Holy Week (Isaiah 53, verse 4)

Ah, Holy Jesus

Ah, holy Jesus, how hast Thou offended,
That man to judge Thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by Thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.

Who was the guilty - Who brought this upon Thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone Thee.
'Twas I, Lord, Jesus, I it was denied Thee!
I crucified Thee.

For me, kind Jesus, was Thine incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and Thy life's oblation;
Thy death of anguish and Thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.

Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
For our atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.

Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay Thee,
I do adore Thee, and will ever pray Thee,
Think on Thy pity and Thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.

• Lyricist: Johann Heermann 1585-1647 (Translator, Robert Bridges)

• Composer: Johann Cruger

• Tune Name: HERZLIEBSTER JESU Music Date: 1899

Skimming Across the Top?

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said,
“Superficial views of the work of Christ produce superficial Christian lives.”

"Does this explain our shallow faith, our half-hearted commitment, our unholy lives? ...(now)..is time to think deeply about the cross of Christ. When we fail to make the cross the profound center of our faith, then our lives will be characterized by:
A superficial view of sin.
It was sin that put Jesus on the cross. Pilate’s sin. The Pharisees’ sin. Judas’ sin. Peter’s sin. Your sin. My sin. Nothing reveals the dark side of the human heart as clearly as when we see it in the light of Calvary.
A superficial view of grace.
There will be nothing amazing about the grace of God if we do not grasp the full meaning of the cross. The love of God, when seen through the light of the cross, becomes far more than a nice attribute of deity. His grace becomes incomprehensible, indescribable, unfathomable… amazing!
A superficial view of salvation.
Many today live as if the only thing Jesus died to do was to make it possible for them to go to heaven when they die. O Christian, think deeply! Jesus died to destroy the works of the devil, to satisfy the demands of divine justice, to forgive the darkest sin and to enable us to be Christ-like in our hearts and in our lives!"  

• Pastor Stan Key,
March 24, 2002