Earth-shattering days
It was an unnerving experience for the inhabitants of Jerusalem on that late Friday afternoon in spring. “The earth shook, the rocks split” (Matthew 27:51). This was no ordinary earthquake.…
The dawn after the darkness
Jesus’ resurrection chases away the darkness and gloom, bringing joy and light that first Easter and every day afterward. In his great prophecy about the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53), Isaiah…
Darkness and light
Why was there such darkness on Good Friday? It's because God wanted us to have the light. In the Bible, God uses darkness to represent evil, sin, unbelief, and death,…
A service of hope
In the darkness of the cross, the light of salvation shines brightest. The Strepitus—a loud noise near the end of the Tenebrae service—startles us out of our meditation on Christ’s…
A service of darkness
The Service of Tenebrae beckons us into the shadows, but it does not leave us in darkness. In the still hours of Good Friday, the Service of Tenebrae beckons us…
Finished!
When finished means more than done. “FINISHED!” the young boy yells to his mom as he slams his math notebook closed and heads outside. “Finished!” says the couple as they…
Practicing Christian freedom
In the first installment of "Free in Christ," you learn how two congregations offer adult Bible classes to their members. The approaches are different, but the goals and outcomes are…
Victorious
Jesus’ descent into hell celebrates the fulfillment of the first gospel promise ever made: Jesus would crush Satan’s head. We go to church on Good Friday and Easter Sunday—a solemn…
Saving connection
“About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)” (Matthew 27:46). Lillie was entranced with…