Worship Devotional LXVIII
Originally posted to the Facebook group on 4/10/2021.
Worship Devotional for 4/11/21
When Jesus was crucified and buried in the tomb, the disciples did not really understand what was going on. The events of that holy week did not happen at all like they expected. One of them had betrayed Jesus. One of them had denied Jesus. They had all scattered and abandoned Him when He was arrested by the authorities. They didn't understand the words He had spoken to them earlier, when He told them that the Son of Man must be crucified by the authorities and then rise from the dead after three days. How could the wonderful things He had taught them be true now? It seemed as though death was still in control of everything, and God had abandoned them.
But then Sunday came, and the tomb was empty, and Jesus appeared to them alive, risen from the dead! Everything changed. Suddenly all of the recent words and events made sense. The darkness of death gave way to the light of the resurrection, and the truth became clear. Jesus' suffering, crucifixion, and death had a greater purpose and a deeper meaning than any of them could comprehend at the time.
On Easter Sunday, we celebrated the resurrection event. Now, as we continue to celebrate in the weeks ahead, we will look back on the events leading up to that Sunday in light of Jesus' resurrection. This week we are celebrating Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, who was offered up once and for all as a perfect and spotless sacrifice for sins, who cried out that it was finished as He died upon the cross, and who claimed the victory for us all when He rose from the dead, having accomplished God's plan for our salvation.
Here are the songs:
1) Once For All by Shane & Shane
Hebrews 7:22-28:
"So Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office. But because He remains forever, He holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore, He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them. For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above heavens. He doesn't need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do — first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever."
Hebrews 10:10:
"By this will of God, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all."
1 Peter 3:18:
"For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring you to God, after being put to death in the fleshly realm but made alive in the spiritual realm."
Romans 6:1-11:
"What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life. For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin's dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin's claims. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over Him. For in light of the fact that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in light of the fact that He lives, He lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
John 1:29:
"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"
Hebrews 9:11-14:
"But the Messiah has appeared, high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), He entered the most holy place once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?"
3) It Was Finished Upon That Cross by CityAlight
John 19:28-30:
"After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, 'I'm thirsty!' A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on hyssop and held it up to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit."
How wonderful it is that our Savior gave this cry of victory even as bled and died upon the cross: "It is finished!" The work that He had come to do — to fulfill the Law and Prophets and the whole word of God and to accomplish God's perfect plan for our redemption and salvation — was done, once and for all.
4) It Is Finished by Dustin Kensrue
We now can rejoice with great joy and freedom by the Spirit of God who gives us new life through our faith in Jesus, because God has done for us what we could never do ourselves. We cannot earn His favor by our good deeds or religious rites. But because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, by His death and resurrection, we have been redeemed and saved. Let us therefore raise up a victorious song of praise to our God and Savior, Jesus Christ!
5) My Victory by David Crowder
The Lamb of God has made the cross, which was meant to torture and kill, into a symbol of victory for the believer. He offered Himself up to suffer and die in our place upon it, paying the price for our sins with His shed blood though He had done no wrong to deserve it. He died for us, then after three days in the tomb, God raised Him from the dead. Now we who believe in Him are justified through His death and made new through His resurrection. His victory is our victory, which He won for us. All praise and honor and glory be to Him alone, forever and ever!
Theme(s): Once For All, It Is Finished, Victory, Lamb of God
Scripture references:
Psalms 22, 110
Isaiah 53-55
Matthew 27:50-54
Mark 15:37-39
Luke 23:44-47
John 1:29-36, 8, 19:28-30
Romans 5-6
1 Corinthians 15
Hebrews 2, 7-10
1 Peter (esp. 3:18)
1 John 1:5-2:2
Revelation 5, 7:9-17
Hebrews 10:19-25:
"Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way He has opened for us through the curtain (that is, His flesh), and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near."