The Citizen, 2007-04-05, Page 11By Pastor Ernest Dow, LivingWater Christian Fellowship
(EMC), Blyth
I’m a problem-solver by nature. A
few people are goal-setters, others
are problem-solvers; I’m one of the
latter.
Give me a computer on the other
side of the planet to fix ‘blindfolded’
over the phone and I’m happy. Just
this weekend, for example, the 10-
year-old computer used by my
daughter in Australia for her college
work had slowed to a crawl. I had the
bright idea to coach her in re-
installing the operating system,
which would hopefully wipe it
‘clean’ of problems and give it a
fresh start.
After uninstalling some programs
we suspected of dragging her
machine down, we merrily sailed
through the Windows 98 set-up
routine. Until we hit the dreaded
message, “Fatal Error”. No matter
what we tried, we kept running into
a roadblock 10 minutes from
completion: Fatal Error.
After several hours on the phone,
we decided to call it a night (mid-
afternoon for her) and abandoned the
project – arousing dread in her of
being without a machine for a month
when her assignments were coming
due. Some Helpful Dad I had proved
to be!
But upon waking I had an
inspiration. I called her in the pre-
dawn darkness (her evening); she
removed a couple of cards from the
motherboard, and we were blessed
to be able to complete the set-up and
install an alternative browser. At last
contact, she was delighted with how
quickly she could read her e-mails
on-line.
Those are the happy stories, the
fix-able problems. But there is a far
bigger “Fatal Error” no mortal could
find a solution for; yet the Son of
God did.
The problem? Sin; the solution?
Easter.
Easter is associated in many mindstoday with chocolate bunnies and
Easter egg hunts. But Easter
represents something far more
significant than extra sweets and
pastel colours associated with the
arrival of spring. It celebrates the
overcoming of our root human sin
condition.
From the dawn of Christianity,
Easter has been the climax of the
church year, more important even
than Christmas. Its roots extend into
the ancient liberation of Hebrew
slaves; its spiritual potency has to do
with deliverance from our toughest
innate human problem.
Passover originated as a Jewish
commemoration of the Exodus, the
freeing of the Hebrew slaves in
Egypt under Moses about the 13th
century B.C. The Egyptian leaders
had refused to release them despite
serious heaven-sent plagues. The
10th plague on the firstborn would
be the clincher; Moses instructed the
Hebrews to sacrifice a lamb and
smear its blood on the doorframes so
the deadly plague would not affect
them. (Exodus 12)
Finally Pharaoh allowed the
Hebrews to leave the land of slavery
and make their way to the Promised
Land where they’d be free to live and
worship as the Lord’s people.
However, the political liberation of
the Jews did not solve the universalhuman spiritual problem of sin and
guilt. “Sin entered the world through
one man [Adam], and death through
sin, and in this way death came to all
men, because all sinned...” (Romans
5:12)
Murder, lying, adultery, idolatry
and greed were all part of the human
picture long before the Ten
Commandments – causing
widespread woe and alienating us
from our Holy Creator.
Then came Jesus, whose very
name means “Saviour”. In Luke
22:15-16, at the Last Supper with
His disciples before His crucifixion,
Jesus highlights what a critical
moment, a climax in salvation
history, this particular Passover is.
He said to them, “I have eagerly
desired to eat this Passover with you
before I suffer. For I tell you, I will
not eat it again until it finds
fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
Out of the over 1200 Passovers
that had been celebrated since the
Israelites left Egypt, this was the one
they were all pointing to: here was
the real sacrificial Lamb whose
blood smeared on the wood could
save from eternal destruction. The
ritual meal begun way back then was
about to find its fulfilment now, in
Jesus’ death on behalf of sinners.
