REVIVAL TALK

Spring Cleaning Exodus 12:19 – “For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses…” Several years ago I met this gentlemen who lived alone.  He had been married, but had lost his wife to illness.  He was blessed with several sisters who loved and cared for him.  They would come and clean his house each week, but several times a year they would come and give the house a good spring-cleaning.                What is spring-cleaning?  It is cleaning the house from top to bottom.  It usually occurs when the season changes and the weather gets warmer.  One thought is that it originated with the Jewish people when they would give their homes a thorough cleaning leading up to Passover.   In the days before Passover the family will clean the house and remove any leaven (a substance like yeast or baking powder).  In Exodus chapters 12 and 13 Moses instructed the ...

A New Sound for A New Season             As we enter into the season of spring we will recognize the many sounds of the season.  Each season is characterized by different sounds.  After the cold winter season many of us look forward to the sounds of the birds singing in the new season of spring.             God is calling us to recognize the new sound that will come in our new season.  In Revelation 4:1 – “After these things I looked, and behold a door standing open in heaven.  And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.’”    The Lord is calling us to a higher place. He is calling us to a deeper intimacy, a greater commitment, and a greater revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we get to the next level?  How...

--> Christ Our Passover Lamb There are seven major feasts that God established with Israel in the Old Testament. The first of these seven feasts was Passover. Passover always comes in the first month of the year on the Hebrew religious calendar. This month is known as Abib in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, and later came to be known as Nissan after the Babylonian captivity.   Although there are a total of seven feasts (the divine number for perfection or completeness in the Bible), God divided the seven festivals into three major festival seasons. Every male was to present themselves before the Lord three times in a year in each festival group.  The Jewish male would travel to Jerusalem for Passover in the spring, Pentecost at the end of spring, and the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall.  The fall festival season consisted of Rosh Ha Shana (Trumpets), The Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles.  The first group is Passover, the Feast of U...

The Cross a Symbol of Victory Galatians 6:14 “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”             The cross stands today as a symbol of victory.   It represents victory over sin, victory over death, and ultimate victory for the believer through the Lord Jesus Christ.   When Christ suffered on the cross, He did so for humanities sin.   He died so that we can live a life of victory and freedom.             In John 10:10 we learn that “Christ came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly.”   What does it mean to experience abundant life?   The Amplified Bible reads, “ I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).”        ...

Thursday – Passion Week John 13:1-17             Thursday night of the Lord’s Passion Week is filled with different events.   Jesus shares the Passover Seder meal with His twelve disciples in an Upper Room in Jerusalem. The Christian world refers to this day as Maundy or Holy Thursday.   It is the time set aside on the Christian calendar to commemorate the Lord’s last Supper.             It was during this supper that He instituted Holy Communion or as it is called in some churches, “The Lord’s Supper.”   At the Passover meal we learn that He broke the bread, distributed it to His disciples, and said, “This represents My body which will be broken for you.”   He then took up the cup and told them, “This cup represents my blood that will be shed so that a new covenant will be instituted.   Christian’s today celebrate Holy Communion and com...

Jesus Passion Week – Wednesday He Sought Opportunity to Betray Him Luke 22:1-6 – “ Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.”             The events of this passage of Scripture took place on Wednesday of the Passion Week of our Lord.  In these verses we learn that Judas conferred with the chief priests and officials to betray the Lord for money.  Verse six reveals that Judas “sought opportunity to betray Him.”   ...

Jesus Passion Week – Tuesday The Widow’s Mite Luke 21:1-4; Mark 12:41             One of the most fascinating studies in the Word of God is the study of what transpired on each day of our Lord’s passion week.  On Sunday He rode into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey to exuberant praise.  On Monday He cleansed the Temple and overturned the tables of those who were exchanging money and selling doves.             On Tuesday, the next day, He is again in the temple.  In Mark’s Gospel we learn that Jesus sat near the offering box and He observed how the crowd tossed money in for the collection.  We learn that those who were rich gave large gifts.  In verse 42 from the Message Bible we learn, “One poor widow came up and put in two small coins – a measly two cents.”               In...

Jesus Passion Week – Monday Matthew 21:12-16             On Monday of His passion week Jesus entered the Temple in Jerusalem.  The Temple was very important to the Jewish believer.  It was the center of their worship.  They would travel to the Temple at least three times a year to worship, offer sacrifices, and to celebrate the different feasts that God had given to them in the Law of Moses.              This event is recorded in three of the four Gospels.  We learn that He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves.  The outer court of the Temple had become a place of merchandising.  The merchants were profiting off of God’s people at the expense of worship.             Notice Jesus words, “ It is written, ‘My house shall be called a h...

THE CROSS A MONUMENT OF HOPE FOR HUMANITY John 19:16-18   Humanity has built and crafted monuments that commemorate humanity’s many achievements.  In New York Harbor there is the Statue of Liberty.  In Washington, D.C. our nation has built memorials to Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.  On the famous mall of Washington there is the Washington Monument.  Located nearby is the Vietnam Memorial, which commemorates those who served and died in the Vietnam War. There is also the newly built memorial to the men and women who served our nation in the Second World War. As believers we also have a monument.  Our monument stands as an emblem of hope for hopeless humanity.  That monument is the cross of Christ.  The cross is a universal symbol of Christianity.  We wear it as a trinket around our necks; we put it atop our steeples, and use it as a symbol on the front of our sanctuaries and buildings.  What is the cross?...