March Divine Service theme

In view of the cross

How does each sermon connect to this theme?

This month, we walk with Jesus towards Jerusalem. In view of the cross, Jesus acts in many ways. He is always the protagonist; always the One in control of what is happening, always the One moving willingly toward His death. Every experience is interpreted through His coming sacrifice, for His disciples then and today.

March midweek: As the Great Physician, we come to understand that Jesus heals both body and soul, and He has come for all.

March 1: After hearing of his death, Jesus calls forth Lazarus from the tomb, to life and to fellowship.

March 8: On the mountaintop, Jesus transfigures, an encounter of revelation, response, and return.

March 15: Before celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus washes their feet, sanctifying them and teaching them true salvation, fellowship, and service.

March 22: Prefiguring His death, Jesus institutes the Last Supper, and shares bread and wine, His body and blood, with the disciples.

March 29: On Palm Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem, the city of peace, revealing the tension between the people’s expectations and what He has come to accomplish.

As we move through these holy moments of Lent, “Turn your eyes to Christ. He is our King, our Priest, our Prophet. He is our justification, our sanctification, our wisdom, our redemption. He is our peace, our meditation, our atonement, our reconciliation, our all in all.

Alas! I look on myself, and I see I am nothing; I have nothing without Jesus Christ. Here is temptation; I cannot resist it. Here is corruption; I cannot overcome it. Here is persecution; I cannot endure it. But Christ is mine...

Oh, the joy this brings my soul! My soul is nothing but Christ, and therefore I cannot but rejoice in Christ, or I must rejoice in nothing at all.”

May these words of Isaac Ambrose (1604-1664) bring direction to your thoughts as we journey towards Good Friday and Easter.

John S. Schnabel