IOWT: We preach Christ crucified

“At the heart of the story stands the cross of Christ where evil did its worst and met its match.”

~ John Wenham ~

This Friday, we will attend the "Tenebrae" service - the ancient Service of Darkness. Every window, door and crack of light coming into the sanctuary will be blackened and we will worship in the dim light of candles. The candles will be gradually extinguished until we are in utter darkness and silence. The final candle, the Christ candle, will be removed from the sanctuary to signify Christ's removal from this earth. Then the pastor will take a mallet and hammer an iron nail in to the cross that stands at the front of the chancel. It makes a horrible, rending noise. This is the end of the service and we leave in silence.

Dramatic, is it not? This service will remind us that Christ suffered and bore the pains of ridicule and torture and crucifixion - but more than that...He also bore the pain and agony of our sins. All of us. Each and every sin. Imagine the burden! The holy One of God who hates sin and by His very nature cannot abide being in the presence of it, takes on all sin. The physical pain surely must have been horrible, but the agony of one sinless man bearing the sins of the world must have been crushing. It was unfair and it was unjust and it shouldn't have happened. And if it had ended there, well, the world would be a much different place, wouldn't it?

Whoops! Forgot to credit...For another person's take on the quote this week please visit Iris @ Sting my Heart