No doubt, Jesus blows the minds of the disciples with all that he is telling them. However, he is kind to them in that he explains WHY he has told them and why he is leaving. 

Jesus reminds the disciples of two things that await them: hatred and help. It will not be an easy life to be His disciple, but the Spirit of God will help us remain faithful.

Before Jesus serves the Passover meal, he washes their feet and then asks, "Do you understand what I have done to you?" Unfortunately, most of us would say "No." We need to understand what a God of humility means for us as we begin Lent.

Isaiah paints a beautiful early picture (Ch 11) of the one who would come to rule in unity and righteousness, but that gives way to the means of how that is accomplished: the king must be brought low. The Deliverer must suffer. 

Set against the failures of Israel once more, Ezekiel brings God's vision of a coming Shepherd who will feed, rescue and tend them with justice in all things.

Judges shows us a Lord of the Flies experience in which the people of God have no king. In the absence of such, they wonder. They do what they want and it is failure and anarchy. This is not a pro-monarchy sort of text, but a pro-kingship model that leads people to live under the rule of God.

Our skepticism leads us to roll our eyes at the thought of looking back into old scriptures and finding whatever we "types and shadows" of Jesus that we want. There are four additional ways to see Christ in the Old Testament beyond types and shadows; Jesus is also seen in Old Testament promises, prophecies, places, and in things. Yet, if the New Testament writers speak to Jesus' fingerprints all over God's story in Creation, should we be doubters? God's story intersects with ours as we see His work through Christ over the ages, and unto us today.

Every good story must have a solid beginning, something that hooks you, and gives you a taste of what is to come. The story of God's plan to redeem the world through Christ begins at the beginning: Genesis. We are introduced to the chaos, to the seed, and to the kingship and rule that is to come.

Given the sin of our lives, it is sometimes hard to "approach the throne of God with confidence," but that is what our baptism ensures – a welcome – a desire – for God to receive us and to forgive us even as we move out into the world to be His people.

On this day when we ordain and install the new officers at FPCO, it is important to look at the manner of Jesus' leadership, a prayerful, servant model.