The Roman soldiers seek to humiliate Jesus. They anoint Him with a purple robe and their spit in a mock coronation. Yet at the end of the crucifixion, when Jesus dies on the cross, a Roman centurion says, “Truly this man was God’s son.” So what happened to that Roman soldier watching the crucifixion that changed his mind? We will explore the change in a message titled, “Journey to Easter: Distracted by Clothing.”
Sometimes during the season of Lent, people will give up something. They might give up chocolate, caffeine, foul language, bad feelings, or something else that seems to be holding them back from spiritual growth. Sometimes these items are minor, and sometimes they are enormous sacrifices. In John 10:17-22, Jesus asked a man to give up something sacrificial. The man walks away, knowing he cannot do what Jesus requests. In some ways, we might feel sorry for the man. A lot has been asked of him. But if we are focusing on the sacrifice, maybe we have missed the offered opportunity.
We don’t know what’s going to happen next. At times the world seems crazy, and it looks like the wheels have come off, and life seems so uncertain. We may have uncertainty about our marriage, our family, our economy, our nation, our world, and our health. Uncertainty causes fear, a sense of powerlessness, or confusion about what to do next. So how do we live with uncertainty? In a message titled “A Meal in the Midst of Uncertainty,” we will look at how communion can help us understand how God strengthens us amid uncertainty.
Sermon preached at Gold Canyon United Methodist Church in Gold Canyon, Arizona on April 2, 2015 at the Maundy Thursday service by Rev. Joel Hurley
