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RESOURCES

Waiting for Death

6/4/2020

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There were 6 desperately ill men in the cardiac ward, waiting for a death, and hoping it would not be their own.  “What does it feel like knowing that for you to live, someone has to die?” I asked David.  He lay back against the pillows, his face as white as the linen.  “I am already praying for that person”, he whispered breathlessly.  “And I’ll pray for him every day for the rest of my life”
 
I glanced around the ward of mostly middle-aged men who were hoping for a suitable donor heart to be found before their own tired hearts completely failed.  (Around Christmas is a good time, they tell me, with lots of young hoons involved in terrible road smashes.  Healthy hearts from brain-dead donors are what would save these patients.)  All were on Dialysis (as was my father,) while they waited for a saviour kidney.
 
How would you feel having the heart of a donor beating in your chest?  What about a donor’s kidney filtering your blood?  Would your life take on a new level of significance? a sense of responsibility? an appreciation of the high price of your health?  Perhaps, an indebtedness to the one who had died, so that your life could be renewed?   I would thank God daily for His provision of a new organ when mine was unable to support life!  Even so, however advanced surgical skills become, organ transplants can still only extend the life of the human body for a limited period of time.
 
The Bible speaks of another death which brings unlimited life to the recipient’s heart and soul; -  the death of  our Lord Jesus.  While amazing medical advances make heart transplants possible, this procedure only prolongs our life until organ rejection, or age wears us out.  The reprieve from a heart or kidney transplant is temporary.  But the death of Jesus is effective not only for this life, but for all eternity!
 
Because Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins., He died in our place the death we deserve. His death gives us the opportunity to be reunited with God.
 
How should we respond to this amazing gift of life?  Firstly, we can only receive it by faith and repentance.  Just as the heart or kidney patient will not benefit from the death of the organ donor unless willing to receive that organ, so we will not benefit from the death of Jesus unless we accept His gift of love and forgiveness.
Having received our new life, how then should we live?  With gratitude, humility, and obedience to the One who made it possible for us to live a full life,
 .
The result – suddenly there’s a new meaning and deeper purpose in life.  This is the real renewal;  the change from ‘waiting for death’.  to ‘preparing for our new life.’  What’s more, it takes us through to Eternity.
There’s no better time to receive this gift than at Easter time.
 
By His death and resurrection our sins are forgiven  (Ephesians 1:7)

Rose Francis
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C of CRUCIFIXION Three crosses, one convict contemptuous, the other contrite. Christ conveys compassion.

6/4/2020

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Chilly, concerned, Christ calls
“Come, companions.  Consider, counsel,
comfort, cleave, console, cheer.
Co- operate.  Crisis creeps closer!”
Crafty chum, calculating; concealing contempt
Coolly cuddles Christ. 
Corrupt coward’s conspiracy complete.
 
Captured Christ calm, courageous;
Countenance composed.
Chosen course – Creation’s cure.  Christ consents.
Critics, culprits cursing, chastening. 
Certain conviction; culmination – crucifixion!
 
Chosen close comrade cowering, capricious.
Cephas creeping closer; concerned, cautious.
Citizens clamouring, cry “Crucify!” 
Consequently challenged,
Christ’s companion capitulates. 
Contact confirms claims, charges.
Christ’s covert colleague crumples.
(Concerned Christ concurs Cephas’ conduct culpable.)
Cock crows - cowardly chosen companion cracks.
 
Clamouring crowd congregates.  Confusion! Contention!
Cheats conspire, Caiaphas conforms, Christ’s cheek clouted. 
Cruel crown crushes Christ’s comeliness. 
Chanting crowd cries “Crucify!”
Council challenges, censures Christ;  chastise cruelly.
Chief-priest compliant, conforms, colludes.
Caiaphas commits, charges, condemns courageous Christ. 
Congregating crowd churlish, celebrates.
Clemency choked; calamity certain.
 
Christ creeping, clutching cross;
 crumples,
                     crawls,
                                  collapses.
Cyrenian chosen, coerced, compelled; carries Christ’s cross.
Chaos! Commotion! Calvary comes closer!
 
Crude crosses cast; clanking cruelly.  Cynical, curious crowd converges.
Critical crucified criminal companion challenges Christ.
“Consider consequences!”
Contemptuously curses calm, considerate Christ.
Contrary conduct; convicted criminal companion contrite; changed.
 Confesses consternation, calls Christ – character converted!
 
Christ’s cross central.  Contorted, Christ’s comeliness cut. 
Contemplating, calling, caring,
comforting crying companions.
Custodial centurian, confounded, clasping  cast-lot cloak. 
Convinced, converted, confesses
“Condemned character’s certainly Christ – Creator’s Child!”
 
