(I know it's long, but there's an AWESOME freestyle/poem/speech in the middle of this incredible song!)
Christ is Risen
by Matt Maher
Lyrics:
Let no one caught in sin remain
Inside the lie of inward shame
But fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely You've bled for us
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bowed to none but heaven's will
No scheme of hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold You down
In strength You reign
Forever let Your church proclaim
O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night
O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead
He's alive! He's alive!
I know it seems odd that someone would say that Good Friday is "happy," but really, the only reason anyone can have true joy is because they know the truth about Good Friday!
I'm loving YouTube lately, and I thought I'd share the following video - it's a very powerful performance painting set to an amazing song! (Oh the Glory of it All by the David Crowder Band)
Here's the Video:
(If you've never seen this video before - be sure to watch the whole thing, there's a little bit of a twist!)
Here's the lyrics to the song:
Oh the Glory of it All - David Crowder Band
At the start
He was there, He was there
In the end,
He’ll be there, He’ll be there
And After all our hands have wrought
He forgives
Oh the Glory of it all is:
He came here
For the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all
All is lost
find Him there, find Him there
After night
Dawn is there, Dawn is there
After all falls apart
He repairs He repairs
Oh the Glory of it all is:
He came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
oh He is here
for redemption from the fall
that we may live
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all
the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all
After night
comes the light
dawn is here
dawn is here
it’s a new day
it’s a new day
everything will change
things will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
Oh, The glory of it all is
You came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
Oh You are here
with redemption for us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all
Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I love getting to serve the Lord every day with my very best friend! It has been such a wild, crazy, roller coaster ride to get to this point, but I am so thankful that God has given me someone so amazing to face the ups and downs with!
This week I had a fabulous moment of "Austin is so good at his job!"
We hold Club every Monday afternoon for Middle School students and Monday evening for High School students. This week was Austin's turn to give the talk, and his topic was sin and Easter. I was able to video tape a chunk of it:
People are often very resistant to this topic, and Austin was speaking to a pretty tough crowd on Monday evening, but as I was standing there listening to him clearly communicate the Gospel message and the hope and joy of Easter, my heart was so full! It hit me, once again, that God obviously knew what He was doing (He always does) when He put us here and when He put us together!
I may be a little biased (just slightly), but I think Austin is so naturally gifted in speaking and interacting with our students! I LOVE watching him be used by God!
My husband rocks! <3
Hope you all have a fantastic Friday, and a wonderful weekend!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am the only person who has the ability to add blogs to the MHR blogroll. If you are a MHR blogger, and have not been added to the blogroll, plase comment or e-mail me at katylinvw{at}yahoo{dot}com and I will gladly add you to our little group!!!
(if you would like to add the MHR Fridays button to your sidebar, use this code ).
If you're not a blogger, but still want the world to know about your amazing husband(or wife, or husband to be, or wife to be, etc.) leave a shout-out in the form of a comment! If you're unable to comment, e-mail me at katylinvw [at] yahoo [dot] com and I'll add your shout out to this post!
As always, on Fridays Union 28 will refund your shipping on any order of two or more items if you mention the great adventure and ~my husband rocks! Fridays~ in the "how did you hear about us?" section of your order form, so run on over there and check them out, too! Thank you Union 28!
I had honestly never heard of this holiday until we began working in Ecumenical ministry. It is not a holiday that was ever observed in the churches I attended growing up. And even after hearing about it, I really had no idea what the holiday was or what it was for, so today I Googled it.
Here's what I came up with:
Maundy Thursday is observed during Holy Week on the Thursday before Easter. Also referred to as "Holy Thursday" or "Great Thursday" in some Christian denominations, Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples on the night before he was crucified. In contrast to joyful Easter celebrations when Christians worship their resurrected Savior, Maundy Thursday services are typically more solemn occasions, marked by the shadow of Jesus' betrayal.
While different denominations observe Maundy Thursday in their own distinct ways, two important biblical events are the primary focus of Maundy Thursday solemnizations:
Before the Passover meal, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. By performing this lowly act of service, the Bible says in John 13:1 that Jesus "showed them the full extent of his love." By his example, Jesus demonstrated how Christians are to love one another through humble service. For this reason, many churches practice foot-washing ceremonies as a part of their Maundy Thursday services.
During the Passover meal, Jesus took bread and wine and asked his Father to bless it. He broke the bread into pieces, giving it to his disciples and said, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Then he took the cup of wine, shared it with his disciples and said, "This wine is the token of God's new covenant to save you--an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you." These events recorded in Luke 22:19-20 describe the Last Supper and form the biblical basis for the practice of Communion. For this reason, many churches hold special Communion services as a part of their Maundy Thursday celebrations. Likewise, many congregations observe a traditional Passover Seder meal.
After experiencing a Messianic Passover Seder with my PWOC group on Tuesday morning, this holiday holds a lot more meaning for me than it ever would have before! First of all, on Tuesday I learned that Passover and all of the symbolism it embodies, is not just full of meaning for Jewish people, but for all believers - who are grafted into Abraham's family. It is even commanded in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 5:7&8)! Crazy, right?
Sometimes I think that as "new covenant" believers, we discount the traditions and rich heritage of Judaism and dismiss it as "legalism" or "law" - which could not be further from the truth! The beauty and richness of many of the traditions and festivals of Judaism hold even more meaning for those of us who believe in Jesus as Messiah because the prophecies to which most of the symbolisms refer have been fulfilled in Christ! Praise the Lord!
All of that to say, although some people may observe Maundy Thursday as a rote, liturgical service simply because "that's what we do on the Thursday before Easter." I plan to celebrate this day - today and in the years to come - as a reminder of my Servant King who washed the feet of his disciples, observed the Passover in obedience to God, and gave Himself up as "our Passover Lamb," the perfect and final sacrifice for the sins of all humanity!
Praying that the traditions of Easter may have deep and lasting meaning for you this year and forever!
"Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:26-28
