I've had an Epiphany!

Luke 23:26 As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene , who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' 30 Then "'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"' 31 For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" Tragedy often brings tears to our eyes. Suffering does too. Animal shelters often show pictures of animals that have been abused when they make their request for donations. The pictures of pathetic puppies and kittens stir our emotions. From ...

1. Jesus told Nicodemus, “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ). How does the word “so” describe how much God loved the world? The “so” in this verse does not say that God loved the world so much, but it shows how God loved the world. “God loved the world in this way – He gave His one and only Son …” This hymn stanza and Bible verse also declare that God’s act of love is greater than we can ever dream of! It is a substitutionary love – the Son of God took on mortal form. Why? FOR US! “For the lost to save.” 2. What does stanza 1 say we must do to be saved? We must do nothing! Salvation is a gift. Many other denominations want to make the Christian have an active part in gaining faith. However, the Christian is passive when it comes to faith. We receive faith. God gives us the gift of salvation in His Son. The Holy Spirit grants us the faith to open that gift and make u...

Read Cardinal Timothy Dolan's strongly worded letter to the US Catholic bishops about Obama Care. Here A great satire on the congressional panel about women's health issues (i.e. religious freedoms).

John 2:13-22 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." 18 Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." 20 The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21 But the temple he had spoken of ...

John 18:36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." 37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." Pilate was an official of imperial Rome . Jesus stood before him as an accused traitor—a king, the Jews said, opposed to Caesar and the power of Rome . Pilate had a responsibility to question Jesus and assess whether or not he was a threat to the empire. If Jesus was a king leading a rebellion, the Romans would oppose him and his followers with the force of Roman legions. The empire was built on Roman military power, and Romans did not tolerate opposition to their power. But Pilate’s interview revealed that Jesus was not a threat. As a matter of fact,...

1. Explain the pain of being tortured to death on the cross. Usually the crucified was tied to the cross. In Jesus’ case, he was nailed to the cross. Plus, he wore a thorn of crowns and his back was torn apart from the scourging. These are things that other “criminals” would not have had to endure. The pain of the cross comes as the crucified slowing begins to asphyxiate because he cannot exhale all the CO2 from his lungs. All the weight is on the crucified’s arms, lungs and chest. He would have to push up from his legs in order to catch his breath. But this caused all new pains throughout his body. 2. If Christ’s death on a torturous cross was a horror beyond compare, why would we want to “lift high the cross”? We lift high the cross because this is where Christ went into battle against the unholy trinity of sin, death and the devil. It was on and with the tool of the cross that Christ conquered our greatest enemies. 3. How would you describe the melody of this hymn? Why is...