Embracing the Spirit of Mothering

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

It is ironic that the dominant culture of today embraces mothers and, yet, often diminishes mothering. One who accepts the role of mothering is one who nurtures, protects and sustains not only physical life, but also emotional and spiritual life.   

As with many female figures in the Old Testament, Eve represents the Church, the Bride of Christ.  She is also the first to walk in the spirit of motherhood.  We are familiar with the woman and the fruit, but pay little attention to what happened afterwards.

Genesis 3:9-12 (NKJV) “Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"
Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."

  Adam blamed God for giving him the woman.

Genesis 3: 13 (NKJV) “And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

The woman discerned the root of the problem—the deception of the serpent.

Even though the woman had been deceived¸ she came to understand the deception of the enemy and call it for what it is.  In the same way, for the Church to walk in the spirit of mothering, we must, male and female both, have the discernment to call out fallacy and deception.  If we condone the deception, we can no longer nurture and protect.

When we step up, God steps in.  Genesis 3:14-15 (NKJV) “So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."

When we step up and God steps in, others, including the Adams who blame their troubles on others, will often step up as well.

 Genesis 3:20-21 (NKJV):  “And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.”

In Hebrew, Adam called his wife Chavah which means “life-giver”.   In naming his wife, Adam accepted her destiny as the one who will not only give life to their immediate children, but who will also be the source of eternal life to her generations through the sacrifice her of seed, Jesus Christ.

The Church is called upon not only to evangelize, to call people into new life in Jesus, but also to nurture, protect and disciple that new life.  Establishing a mothering spirit in our churches and in our homes will do much to correct the ills in our society.  No matter how the family is structured, a mothering spirit can prevail.  One does not have to be a female in order to walk in a spirit of mothering. One need only submit to the chavah spirit of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:45 (NKJV): “And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” 

Jesus walked in the chavah spirit.

 

Gomer: The Lord's Relentless Love for the Church
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

    Gomer, the wife of the prophet Hosea, exemplifies the love of the Lord for His Bride, His Church.  Paul understood the richness of that love when he wrote: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)

    Several years ago, Johnny Lee described the world’s fruitless search for love in the song, “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places.” While the desire to be loved is universal, the search for it can lead us either into the depths of hell or into the secure love of our Lord.  God is love.  Therefore, it is in His nature, His DNA, to love us.  The story of Gomer in the book of Hosea is the story of God’s unconditional, relentless love for His bride, the Church.

    The first part of the book of Hosea contains three poems which illustrate how God’s people, time after time, prove to be unfaithful to Him.  God uses the story of Hosea the faithful husband and Gomer, his unfaithful wife to show the depth of the husband’s (God’s) love for the wife (the people of God.)

Hosea 1:2-9:  The beginning of Jehovah speaking by Hosea. And Jehovah said to Hosea, Go, take to yourself a wife of adultery and children of adultery. For the land has utterly gone lusting away from Jehovah. 

So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, who conceived and bore him a son. And Jehovah said to him, Call his name God Will Sow. For still in a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease. And it shall be, at that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. And she conceived again and bore a daughter. And God said to him, Call her name No-mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel. But I will utterly take them away. 

But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Jehovah their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen. And when she had weaned No-mercy she conceived and bore a son. And He said, Call his name Not-my-people. For you are not My people, and I will not be for you. 

    God commanded Hosea to marry Gomer, a wife of harlotry.  After giving birth to three children whose names describe both the judgment and the redemption of God’s people, Gomer walks away from her marriage and back into her harlotry.  In her unfaithfulness, Gomer moved away from the blessing and security of her marriage into the shame and disgrace of adultery.  What a painful picture of the Christian who has walked away from the blessing of an intimate relationship with God and back into the ways of the world.

    God then commanded Hosea to take Gomer back and restore her as his wife.  The story of Gomer is a story of God’s unconditional love, His tender mercy and grace even in the face of our ingratitude, selfishness and sin.   Our sin separates us from relationship with our Lord, but not even our sin can separate us from His love.  His loving desire is to bring us into a warm relationship with Him where we can rest in His favor.  

    If you have never known the love of God, it is time to move into that relationship.  Acknowledge that your sin has separated you from God.  Romans 3:23 (NKJV) “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.  Know that God has made a way for you to have a relationship with Him. Romans 6:23 (NKJV) assures us that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Accept that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the wages of sin for you. Romans 5:8 (NKJV) “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

    If you, like Gomer, have walked away from your relationship with Jesus Christ, God’s heart is to restore you to Himself.  1 John 1:8-9 (NKJV) “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

    No matter where we have walked in life, the desire of our Bridegroom is to restore us unto Himself.  Just as Gomer was restored to Hosea, each of us can be restored to Jesus Christ.  

“Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!”
--Will L. Thompson

 

 It All Began in the Beginning

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

When we seek for deeper truth in the Word of God, we must begin our search from the point of the foundation. That foundation is in the book of Genesis. Genesis is more than the beginning book. It is the book of the beginning. Genesis is both the literal description of the beginning and a prophetic road map directing us in our spiritual journey to understanding the Word Who spoke the universe into being, to understanding and accepting the Word Who became flesh and dwelt among us, to understanding and walking in the faith knowledge that He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning”: In Hebrew, the word translated “the beginning” is “B’reshiyth”, pronounced “Bee ray-sheeth.” It means “beginning, chiefest, principal thing, the head of.”

“In the beginning God”: in other words, God is both the beginning and the most important. He is the head of, the foundation. He is Alpha. It means that He has foresight and planned each step. It means that creation is not random. We can stand on that premise because He is unchanging. (Malachi 3:6a: “6. "For I am the Lord, I do not change.)

The Hebrew word used for God in Genesis 1 is Elohim which is a plural noun that requires a singular verb to show that Elohim is the majestic plural including His incarnate body and His spirit —Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The filter through which we all interrupt the world around us rests on the foundation on which we have chosen to stand. Whether we realize it or not, that foundation, for all of us, is our concept of God. The atheist interprets data based on the belief that God does not exist and everything is random. The agnostic interprets data through a filter of doubt and uncertainty. The deist has a vague concept of an impersonal God that many today refer to as the Universe. The gods of Islam, Hinduism and other religions are impersonal and offer no redemption.

According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Christian’s filter is the understanding that our chief purpose is to know God and to enjoy Him. If we are to enjoy Him, our foundational knowledge, our filter, must include the understanding that He is good.

The foundation that we must stand on in order to glean deeper truth from scripture is that God is B’reshiyth, that He is the same yesterday, today and forever more (Hebrews 13:8) and that He is good (Psalm 25:8: Good and upright is the Lord).

Two other scriptures that have become stones in my foundational concept of God are:

Jeremiah 29: 11: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

John 10: 10. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

This is the day the Lord has made. I choose to rejoice and be glad in it.

 The Minor Prophets, Messengers for Today:  Haggai

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

The Lord spoke to the prophet Haggai after the Jews had returned from their exile in Persia.  The people of God had been diligent in rebuilding their own homes and lives, but had neglected the Temple and the worship of the Lord.

Haggai 1:3-8 (NKJV)
“3  Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4  "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?"
5  Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways!
6  "You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes."
7  Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways!
8  Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified," says the LORD.”

As He declared in the time of Haggai, the Lord is speaking to the church today. We have not only built beautiful homes for ourselves, but we have also often constructed elaborate edifices designated as places for worship.  Yet, we have even more often neglected the building of God’s temple.

Consider Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church.  According to Easton’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Corinth “was noted for its wealth, and for the luxurious and immoral and vicious habits of the people.” Paul wrote the letter when he learned of the strife and sin practiced by members of the congregation. The purpose of the letter was to address the different factions within the church and to correct doctrinal errors.  The Corinthians had neglected personal sanctification and had, as a result, neglected to build the true temple of the Lord.1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV)
“19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.”

Paul addressed the corporate Body of Christ in Ephesus as the temple of the Spirit of God.   

Ephesians 2:19-22 (NKJV)
“19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,
21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

Individually and corporately,  we are to be the sanctified temple of God, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.  Individually and corporately, we are to consider our ways.  If our emphasis is on material wealth, we are impoverished and malnourished. If we are not good stewards of our wealth, we are putting our funds into bags with holes.

In Acts 7:48-50, the first martyr, Stephan, quoted Isaiah 66:1-2,:
48 However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: 49 'Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest?
50 Has My hand not made all these things?'” (NKJV) 

It is time for us to lay aside the philosophies and practices of the world, to take up the cross of Jesus Christ and to build, both individually and corporately, the true temple of the Lord.

 Christian Passover Haggadah  

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe  

Leader : We are entering into the Spring feast days, the Spring appointed times of the Lord.  

The feast days are Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits.  

Leviticus 23:5-11 establishes the Spring Feasts.  `These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.  `On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover.  `And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. `On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.  `But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.' '' And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: `When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.  `He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.”  

  

The Passover Dinner is in reality the first meal of the 7 Day Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Jesus died during the time when the sacrificial lambs were killed.  That was before sunset.  At sunset, Passover ended and the Feast of Unleavened Bread began.  The Feast of First Fruits came 3 days into the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Jesus died on Passover and rose on the Feast of First Fruits.   

1 Corinthians 15:20:  "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."  Jesus is both the Passover Lamb and the first fruit of resurrection to eternal life.  

