The Passover and Good Friday By: Chaplain Dan Dundon Exodus 12:1-4; 5-7; 11-13

April 8th, 2020

1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 "This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.

5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. 7 Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”

The church has always taught that the New Testament is concealed in the Old Testament, and the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament. The Passover is a very vivid example of this concealing and revealing. This ancient feast was initiated by the Lord while Israel was in captivity in Egypt in response to Israel’s cry for deliverance from that captivity. Israel was instructed to take a lamb without blemish on the 10th day of the month and keep it in their houses until the 14th day of the month. After four days of keeping this cute little lamb in the house (enough time to become attached to it) they were to kill the lamb, eat it in haste, and place some of the blood on the doorposts of their houses. “I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”

Here is the Old Testament pre-figure of the sacrifice of the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” the Lord Jesus. “But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26). The blood on the doorposts and the Blood of the Cross signify God’s passing over sins in salvation from His eternal judgement.

The Jewish Passover begins on Wednesday, April 8 at sunset and ends Thursday, April 16 at sunset. The church will observe the sacrifice of our Savior on Good Friday, April 10. If you are unable to gather with the church for worship because of the Covid-19 pandemic, worship at home with your family! The Passover and the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus on the Cross are intimately connected by the Word of God. Celebrate and remember His great Sacrifice with all the love, gratitude, and humility that you can muster!

Chaplain Dan Dundon April 1st, 2020 The Triumphal Entry by: Chaplain Dan

John 12:12-26

12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So 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!” 14 And 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. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, 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. 26 If 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. And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. Luke 4:38-40

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic we need assurance that there is someone we can turn to for help. There is Someone we can to turn to - Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior! In this passage we are told that Jesus heals Simon Peter’s mother-in-law from a high fever - a probable death sentence in those days. The disciples appealed to Jesus on her behalf and He “rebuked” the fever. The word rebuked suggests that He was displeased with her illness, “and it left her”. The Bible does not tell us that she rested in bed for the remainder of the day. We are told that “immediately she rose and began to serve them.” Instantly, she was cured, made well again, and got to work! Later that same day, “all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.” He did not heal some of them, or even most of them. He healed every one of them!

This passage reminds us of the power and compassion of Jesus. He is displeased when we are sick. He is compassionate when we are sick. And He can be extremely powerful when we are sick.

O Lord, we look to You for blessed assurance. We ask that You keep our residents safe and healthy. We ask that You keep our families safe and healthy. We ask that You strengthen us all to be a help to others in the midst of this crisis. O Lord, grant us Your compassion and power, for we pray in the Name of Your Son Jesus.

Amen… MARCH 24TH, 2020 Spiritual Encouragement

B Y C H A P L A I N D A N D A N D O N

GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH, A VERY PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE (PSALM 46:1).

As the Coronavirus causes uncertainty in the world around us, we as Christians can be absolutely certain about our God’s devotion to His people in every circumstance of life. Psalm 46:1 encourages us to remember that God is our refuge. When life gets tough, we run to Him! The Psalm also reminds us that He is our strength. The strength of our God cannot be measured…because it has no limitation. He is the very source of power and strength!

As we go through the process of dealing with this pandemic known as Covid – 19, we are told to practice social distancing. This distancing includes our family, friends, and co- workers. Let me strongly encourage you that as we put this advice into practice (because we do not yet know who is and who is not infected) and distance ourselves from each other, let us draw near to God in thought and in prayer. The Lord promises to be our refuge and strength and our very present help in trouble and His promises are absolutely trustworthy!

O Lord our God, we pray that You will remind us that You are our “refuge and strength” and our “very present help in trouble!” Please keep our residents healthy and safe! Please keep our staff members healthy and safe! Please take us under the wings of Your protection in this time of trouble! For we pray this in the most precious Name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen