The Day Of Resurrection

 

"But the angel said to the women,  "Do not be alarmed and frightened
for I know you are looking for Jesus Who was crucified.  He is not here.
He has risen, as He said He would do. Come see the place where He lay."
(Matthew 28:5-6)

 Empty Tomb

Gary Smith

American artist
Image courtesy/Pixels

The day of resurrection!   Earth, tell it out abroad;

The Passover of gladness,  The Passover of God.

From death to life eternal,  From this world to the sky,

Our Christ hath brought us over,  With hymns of victory.

Our hearts be pure from evil,  That we may see aright

The Lord in rays eternal,   Of resurrection light;

And, listening to His accents,  May hear, so calm and plain,

His own "All hail!" and, hearing, May raise the victor strain.

Now let the heavens be joyful,  Let earth her song begin;

Let the round world keep triumph,  And all that is there-in;

Invisible and visible,   Their notes let all things blend,

For Christ the Lord hath risen,  Our joy that hath no end.

Amen.

"The Day Of Resurrection"
John Damascene
"John of Damascus"
(675-676?-749)
Christian apologist monk,
priest and hymn writer

Translated by Reverend John Mason Neale
(1818-1866)
English Anglican clergyman, scholar, hymnwriter.
Known for his work in translating archaic Medieval hymns
Best known for his Christmas carol, "Good King Wenceslas"(1853)

Zola Levitt Presents/The Stones Cry Out/ Rulers In Stone

 

In the third episode of this classic series, Zola Levitt reports on
the many first century finds unearthed in Caesarea, an ancient
city on Israel's Mediterranean coast.  The first extra-Biblical
reference to Pontius Pilate was found there as well as a
full-size Roman temple.  Meanwhile, at Tel Dan
in northern Israel, archeological discoveries have 
confirmed the existence of the House of David.

The Stones Cry Out/Rulers In Stone/Part 3

Zola Levitt Presents/Our Jewish Roots

(First aired in 1997)

The Psalm Of The Cross

 

"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised
for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement, needed to obtain
peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes
that wounded Him we are healed and made whole."
(Isaiah 53:5)

"Father, Forgive Them"

(1991)

Portraits of Christ

Jose Fuentes de Salamanca

Image courtesy/eBay

PSALM 22
Set to the tune of Aijeleth Hasshahar
"The hind of the morning dawn"
A Psalm of David

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from helping me,
and from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry in the daytime; but You answer not;
 and by night I am not silent or find no rest.

But You are holy, O You Who dwell in the holy place
where the praises of Israel are offered.

Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted and You delivered them.

They cried to You and were delivered; they trusted in, leaned on,
and confidently relied on You, and were not ashamed
or confounded or disappointed.

But I am a worm, and no man; I am the scorn of men,
and despised by the people.

All who see me laugh at me and mock me; they shoot out
the lip, they shake their head saying,

He trusted and rolled himself on the Lord, that He would
deliver him.  Let Him deliver him, seeing that He delights in him!

Yet You are He Who took me out of the womb; You made me hope
and trust when I was on my mother's breasts

I was cast upon You from my very birth; from my mother's womb
You have been my God.

Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is none to help.

Many foes like bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls
of Basham have hedged me in.

Against me they opened their mouths wide, like a
ravening and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax; it is softened with anguish
and melted down within me.

My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery;
with thirst my tongue cleaves to my jaws and You
have brought me into the dust of death.

For like a pack of dogs they have encompassed me;
a company of evildoers has encircled me,
they pierced my hands and my feet.

I can count all my bones; the evildoers gaze at me.

They part my clothing among them and cast lots for my raiment.

But be not far from me, O Lord; O my Help, hasten to aid me!

Deliver my life from the sword, my dear life, my only one,
from the power of the dog, the agent of execution,

Save me from the lion's mouth; for You have answered me
from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will declare Your name to my brethren; in the midst
of the congregation will I praise You.

