Two Kingdoms with One King in John 18:28-19:16

calendar_today January 31, 2022

In this sermon, we considered the trial of Jesus in front of the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, from John 18:28-19:16, and what it tells us about God’s design for the relations between the church and state. We see the church depicted by the High Priest and the state depicted by the Roman Emperor and his Governor, Pilate. We see that in God’s design for these two kingdoms, they need not conflict; but, they do because of men’s sin. At the Lord’s Table, we considered the unexpected grace received by the criminal Barabbas, and how it is a picture of the grace that Christians receive from the penal substitutionary atonement of Jesus for our sins.

During the service we also sang some powerful hymns such as the following:

  • Adoration: Psalm 99 (about God’s reign over the world) set to the tune Ellacombe.

  • Affirmation: Whate’er My God Ordains Is Right: A powerfully moving hymn about God’s providence over our trials. The hymn was written in German in 1708 by Samuel Rodigast. Then it was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth, a woman of great intellect who translated many of our great hymns from German into English while championing the education of women during the 19th Century. This version is set to a 21st Century tune by Matt Merker who was recently the music leader at Capitol Hill Baptist.

  • Communion: O Sacred Head Now Wounded: A powerful hymn about the suffering of our savior in front of Pilate.

  • Response: How Great the Father’s Love for Us: Stuart Townend’s powerful hymn from 1995 about what the suffering of Jesus tells us about the love of the Father for us.

  • Thanksgiving: Gloria Patri.

A video of the service is below, and the bulletin is posted here.

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