Bethany Lutheran Church
Springdale, Arkansas
Worship, 10 AM Central
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Be not Thou far from me, O Lord: O my Strength, haste Thee to help me.
Save me from the lion’s mouth: and deliver me from the horns of the unicorns.
Psalm. My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far from helping Me?
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation The Collect p. 19
Almighty and everlasting God, who hast sent Thy Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Him our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross that all mankind should follow the example of His great humility, mercifully grant that we may both follow the example of His patience and also be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual Gradual
Thou hast holden me by my right hand: Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory.
V. Truly, God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart: but as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well-nigh slipped; for I was grieved at the ungodly.
Tract. My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
V. Why art Thou so far from helping Me: and from the words of My roaring?
V. I am a worm and no man: a reproach of men and despised of the people.
V. Be not Thou far from Me, O Lord; O My Strength, haste Thee to help Me.
V. I will declare Thy name unto My brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.
V. They shall come and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born: that He hath done this.
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Between Light and Darkness
Prayers and Announcements
- Medical care - Randy Anderson, Dr. Kermit Way; Lori Howell, Sarah Buck, Pastor James Shrader and Chris Shrader, Callie and her mother Peggy.
- Reformation Seminary Lecture - Monday at 11 AM
- Reformation Seminary Lecture - Tuesday at 11 AM
- Reformation Seminary Lecture - Wednesday 7 PM
- Maundy Thursday Holy Communion, 7 PM Central Time.
- Good Friday Vespers, 7 PM.
- Easter Sunday Holy Communion. 10 AM.
KJV Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
KJV Matthew 21:1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes t hat went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Palm Sunday
Almighty and everlasting God, who hast caused Thy beloved Son to take our nature upon Himself, that He might give all mankind the example of humility and suffer death upon the cross for our sins: Mercifully grant us a believing knowledge of this, and that, following the example of His patience, we may be made partakers of the benefits of His sacred passion and death, through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Between Light and Darkness
When Jesus said He would go see His ailing friend Lazarus, fear and dread entered the mind of Thomas.
KJV John 11:9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. 10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. 11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. 16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
The disciples were perplexed about the plans of Jesus, which were a combination of light and darkness. They arrived late at the funeral of Lazarus, but Jesus knew what to happen. He went to the tomb, connecting the two graves - KJV John 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid...Lazarus emerged from the grave when Jesus called him to life. Jesus and Lazarus were together at Bethany and approaching Jerusalem.
John 12:17 shows us that Lazarus, as the star, came with Jesus to Jerusalem, the crowds following them from the funeral and empty grave, being met by others coming out of Jerusalem, hearing the news about the risen Lazarus.
2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
These events go together, to show that the raising of Lazarus revealed the divine power of Jesus, who would enter Jerusalem as the ultimate miracle-worker, the Messiah. The Promises of the Old Testament were coming to light. Jesus arrived as the salvation of Jerusalem, so great that the religious leaders were terrified of the consequences and what Rome would do. (John 11:48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.) The raising of Lazarus, the trip to Jerusalem, and the clamor of the crowd made the entry into Jerusalem the ultimate sign of His reign, though people only saw the glory and the triumph.
3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.)
So many prophesies are a puzzle to us, when we read the Old Testament by itself. But when we see how it was fulfilled, the story is clearer than ever. The Old Testament is an enormous collection of Messianic Promises for the future, but they are often seen here and there, overlooked. The modernists have their own theories, trying to remove such thoughts from the Bible. A lot of the "experts" have difficulty reading and interpreting, because they have an agenda. The best interpreter of the Bible is the Bible - that is, the more we read with open eyes, the clearer everything becomes.
6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
This begins the greater part of His triumphal entry. He rode in with crowds following Him from Bethany and crowds coming out of Jerusalem to meet Him. He was surrounded by all these people shouting out their praises and putting down palm branches.
8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
We are so young as a nation. King David's reign was around 1,000 BC. That kind of time is difficult to imagine. Creation was much earlier, the Promise of the Savior issued in Genesis 3:15, as they were expelled from Paradise. Many of the Promises were not clear to everyone at the time, but they certainly came into focus when Jesus died and rose again, as Lazarus did.
The Palm Sunday celebration was filled with light and darkness. People realized and saw the Messiah in their midst. Jesus knew what was next. They shouted phrases from the Scriptures and He knew what was also portrayed, in such passages as Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22. In Matthew, as in John, some went overboard about Mary, foreshadowing what would develop after the Apostles.
9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
The crowds encircled Jesus and joined in their shouts of triumph. It was a mixture of light and darkness - the Son of David revealing Himself at the temporary grave of Lazarus, and soon placed in His momentous stone grave. Both showed the power of God over death. The vexing part about Lazarus is that people generally ignore that part of Holy Week, and Jesus is emphasized so much that his friend is overshadowed.
Another way to look at it is to consider how important it was to have the funeral crowd in mourning and a greater crowd forming both from Lazarus and from Jesus Christ Himself, explaining God's power and soon exhibiting Himself in all His glory.
Light and darkness are basic in Holy Week, developed extensively to teach us about the difficulties of life and the glory of eternal life. Luther expressed that in terms of spiritual assaults (Anfectungen). He went through years of anguish escaping the errors of Medieval papal traditions versus the Scriptures. When a Bible in the German language was developed by Luther and his colleagues, that outraged the opponents even more.
Luther's writings are so significant to people today because of his anguish. We contribute to the Christian Faith by understanding his work and the true Scriptures. Darkness and light are different. A darkroom - for photography the old-fashioned way - must be sealed up so that no light can come in and ruin the film. The darker the room, the more the individual sees little beams of light identifying parts of that room. The darkness is not complete, light is still peeking in. We have the same potential, to share the light of Jesus' Gospel in this world of confusion and darkness. The true Light that illuminates the world cannot be extinguished, because the Messiah is King, eternal, worthy of 50 or more titles of majesty in the Scriptures.
