Holy Week Readings - Tuesday

We hope this reading allows you to engage with what was going on with Jesus in what is traditionally known as "Holy Week", the week leading up to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

Read John 12:20-36– Jesus teaches of his impending death

²⁰Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. ²¹So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." ²²Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

²⁷ "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." ²⁹The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." ³⁰Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine. ³¹ Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. ³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." ³³He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. ³⁴So the crowd answered him, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" ³⁵So Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

REMINDER:
Make plans to attend the special Holy Week service at The Gathering, including The Lord's Supper

Holy Week Readings - Monday

We hope this reading allows you to engage with what was going on with Jesus in what is traditionally known as "Holy Week", the week leading up to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

Read John 12:1-11 – Jesus anointed

¹Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ²So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. ³ Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, ⁵"Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" ⁶He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. ⁷Jesus said, "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. ⁸For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."

⁹When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, ¹¹because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Holy Week Readings - Sunday

We hope this reading allows you to engage with what was going on with Jesus in what is traditionally known as "Holy Week", the week leading up to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

Read John 12:12-16 – Palm Sunday

¹²The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" ¹⁴And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
¹⁵ "Fear not, daughter of Zion;behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!"
¹⁶ His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Readings and Holy Week

Beginning Sunday, April 5th, we will be posting selected biblical readings that will allow you to engage with what is traditionally known in the Church as "Holy Week", the days leading up to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. For some this isn't new at all because you come from traditions where scheduled readings every Sunday (often an Old Testament reading, a Psalm and a New Testament reading) were par for the course. These pre-selected Scripture readings used in worship are known as the lectionary. Lectionaries aren't new, in fact, they have been used for thousands of years (image is of a lectionary written in Greek used by the Church around 1100 A.D.). Indeed, before Christianity arrived the Jews used a lectionary in their worship services. For example, Jesus likely read from a Jewish lectionary when he read in the synagogue from Isaiah 61:1-2 as recorded in Luke 4:16-21.

Today different churches use different lectionaries but the intent is still the same - to walk the church in an orderly and strategic path through the Bible emphasizing specific subjects, ideas or themes. Most churches around the world will focus the next handful of days on Holy Week which highlights the Passion of Jesus. Thus their lectionaries will lead their readers through Bible passages that describe the circumstances and events that lead up to the Cross and empty tomb. We will join them in that endeavor by reading along as well. And in doing so, we join not only with the Church around the world but also through the ages who have read the same or similar passages during this week reminding ourselves of what God has done for us in the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So enjoy the journey that is Holy Week and may the readings which begin this Sunday gloriously point to the greatness of God and his Gospel in Jesus!

Getting Higher

Higher is a series about the glory of God. The series was born out of my struggle with how we (CCCC) appealed to people’s lower motivations to encourage them in following Christ. For example, when encouraging people to serve, we explained, “Serving helps you grow.” But is serving others primarily about growing? “Community is the best atmosphere for personal growth,” we say. And I believe the statement is true, but is that the reason we should live in community? The questions sent me on a journey of meditation and Bible study that resulted in this series. Intuitively, I knew that we serve and live in community and give and share our faith for reasons grander than ourselves, and I knew that the ultimate reason is the glory of God. But what does that mean? I’ll unpack my thoughts in Higher.

Two voices were powerful in the journey. John Piper wrote Desiring God. I read the book five years ago, but the message resonates with me still. The first two chapters include foundational thoughts that have made their way into the series. Listen to Piper’s thoughts (below) about how God does everything for his own glory.

The other dominant voice in the journey is Tim Keller. My small group is studying Gospel Christianity, a Bible Study written by Tim Keller. His thoughts on the glory of God were the most compelling influence for my renewed awareness that God’s glory is the ultimate end in the universe.

These messages might be a little more “heady.” Understanding glory is elusive, mysterious and spiritual sounding. But somehow I know that if we “get it” regarding God’s glory, we will see everything else about God more clearly. If we see God more clearly, the rest of our life is a piece of cake.

Don’t wimp out on me. This is the good stuff.

Fighting the Brokenness of Work

Recently I mentioned in my message "The Brokenness of Work" that sin not only has infiltrated our offices but systems which impact us both nationally and globally. The example given in the sermon was about global slavery where shockingly up to 27 million people live under the horrendous conditions of forced labor. Unfortunately, the havoc sin wreaks in the "wide-angle" of work around the world has other insidious manifestations. Here are a few websites that give us a glimpse not only into some of those problems but offer potential solutions as well. If you are interested in fighting the brokenness of work on a global scale these links may be a helpful start. If you find a term you haven't heard before (e.g, microlending) please take some time to discover what it is and how it might intersect your commitment to living out the Kingdom-values of the Gospel.

PLEASE NOTE: These links are not endorsed by the elders of CCCC but are given for the convenience of the reader with the understanding that he will employ biblical discernment as to what and how much of the content expresses the individual's commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Global Slavery/Human Trafficking:

• International Justice Mission
  
• Not For Sale Campaign

Trafficking in Houston

• Houston Rescue & Restore Coalition
  
• CAHTHouston
  

Fair Trade

• Fair Trade Federation
• Fair Trade Sports
  

Microlending

• Kiva
  

Take This Job and...

Okay. What's your answer? We know what Johnny Paycheck wants to do and it seems he's got a lot of people in his corner. Did you know that in a recent survey that one out of every five people plan to take another job in 2009? It seems there will be a lot of "shovin' it "going on this year. That's pretty incredible seeing that U.S. employers cut another another 598,000 jobs in January, raising the unemployment rate to 7.6% and making it the worst job-loss since December 1974 (a whopping 1.8 million jobs in the last three months). No bueno.

Others might like DAC's song but it doesn't resonate with them personally. They like their job (by the way, you're the minority at about 20%). They feel it gives them a sense of security, stability and even identity. It makes them who they are. Good for them right? Well, believe it or not, that is also "no bueno" as well. Why? Shouldn't we like our jobs? Doesn't it tell us who we are? What I do defines somewhat who I am, right?

Join us over the next few weekend for The Office: How the Gospel Redefines Work and find out.

See you there!