Let us begin our Passover by washing our hands.  This act pictures spiritual cleansing and preparation.  Let this act remind us of Jesus’ washing the feet of the disciples reminding us that it is the sacrifice of the Cross that brings spiritual cleansing into our lives and prepares us for service for our king. 

Explanation of Passover Display Elements:  

Passover Plate contains several items that illustrate the trials of Israel and their exodus out of slavery.   

  •Karpas:  the bitter vegetable:  represents the bitterness of Israel in Egyptian slavery.  Later we will dip it  into salt water to signify the tears of bitterness. For Christians it is a reminder of the bitterness and agony of a sinful life and an eternity separated from the presence of God.  

 •Haroset:  A mixture of fruits, honey and nuts symbolizing the mortar that the Israelite slaves used to in building structures for Pharaoh. The name itself comes from the Hebrew word cheres or clay. As Christians the Haroset reminds us of the sweetness and stability of our covenant with God.  

•Zeroa:  In the Jewish Passover, a shank bone representing the sacrificial Passover lamb is placed on the tray.  As Christians, we place an edible cross on the plate to symbolize the sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  

  

•Beitzah: the hard-boiled egg represents the cycle of life. In Christ, we are continually moving toward a new beginning, toward the hope we have in Him.  

  

•Four cups represent the four promises the Lord made to Israel in Exodus 6:6-7:."Therefore say to the children of Israel: `I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, (sanctification) I will rescue you from their bondage,(deliverance) and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.(redemption) `I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.(the joy of full salvation).  

The four cups prophesy the ministry of Jesus.  

Jesus sanctifies us – “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (John 17:19).  

Jesus delivers us – “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).  

Jesus redeems us – “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).  

Jesus is our joy – “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).  

 

  

• The Afikomen: (leader takes a piece of matzah, breaks it into three pieces, places one piece in a napkin and hides it under the tablecloth or some other convenient place to be brought out later.  The other two pieces are broken and placed on the dining table to be eaten during the meal.) The three stacked pieces of matzah represent the Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The middle piece, the Afikomen, is placed in a napkin and hidden.  While the Jews follow the ancient ritual of the Afikomen, most do not understand the prophetic significance.  The middle piece of matzah, wrapped and hidden, is a picture of the body of the Son of God, wrapped in grave clothes and hidden in a sealed cave.  

 

•Two candles:  to be lighted now by one of the women. 

Lighting candles is a way to welcome Shabbat and make it a day of pleasure, as commanded by the Torah.   

The act of lighting candles is also a symbol of the union and harmony between heaven and earth, and a way to express inner feelings.   

Traditionally, women have been seen as the keepers of the household and are responsible for ensuring its spiritual and physical well-being.   

Leader: (Blessing of the sabbath candles):   

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the light of the holy Sabbath.  

Oh Lord, our God, we praise You for bringing us once again to this season where we remember  our deliverance from worldly sin and into the promises contained in our covenant with You based on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, our Messiah.  

We thank you for the lesson we see in the deliverance of your people from the slavery of Egypt.  Amen  

The candles are lighted. 

Let us now bless the first cup, the cup of sanctification:  

In His High Priestly prayer recorded in John 17, our Lord prayed for us, “17:18-20.  "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.”  

Lord, we praise You that through the sacrifice of Jesus, our Passover lamb, we can be sanctified and set apart for your service. Amen (drink the first cup.)  

The blessing of the Karpas—the bitter herb: Pass the bitter herb around the table each person is to receive a portion; dip yours in the salt water.  “Father, we thank you that the sacrifice of Jesus has delivered us from tears of the bitterness of sin and unforgiveness.  Create in each of us a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within us.” (Eat the karpas.)  

Please take a piece of matzah and top it with some of the charoset. This pictures the bitterness of the slavery in Egypt and the sweetness of freedom.  It is a picture of the bitterness and anguish when we are enslaved in sin and the sweetness and joy in our lives when we accept salvation in Jesus Christ. 

Exodus 12:1-20: “Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, "This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: `On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. `And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. `Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. `Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.  `And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. `Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. `Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire its head with its legs and its entrails. `You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. `And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover.  `For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. `Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.  

 

The price for sin has been paid.  Because of Jesus' shed blood, we are "passed over" from the eternal consequence of sin . On the cross, Jesus declared, “It is finished” meaning that the debt has been paid in full.  Please take the cross at your plate, dip it in the horseradish take a bite of it as a reminder of the agony our Savior suffered at Calvary.   

