Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This is a Holy Week like none of us have experienced in our lifetimes. We continue to watch and wait, concerned about ourselves, our families, and our society. So much seems to be up for grabs; what will endure?
Water, blood, and Spirit crying,
By their witness testifying
To the One whose death-defying
Life has come, with life for all.
God's Word of salvation in Jesus Christ endures forever -- and it has never been more meaningful or relevant for our lives. Online worship services for Maundy Thursday - April 8, Good Friday - April 9, and Easter Sunday - April 12 will be available at our Worship Resources web page by 8:30 am each day. Links to the services will also be posted on Messiah's Facebook page.
In a wat’ry grave are buried
All our sins that Jesus carried;
Christ, the Ark of Life, has ferried
Us across death’s raging flood.
Video Bible Studies will also continue on Easter Sunday - April 12. This week's study will focus on the empowering truth of our burial and resurrection with Christ, as revealed in Acts 10:34-43 (Peter's first proclamation of the Gospel to Gentiles) and Colossians 2:8-15 & 3:1-4 (the Easter Epistle). You'll be able to watch the study at any of these three pages, starting at 9:45 am on Sunday.
The Bible Studies page on our website
Dark the way, yet Christ precedes us,
Past the scowl of death He leads us;
Spreads a table where He feeds us
With His body and His blood.
One of my greatest sorrows right now is that we will be unable to gather at the Lord's Table on Thursday night and Sunday morning. But, as Synod's Commission on Theology and Church Relations recently wrote, right now it is best "humbly and repentantly to ask the Lord for the regular administration of the Sacrament of the Altar to be restored to us, together with an end to the 'deadly pestilence' that is killing thousands of souls who are precious to God, their Creator." May our prayers for healing and restoration continually ascend to our heavenly Father. As President Harrison wrote to the pastors of the LC-MS last week, we can take comfort in the fact that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are praying for all of us! (See Romans 8:26-27).
Though around us death is seething,
God, His two-edged sword unsheathing,
By His Spirit life is breathing
Through the living, active Word.
Beyond the online resources we're offering, hearing great sacred music is another way to steep ourselves in that living, active Word. One of the greatest musical expressions of the Gospel in history, J.S. Bach's St. John Passion, will be performed online -- from Bach's home church in Germany and from around the world -- at 10 am EDT on Good Friday. Learn more about this unique performance of the Passion here; watch and listen to the livestream here.
As always, please feel free to reply to this message with any feedback you think will be helpful, as we at Messiah journey together through this unprecedented Holy Week -- apart from each other physically, together by faith in the ark of God's Church, nourished by His Word above all. I and all of Messiah's staff continue to be deeply grateful for your ongoing support through your contacts, prayers and offerings.
Spirit, water, blood entreating,
Working faith and its completing
In the One whose death-defeating
Life has come, with life for all.
Yours in Christ,
Rick Krueger
Messiah Lutheran Church
"Water, Blood and Spirit Crying" (Lutheran Service Book 597) © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110002549.