Here the real spiritual deliverance
or ‘exodus’ from the captivity of sinwould be worked, for all time. Jesus
Himself would become the Passover
Lamb ‘led to the slaughter’ as Isaiah
put it, who would be ‘crushed for our
iniquities’, punished to bring us
peace; ‘by His wounds we are
healed’. (Is 53:5,7)
The apostle Paul contrasts the
devastation of Adam’s sin-infected
heritage with the marvel of Christ’s
accomplishment. “For if the many
died by the trespass of the one man,
how much more did God’s grace andthe gift that came by the grace of the
one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to
the many! ... How much more will
those who receive God’s abundant
provision of grace and of the gift of
righteousness reign in life through
the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Romans
5:15-17)
That abundant grace and
forgiveness is the main thing to be
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007. PAGE 11. From the Minister’s StudyEaster the solution to our ‘fatal problem’
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Sandra Cable, Worship Leader
Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wightman.ca
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
Sunday, April 29
Confirmation Service at Brussels & Ethel
Friday, April 6 ~ Good Friday Service
at Brussels United Church 9:30 am
Sunday, April 8 ~ Easter Sunday Service
Ethel United Church
Worship Service & Sunday School
9:30 a.m.
Brussels United Church
Worship Service & Sunday School
11:00 a.m.
FOR ALL AGES
SUNDAY ~ 9:45 to 10:45 am
WORSHIP SERVICE AT 11:00 am
Phone 519-440-8379 308 Blyth Rd. E. ~ Pastor Les Cook 519-523-4590
BB ll yy tt hh CC oo mm mm uu nn ii ttyy CChhuurrcchh ooff GGooddLooking for a Great
Sunday School Experience?
THIS IS IT!
P U P P E T S
S T O R IE S
DRAMAMUSIC
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, APRIL 8
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 519-887-9831
11:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
9:30 am - Sunday Belgrave Service
April 6 - GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE
11:00 am
April 8 - EASTER SUNDAY
8:30 am - Sunrise Service at 701 Maple
9:00 am - Easter Breakfast at Melville
11 am - Easter Worship Service
Friday 10:30 a.m. - Good Friday Service
Sunday 9:30 a.m. - Sunday School
10:30 a.m. - Easter Sunday Worship Service
7:30 p.m. - Evening Worship Service
Wednesday 6:30 p.m. - Family Night with “Olympians”
7:00 p.m. - Adult & Youth Bible Study
Something for everyone!
Call the church for current Youth events
HURON CHAPEL
EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH
Auburn - 519-526-1131
PASTOR DAVE WOOD
& PASTOR DON PLANT JR.
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
Welcomes you to come
and worship with us
The Rev. Tom Wilson, B.A., MDiv.
519-887-9273
Trinity, Blyth
9:30 a.m.
St. John's, Brussels
11:15 a.m.
April 5
Maundy Thursday Service & Luncheon
12:05 pm - St John’s, Brussels
April 8 - Easter Day
9:30 am Trinity, Blyth, 11:15 am at St. John’s, Brussels
With Easter Egg Hunt for kids under 11 at both
congregations following the Service
April 6
Good Friday Service at Trinity, Blyth 10:30
with Rt. Rev. Bob Bennett, Bishop of Norfolk preaching and luncheon to follow
Regular Sunday Services
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Jesus — gentle shepherd, closest friend, humble Saviour, triumphant KING!
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Good Friday Service 10:00 am
(includes footwashing & communion)
Easter Sunday
Sunrise Service 8:00 am
followed by a potluck breakfast
Easter Sunday Worship Service 9:30 am
Coffee Break 10:45 am
Sunday School 11:00 am
Everyone welcome
Pastor Brent Kipfer 519-887-6388
Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street
Blyth United Church
Office: 519-523-4224
Worship Service, Sunday School & Nursery ~11:00 a.m.
Guest speaker: Bruce Whitmore
Sunday, April 8 - Easter Sunday
All Welcome
April 7 - 6:30 pm
Sunday School Potluck
Everyone welcome
getlivingwater.org
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Christ-centred, Bible-believing,
Fellowship-friendly, Growth-geared
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
at Blyth Public School,
corner of King & Mill
Mondays 7:30 pm -Power of a Praying Woman DVD
Tuesdays 7:30 pm -Wingham Small Group
Fridays 7:30 pm -Youth Group
Maundy Thursday
Communion /
Footwashing
7:30 pm
Easter
Sonrise Service
7:00 am
at A&B Morrison’s, Wingham;
breakfast
Easter Sunday April 8
Easter Celebration
1 Cor. 15:19ff
“Dead in Adam,
Alive in Christ”
Worship Service
10:30 am
Continued on page 25