You who fear, revere and worship the Lord, praise Him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him.  Fear, revere
and worship Him, all you offspring of Israel.

For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
neither has He hidden his face from him, but when he cried
to Him, He heard.

My praise shall be of You in the great congregation.  I will pay
to Him my vows, made in the time of trouble, before them
who fear, revere, and worship Him.

The poor and afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; they shall
praise the Lord-they who diligently seek for, inquire of, and
for Him, and require Him as their greatest need.  May your
hearts be quickened now and forever!

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations shall bow down and worship before You.

For the kingship and the kingdom are the Lord's, and He is
the ruler over the nations.

All the mighty ones upon earth shall eat in thanksgiving and worship;
all they that go down to the dust shall bow before Him, even he
who cannot keep himself alive.

Posterity shall serve Him; they shall tell of the Lord to the next generation.

They shall come and shall declare His righteousness to a people yet to be born-
that He has done it, that it is finished!

"This is beyond all others "The Psalm Of The Cross".  It may have been actually
repeated by our Lord when hanging on the tree; it would be too bold to say so,
but even a casual reader may see that it might have been. It begins with,
"My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" and ends with
the thought, "It is finished." For plaintive expressions uprising
from unutterable depths of woe, we may say of this psalm,
 "There is none like it."-Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Related Scripture references:

Isaiah 53:7
Ezekiel 39:18

Matthew 27:46
Matthew 27:39-44
Matthew 27:43

Mark 15:29

Luke 23:35
Luke 23:27, 35

John 19:28
John 19:37
John 19: 23, 24
John 20:17;
John 19:30

Romans 8: 29

Hebrews 2:12

Full Paschal/Pink Moon Tonight

 

April's full Moon is the first of the spring season which began with the
passage of the spring equinox on March 20th.  Called the Paschal Full Moon,
it is an important Moon for those who celebrate Easter since the date
of the holiday depends on the date of the full moon.

Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after this full moon which will
be on April 9th this year.   April's moon is called the Pink Moon due to
 the profusion of beautiful pink flowers like wild phlox, tulips in various
  shades of pink, wild pink dogwood trees, Japanese Cherry blossoms,
 and delicate pink tulip trees which burst into bloom at this time of the year.

Due to some thunderstorms moving through our area tonight I do not
think I will get to see the moonrise.  But I hope the skies are clear
where you're at my fellow night sky watchers!

 Full Pink Moon 2023
Image courtesy/Quora

Joshua and Caleb Explain The Curse of the Nachash

 "And the Lord said unto the serpent, Because thou has done this,
thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field;
upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shall thou eat all the days of thy life.
  And I will put enmity between thy seed and her Seed; it shall bruise
thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel."
(Genesis 3:14-15 )

Image courtesy/Pinterest

In this fifth episode the Bearded Bible brothers
explain the curse of the the Serpent. (Nachash).

Joshua and Caleb Explain the Curse of the Nachash

Our Jewish Roots

(April 5, 2023)

 

Christ In The Passover

 

Israel's redemption from slavery through the blood of the Passover lamb is
not only one of the central narratives of the Hebrew Scriptures, it is also
a power picture of the Messiah who was to come. 

Image courtesy/Pinterest

 "Christ In The Passover" a presentation from Jews For Jesus
Executive Director David Brickner explains the symbols and
   significance of this Jewish celebration and its connection
to the life and mission of the Lamb of God Jesus Christ. 

Christ In The Passover

Jews For Jesus

(2022)

Zola Levitt Presents: The Stones Cry Out /A Tale Of Two Temples

 

In the second episode of this classic series, Zola Levitt takes us
on a tour of the ruins of Robinson's Arch in Jerusalem, and then
north to Mount Gerizim to the excavation of a Samaritan temple
patterned after the temple in Jerusalem.

The Stones Cry Out/A Tale Of Two Temples

Zola Levitt Presents/Our Jewish Roots

(Originally aired in 1997)