 AM in front of the cemetery. It's a stark reminder that the women went to the tomb of Jesus early in the morning on that first day of the week, just as the sun was coming up. And in the cold morning air we begin to see the light of day approaching and feel the warmth of the Sun as it lights up the world around us. This year we look at the testimony of John, and his account of Mary Magdalene's encounter with the risen Christ. This scene from the Bible so inspired C. Austin Miles that he wrote his most famous hymn, In The Garden, based upon the text. May we also be inspired to meet the risen Christ on this Easter Sunday!
Tuesday Mar 29, 2016
The Heart of the Master (John 19:25b-27)
Tuesday Mar 29, 2016
Tuesday Mar 29, 2016
When we look at the seven last words of Christ on the cross, one saying that truly shows the heart of Christ is recorded in the book of John - Woman, here is your son, and Son, here is your mother. By caring for his widowed mother as he hung on the cross, Jesus did more than just show compassion for one person, but rather, he revealed his heart to be that of God, in that right to the end he was caring for orphans and widows. People often wonder about the deity of Christ, and yet here it is on display for all to see. It's a rather revealing word that John gives us.
Monday Mar 28, 2016
The Crucifixion (Mark 15:25-39)
Monday Mar 28, 2016
Monday Mar 28, 2016
We are still in the midst of our Lenten series, based on Adam Hamilton's book 24 Hours that Changed the World. On this Palm Sunday, we find Jesus on the cross, which was literally the darkest moment in Christian history. The disciples were scattered, their Master was dead and laid in a tomb. Certainly this would be the end of all that Messiah nonsense, or so the religious leaders thought. Today we know that the crucifixion was not the end, but the beginning. But the first followers of Christ thought that it signalled the end of their movement and worse, potentially the end of their own lives.
Friday Mar 25, 2016
The Torture and Humiliation of the King (Mark 15:15-23)
Friday Mar 25, 2016
Friday Mar 25, 2016
We come now to the final hours of Jesus' life and it's not a particularly pleasant picture. We have already seen how brutal the Roman scourging can be in last week's message. This week, we look at Jesus' arduous journey over a third of a mile carrying a hundred pound crossbeam. After the scourging and the humiliation of the soldiers, it proves to be too much physically for the man Jesus. And so a man from another city altogether is pressed into service. The actions of Simon of Cyrene are so pertinent to the story of Christ and these 24 hours that they have been recorded in three of the four gospels. And as we look at this journey we have to ask ourselves, what part would I have played in the crowd, had I been there? And what part do I play today?
Monday Mar 21, 2016
Jesus, Barabbas, and Pilate (Mark 15:1-15)
Monday Mar 21, 2016
Monday Mar 21, 2016
This week as we continue our journey through the 24 Hours that Changed the World by Adam Hamilton, we come to the criminal trial of Jesus by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Here we find in Pilate a ruthless and harsh Roman authority who is curiously reluctant to condemn Jesus to death. Yet in the end he relents, not because of justice or mounting evidence against Jesus, but because he wanted to appease the people. We even see him trying to give the Jews a more undesirable choice - freeing Jesus or freeing the murderous insurectionist Barabbas. And yet we also see that the place Jesus took on the cross was not just Barabbas', but also yours and mine.