Almost Wordless Wednesday

God’s Love for You

This week’s sermon is all about what Jesus did on the Cross. Pastor Q has done an excellent job of delivering an Easter message about who Jesus died for – YOU! These are my notes from his sermon, which I pray will bless you as much as they did me. I love going through my sermon notes, as it reinforces what I have learned at church.

Bible Verses Used

John 3:16Philippians 2:6-8


John 14: 1-4

John 3:16 underpins everything that happened to Jesus – the Cross, the crucifixion and the empty tomb. We are the “why” that happened. Jesus died for You! When Jesus stood before Pilate, He said,

For this reason I was born.

You could substitute your own name for “this reason“, and maybe then you would realise how important you are to Jesus. What was behind the extraordinary reason? You were! Jesus left everything that He had in heaven, just for you. It was all for You!

He was crucified for you, the stone was rolled away from the tomb for you, and when the stone was rolled away, it showed Jesus’ love for You. Regardless of who you are or what you’ve done, Jesus died for You!

You could be the most despicable, vilest, most hateful person and yet, He died for You. You are no less important to Jesus than anyone else. He died for the world. The flash houses of today would look like ramshackle beach shacks compared with what Jesus left behind when He came to earth.

Dr Maxwell Maltz was a renowned plastic surgeon, and He saw a woman whose husband was severely disfigured in a house fire trying to rescue his parents. The husband’s face was horribly disfigured, but he refused Dr. Maltz’s offer to help restore him to some degree of normality. His wife came back to see Dr Maltz, and he was surprised because he knew that her husband had refused his help previously. This time she asked Dr Maltz how much it would cost for him to disfigure her face like her husband’s, so that her husband would let her back into his life. Jesus was severely and callously beaten for us, tortured with the Crown of Thorns, flogged, mocked, spat upon and hanged upon the Cross at Golgotha where He endured the agony of the Cross for You, and all that He wants is to be allowed into your life.

The Cross is a universal symbol of Christianity, and yet we would never wear a guillotine around our neck, but we proudly wear the Cross which was the ultimate persecution that Jesus endured just for You! How did a symbol of torture become something of beauty?

The arms of the Cross show:~

Horizontal Band – The Breadth and Length of God’s Love

Vertical Band – The Depth and Height of God’s Love

The resurrection of Jesus Christ shows God’s Love for You! Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift of Your love.

Jesus, You showed us Your love through the Cross, the empty tomb and Your scarred body.

I pray that you unshakeably take hold of God’s Love for You.

The Peace of God

Praise You God with my Whole ♥

I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. Psalm 86: 12

for:~

• Answered prayer for my husband – his spots are healing, and his pain relief seems to be working this time. Praise You, heavenly Father that You have heard the prayers of Your people and that you have been swift to respond. Your Word says that You will never leave us nor forsake us, and God never lies.

• Our children, who have been a tower of strength through the difficult times – milking, feeding animals, doing dishes, cooking, ironing and generally helping whenever help is needed, but especially for the hugs and words of encouragement and affirmation that mean more than anyone could ever know.

• Friends – blogging friends , internet friends and real-life friends who are true prayer warriors, picking up the challenge and being prepared to pray for my husband – from the bottom of my ♥, I thank you all.

• A good hospital and doctors in our local area – this is so important at times like this.

• Our church – praise God that our church building will be going ahead – thank you Lord, once again, for answered prayer.

• Our home – warm, comfortable beds; food on the table, protection from the elements, fresh goat’s milk and a place where we can say that we truly feel close to God, as He brought us here.

• The ability to be able to homeschool - In Germany it is illegal to homeschool, and Sweden seeks to introduce a law stating that homeschooling will only be allowed under “exceptional circumstances”. Please pray that God will work with the authorities to block this law, and that Swedish homeschoolers will have the ability to be able to homeschool openly. I pray that God will open the eyes of the authorities to the benefits of homeschooling. Praise God that we, in Australia, have the freedom to be able to homeschool openly!

Praise you, heavenly Father

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
Psalm 90

for…

• pain relief for my husband’s knee – may it continue until August when he has a total knee replacement.

• for the prayers for my husband’s knee and relief from the pain – please know that your prayers are very much appreciated!

• our children’s commitment to helping around the home, making life a whole lot easier for my husband. This is the first commandment with a promise – that it may go well with thee and that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

• that our church building application has been approved – YIPPEE!

• FRIENDS – who make our lives that little more special just by being a part of it – for new friends, old friends and old friends become new again!

• all of the things that You do for us – the things that go largely unnoticed, such as the wonderful change in the weather, keeping our bantam chickens safe, for the food that You provide us with, the money to pay the bills and the people that You place in our lives.

• our church – although we can’t be there today, there will be lots more todays in the future.

• that we get our new tyres fitted on Monday, and hopefully that will be the end of our punctures – the road that leads to our home is blue-metal, and is very sharp – we have had three punctures in the last couple of weeks, and it is becoming increasingly more difficult for my husband to change and mend the tyres. I only travel at 40km/h and we still manage to get punctures.

Did you know that the average person has only about 18,000 days in which he could apply his life to eternal values? It is therefore of vital importance that we be “Redeeming the time”. Ephesians 5:16 (The New Defender’s Study Bible) Time is ticking away rapidly!

• Jennifer, who hosts this Meme each week, so that I remember to give thanks to our Almighty God for all of the things that I forget to give thanks for at other times. Care to join this Meme, visit Jennifer at My Chocolate ♥ .