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All Murder and Violence and No Donuts

Good Friday Easter Joy

Source: Personal Experience

Contributed By: Vince Putnam | Date Posted: 2023-01-22

Scripture: Mark 15: ; Matthew 27:

Author: Vince Putnam
2

ILLUSTRATION

I am a Pastor at a Lutheran church in Florida.  Every year we have a tenebrae service on Good Friday.  We incorporate some contemplative and somber elements into the service to reflect on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  We end the service with a silent video clip from an edited black and white version of "Passion of the Christ" while someone sings "Jesus Paid it All" quietly in the background.  Then we walk out of the sanctuary in darkness and silence. 

Last year, after the service was over I asked an 8 year old girl what she thought of it.  She said, "All murder and violence and no donuts."  Reflecting back on the service I understand what she meant.  The service was lacking the usually celebratory tone that the Sunday morning services offer, and yes, it was lacking donuts.  

The word tenebrae actually means darkness. It seems strange that "Good" Friday would be full of darkness.

APPLICATION

In order to come to a greater appreciation for the passion of Christ, we have to take a graphic look at the price He paid for us. Things looked pretty bleak for the disciples after the sun went down the day Jesus died. I can only imagine that what they were feeling at the time was probubly pretty dark, too -- hopelessness, despair, and shame. 

Participating in the darkness, I think, lets us remember the despair we would all feel without the cross. Our sin would separate us from God for eternity without it, without Jesus.  Fully experiencing the darkness without Jesus on Good Friday lets us fully experience the joy of the resurrection on Sunday.  When we have a greater appreciation for the cross, worship is a celebration every Sunday, all year long, and even donuts become part of the joy we have in Christ.

Expensive Cardboard

New Birth Easter Unbelief

Source: Yahoo News

Link to Source: Click here to view source

Contributed By: Jasper Abeyta | Date Posted: 2022-04-16

Scripture: Matthew 6:19

Author: Cork Gaines / Illustration Exchange
6

ILLUSTRATION

When Super Bowl LV kicked off between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida looked full with the help of some fake fans.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the NFL had approximately 25,000 in the stadium for the 55th Super Bowl, far fewer than the 70,000 fans that attended the big game the last time it was held in Tampa. 

To make up the difference, the NFL produced 30,000 cardboard cutouts of fans to fill most of the remaining seats. 

Unlike other sporting events where the cardboard cutouts are all bunch together in some areas of the stadium, the fake Super Bowl fans were spread out to keep the real fans socially distant.

The NFL charged each fan $100 to have their face placed on one of the cardboard cutouts. That's a cool $3 million in revenue to make up for some of the lost ticket and concession sales. 

APPLICATION

When I look at the faces on those cutouts all I can think of are the many who fill the pews every Sunday, pretending to be something they’re not.  They appear to be there but they’re really somewhere else.  They’re there to fulfill an obligation but not to worship.  They seem to have it all together but it’s all an illusion.  They want to be seen but not known.  They have all of the zeal and passion of a cardboard cutout.  They pretend to be alive but they're dead.  They’ve made it a practice to be religious but what they really need is to be born again.

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3, NLT). 

•Application by I.E. 

Faith In A Dying Savior

Faith Good Friday Easter

Contributed By: Illustration Exchange | Date Posted: 2020-04-28

Scripture: Luke 23:43

Author: Mitchell Dillon
9

ILLUSTRATION

I have always been drawn to the thief on the cross and to Jesus' compassionate response to him. The thief knew he didn't deserve paradise, yet Jesus promised it to him simply because he asked. It's a beautiful picture of the simplicity of grace.

APPLICATION

This scene also provides us with perhaps the greatest example of faith in the pages of Scripture. Think about it. The thief placed his complete confidence in Jesus at His worst moment, while Christ was defeated and dying. How does a person put their confidence in a Messiah who is hanging condemned and forsaken on the cross right next to them?

This puts our own call to faith in perspective. How do we respond when life makes no sense and God seems distant and everything seems out of control? The thief believed in a dying Jesus. Can you, at those times, believe in a rising one?

"Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise'" (Luke 23:42-43). 

Why Should God Have To Suffer?

Easter Lent Jesus' Suffering

Contributed By: Illustration Exchange | Date Posted: 2020-03-22

Scripture: Philippians 3:10

Author: Mitchell Dillon
8

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Contributed By: Howard Harden | Date Posted: 2019-10-06

Author: Howard Harden
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Resurrection Easter Hope

Contributed By: Illustration Exchange | Date Posted: 2019-04-18

Scripture: John 11:25 ; Philippians 3:11

Author: Illustration Exchange
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Easter Truth Apologetics

Contributed By: Illustration Exchange | Date Posted: 2018-04-21

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:4

Author: Illustration Exchange
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Easter Assurance Salvation

Contributed By: Illustration Exchange | Date Posted: 2018-03-31

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8

Author: Illustration Exchange
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Easter Salvation Weakness

Contributed By: Illustration Exchange | Date Posted: 2017-04-13

Scripture: James 4:10 ; John 3:16

Author: Illustration Exchange
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Eternal Life Easter Science

Contributed By: Illustration Exchange | Date Posted: 2016-03-09

Scripture: John 10:28 ; Matthew 21:4

Author: Illustration Exchange
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