The Rhythms Life in John 19:38-42

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the days before this worship service was a reminder that we live in a sinful world that goes through seasons. There is a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time for war, and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Our hope as Christians is that our God is at work even during the hard seasons when we can’t see how he could possibly be working this out for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28). We trust that all these seasons will end in one eternal season, living in a new city, a new Jerusalem, where there will be no more war, no more death, and no more lament.

Our sermon passage on the burial of Jesus makes this point as well. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were new believers whose first public act of faith was to bury their Messiah. I am sure that did not make sense to them. But they were faithful to do what needed to be done while trusting in God and His plan. The lessons we can draw from the faith of these two men may encourage us to continue moving forward in hope, even when things do not make sense.

We also sang hymns that reflect the hope of the Gospel amidst seasons of trial and lament. We sang “Yet Not I But Christ In Me” and Wendell Kimbrough’s arrangement “I’ll Not Be Shaken” among a few others. The Bulletin is posted here.