Clouds cover Calvary.  Christ’s crucifixion cancels corruption!
Carnal censure ceases.  Condemnation conquered.  Cyanosis culminates-
Controlled climax.  Closure.  Curtain cut.
 
Corpse collected.  Cell contains, conceals cadaver, conspicuously confined.
Corpse cold, constricted. Cave closed.  Christ’s carnality ceases.
Copious crying; consternation.
 
 
Cherished corpse changed!  Celestial conquest complete!
Choir chants “Celebration!   Christ’s Cross conquered Calvary!”
 
Christ comes, calls, challenges, cherishes.
Converts contrite;  controls cheats; calms confused, comforts concerned.
Cleans contaminated, confounds critics, convinces cynics, convicts consciences,
Christ calls “Come close!  Cleave, commune, celebrate.  Calvary’s conquered!

Rose Francis
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A Word on the Words

6/4/2020

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Oh the clanging irony.  The hammer and nails of Jesus’ carpentry apprenticeship under Joseph are grimly reflected in the cruel implements of torture at His crucifixion.  Those crossed timbers represented a curse on anyone hung on the tree.
We read that Jesus looked toward heaven and prayed “Father, the time has come…”
Jesus’ life was not taken from Him, it was freely GIVEN by Him.  There was an inevitability about the public trial, torture and terrible death of Jesus.  As He later said to the two men on the road to Emmaus “Did not the Christ HAVE to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” (Luke 24:26)
 
The cross was not only a time of physical anguish, but also mental suffering. The whole of Heaven grieved at the evil attacking God’s Son on Calvary.  There was a sign hung over Our Lord’s head on the cross, with the message “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews”  (Matt 27:37)  These words were written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.  Aramaic was the language of  religion, Latin the language of the law, and Greek was the language of culture.  The Romans, who prided themselves on their jurisprudence, here in the trial and sentence of Jesus showed the utter failure of law.  The Jewish religion was the greatest on earth, but now it was involved in murdering the Son of God whom its sacred book honoured.  Greek was the language of culture and here, the highest level of civilisation the world had ever known, rejected Jesus.
How sad Jesus must have been to see that the best  that people could aspire to in law, faith and culture had revolted so violently against their Creator God and His only Son. How desperately we all need God!
 
On that cross, Jesus prayed “Father forgive them’.  From His gracious word,  pardon and forgiveness is freely given to all who believe and turn to Him.  When He died, Jesus declared – not in defeat, but in triumph – “It is finished!”  Our debt to God is repaid,  restitution in full has been credited to our account by Jesus’ sacrificial giving.
 
The good news is that Jesus has defeated both Satan and death.  When he rose triumphant from the dead on the third day, he promised “Because I live, you shall live also”  (John 14:19).  All who believe in Him will experience God’s forgiveness and eternal life.
 
That cruel cross  represented the worst evil the world could perform.  It also demonstrated the best thing Heaven has ever done.  A terrible crime was cancelled by the greatest love ever known.  For us, the beneficiaries of Jesus death, that is indeed the good news of Good Friday.

Rose Francis
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Easter Story Cookies

4/4/2020

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Easter Story Cookies Recipe - Allrecipes.com

These cookies are great to do with the kids. They are to be prepared the night before Easter. The spiritual preparation goes along with the physical preparation of the cookies.
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Paper Chain Activity from Easter Sunday

4/4/2020

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One idea to encourage the congregation (particularly families), is that each household makes a paper chain with a loop each day from Easter Sunday until we can meet together again as a congregation. When we finally do meet, we can link the chains all together.   Each loop could have something to be thankful for in the day.   

​What do you all think of this idea?
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Easter Resources for Families

4/4/2020

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Strandz has some great resources for celebrating Easter within our bubbles. Take a look at their activity ideas, which include:
  • Sunday 5th April - Palm Sunday - Jesus Enters Jerusalem
  • Monday 6th April - Jesus and the Temple
  • Tuesday 7th April - Mary and her Perfume
  • Wednesday 8th April - The Last Supper
  • Thursday 9th April - Maundy Thursday - The Garden of Gethsemane
  • Friday 10th April - Good Friday - The Saddest day
  • Saturday 11th April - Easter Saturday - A Sad, Dark Day
  • Sunday 12th April - Easter Sunday - Jesus is Alive!

https://www.strandz.org.nz/easterbubbles.html
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Easter Stories by Rose Francis

2/4/2020

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Our very own Rose Francis has a delightful collection of Easter stories 
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easter_reflections_by_rose_francis.pdf
File Size: 1326 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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A Walk Through Easter

1/4/2020

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Nativity Church
P: 03 578 3909     E: info@nativity.org.nz     A: 76 Alfred St, Blenheim 7201
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