Second Baptist Church {Evangelical Orthodoxy) 925 South Shamrock Avenue, Monrovia, California Bishop Dr. Wm. LaRue Dillard, Parish-shepherd/Soul-watcher Office (626)358-2136 Fax (626) 303-2477 Email: sbcmon925@gmail.com www.secondbaptistmonrovia.org _____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________
March 30, 2018 The Bible says, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” That is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46NJV). The Lord Jesus is quoting from Psalm 22:1 in its Aramaic form, except that “Eloi” (Mark 15:34) has been reconverted to the Hebrew Eli. {Love Epistle} It is high noon, and Jesus has been on the cross for three pain-filled hours. Suddenly, darkness falls on Calvary and “over all the land” by a miraculous act of Almighty God, El-Shaddai, mid-day becomes midnight (Verse 45). This supernatural darkness signals a deeper and more fearsome darkness. The great High Priest enters Golgotha’s Holy of Holies without friends or enemies. The Son of God is alone on the cross for three final hours, enduring what defies our imagination. Experiencing the full brunt of His Father’s wrath, Jesus cannot stay silent. He cries out: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Here, I believe, Jesus descends into the essence of hell, (heart of the earth) the most extreme suffering ever experienced. It is a time so compacted, so infinite, so horrendous as to be incomprehensible and, seemingly, unsustainable. Jesus’ cry does not in any way diminish His deity, He is the “God Man!” Jesus does not cease being God before, during, or after this as some has said. Jesus’ cry does not divide His human nature from His divine person or destroy the “Godhead.” Nor does it detach Him from the Holy Spirit., which is impossible. The Son lacks the comfort of the Spirit, but He does not lose the holiness of the Spirit. And finally, it does not cause Him to disavow His mission. Both the Father and the Son knew from all eternity that Jesus would become the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world (Acts 15:18). Oh, holy men and women, how stupendous is the love of God! Indeed, our hearts overflows with love that we respond joyously, “We love Him, because He first loved us” (I John 4:19). Amen Until He Comes, I Am, Serving Christ Joyfully, Bishop Dr. Wm. LaRue Dillard Parish Under-shepherd
THEME: “THE DRAMA OF SIX HOURS ON CALVARY’S HILL!” GOOD FRIDAY “HIGH NOON” WORSHIP ASSEMBLY March 30, 2018 —12: 00 Noon to 3:00 pm