  

The sun has set. Passover has been completed. It is time for the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  

  

`So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. `Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. `On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat that only may be prepared by you. `So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.  `In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. `For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. `You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.' ''  

Take the second cup, the cup of deliverance. As we take this cup we thank God for our deliverance.  “Father, we are thankful that You do not lead us into temptation and that You willingly deliver us from evil.  You are our deliverance.  Just as You delivered Israel from the slavery of Egypt, in the atonement of Your Son, You deliver us from slavery to sin.  In You, sin no longer has mastery over us.  Amen. (Drink the second cup.)  

Please take a piece of the matzah.  The matzah is unleavened bread.  In scripture, leavening pictures sin.  Leavening spreads throughout the dough and changes it chemically. In the same way, sin can permeate our body, mind and spirit changing us from the people God created us to be.  Passover is a time to purge the leavening from our lives just as spring cleaning purges the leavening from our homes.  On the day after He entered the city, Jesus went to His house, the temple.  He cleansed Temple of the leavening of sin by chasing out the moneychangers and declaring His Father’s house as a House of Prayer and not a den of thieves.  

  

In like manner, Passover is a time to cleanse our temples (our bodies) of sin through confession and repentance and to offer ourselves once again as a living sacrifice to our Lord.  

Deliverance brings purity into our lives.  

Traditionally, Jews thank God for the meal after they have eaten.  We will follow this tradition this evening.  

Please remember that every time we eat together, we are coming into covenant with one another.  This is a family meal.   

  

Psalm 133  

1.  Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!  

 2.  It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments.  

 3.  It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing Life forevermore.  

  

Please enjoy your Passover meal as you fellowship with others.  

  

(After the meal.)  

  

Let us bless the third cup, the cup of redemption.  

  

Heavenly Father, we praise You for Your provision of food and fellowship as we have gathered together around the table and as we look forward to the heavenly Marriage Supper of the Lamb. As we prepare to drink the third cup, the cup of redemption, we welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives as the seal of our redemption in Jesus Christ. . We declare that our deliverance has come through the Jesus, our sacrificial lamb. We drink this cup in anticipation of our soon and coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.  Hallelujah! Amen. Drink the third cup.  

  

What was accomplished during that Holy Week over 2,000 years ago?  

1. The death and resurrection of Jesus paid the price for our sin and allowed God to declare us pure, innocent, righteous, acceptable and forgiven.  

2. The death and resurrection of Jesus gave us access to God.  

3. The death and resurrection of Jesus set us free from the rule of evil powers.  

4. The death and resurrection of Jesus gave us victory.  

  

He is our salvation—Passover.  

He is our Righteousness—Unleavened Bread.  

He is our Resurrection—First Fruits.  

  

The Feasts of the Lord are all about Jesus.  

He is not here; He is risen.  Hallelujah!  

  

The Hallel—Psalms 113-118 are recited during Passover.  After the leader reads a selection, the people shout “Hallelujah!!!   

  

Our Hallel is based on portions from the Hallel psalms.  Please stand for the reading and response of the Hallel.  

  

  

The Hallel:  

 Leader:  Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord!  

                Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time forth and forevermore!  

Congregation:  Hallelujah!  

 Leader:  From the rising of the sun to its going down The Lord's name is to be praised.  

                The Lord is high above all nations, And His glory above the heavens.  

Congregation:  Hallelujah!  

Leader:  He will bless those who fear the Lord, Both small and great.  

               May the Lord give you increase more and more, You and your children.  

               May you be blessed by the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.  

Congregation:  Hallelujah!  

Leader:  O Lord, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds.  

I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.  

Congregation:  Hallelujah!  

Leader:  Oh, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!  

For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!  

Congregation:  Hallelujah!  

Leader:  You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.   Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.  

Congregation:  Hallelujah!  

  

Please be seated as we receive the Lord’s Supper and drink the fourth cup, the cup of the new covenant.  

It is time for the afikomen to be revealed. (Leader takes the afikomen and unwraps it.) The afikomen was eaten at the end of the meal.  It was this bread that Jesus served.   

  

Matthew 26:26 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body.''  

  

Look carefully at the matzah.  You can see the stripes, the blotches that look like bruises, and the piercing.  The matzah pictures His suffering for our sin.  

  

Isaiah 53:5-6:  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.  

  
Father, we thank You for the broken body of Jesus Christ.  We will partake often in remembrance of Calvary. Eat the matzah  

  
Matthew 26:27-28:  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”  
Thank You, Lord for the blood of Jesus that washes white as snow.  

  
And now drink the fourth cup, the cup of joy in the Lord.  
  

Matthew 26: 29-30 Jesus said, "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.'' And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  

  

Please join hands as we sing “Blest Be the Tie That Binds.”  

  

Blest be the tie that binds  
Our hearts in Christian love;  
The fellowship of kindred minds  
Is like to that above.  

  

Benediction:  Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.  (Jude 24-25).