Due to the demands of their calling, pastors often find it difficult to get time away to refresh and renew. Doing so is particularly difficult for bivocational pastors and often beyond the financial reach of all pastors. But help is available!
We were saddened to learn that long-time GCI-Australia employee Val Leech died on March 30 after a short stay in the hospital. Her death, which was sudden, came as quite a shock to those who knew her.
Val was an outstanding employee of the church for over 40 years, serving in various roles, in the Australian office. She also worked for a short time in the U.S. home office. Val was widely known across Australia and beyond—respected and appreciated as a true servant, always diligent, cooperative and happily willing to help. She had an extensive range of interests, from books to airplanes, and a quick sense of humor. Val was an invaluable part of the life of the church family. “She was a gem,” as a friend of hers said, and will be missed by us all.
Near the end of his Gospel, the apostle John made these intriguing comments: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book…. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 20:30; 21:25). Given these comments, and noting differences among the four Gospels, we conclude that these accounts were not written to be exhaustive records of Jesus’ life. John says his purpose in writing was that “you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). The focus of the Gospels is to tell the good news about Jesus and the salvation that is ours in him.
Though in verse 31 John attributes salvation (life) to the name of Jesus, it’s common for Christians to speak of being saved by Jesus’death. Though this short-hand statement is correct as far as it goes, relating salvation exclusively to Jesus’ death can stunt our understanding of the fullness of who Jesus is and all he has done to save us. The events of Holy Week remind us that Jesus’ death, though vital, is part of a larger story that includes our Lord’s incarnation, death, resurrection and ascension. All these are intrinsic, inseparable milestones of Jesus’ one redemptive work—the work that gives us life in his name. During Holy Week, and throughout the year, let’s look to Jesus—the complete salvation package.
Incarnation
She Shall Bring Forth a Son by Liz Lemon Swindle (used with permission)
Jesus’ birth was not the ordinary birth of an ordinary man. Unique in every way, it was the beginning of the Incarnation of God himself. In Jesus’ birth, God came among us as a human in the way all humans since Adam have been born. Remaining what he was, the eternal Son of God took on a whole human life, from beginning to end—birth to death. In his one Person, Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. In this stunning statement we find an eternity’s worth of significance that merits an eternity of appreciation.
Through the Incarnation, the eternal Son of God stepped out of eternity and into his creation of space and time to become a man of flesh and blood: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Jesus was indeed a genuine full-fledged man, but at the same time he was fully God—one in being with the Father and Spirit. The birth of Jesus fulfills many prophecies and is the promise of our salvation.
The Incarnation did not end with Jesus’ birth—it continued throughout his earthly life, and continues today in his glorified human life. The Son of God incarnate (in the flesh), remains one in being with the Father and Spirit—the fullness of the whole God is present and active in Jesus—making the human life of Jesus uniquely significant. As Romans 8:3-4 says, “For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Paul further explains that we are “saved through his life” (Romans 5:11).
The life and work of Jesus are inseparable—all part of the Incarnation. The God-man Jesus is the perfect high priest and mediator between God and man because he partook of the nature of man and reclaimed humanity by living a sinless life. His sinless life helps us understand how he can maintain a relationship with both God and man. While we typically celebrate his birth at Christmas, the events in Jesus’ whole life are always a part of our total worship, including during Holy Week. His life reveals the relational nature of our salvation. Jesus brought together, in his own person, God and humanity in perfect relationship.
Death
The Burial of Christ by Carl Heinrich Bloch (public domain via Wkimedia Commons)
For some, the short-hand declaration, we are saved by Jesus’ death, carries with it the unfortunate misconception that Jesus death was a sacrifice that conditioned God into being gracious. I pray that we all see the fallacy of this notion.
T.F. Torrance writes that with a proper understanding of the Old Testament sacrifices, we will see Jesus’ death not as a pagan offering for the sake of forgiveness, but as a powerful witness to the will of a merciful God (Atonement: The Person and Work of Christ, pages 38-39). Pagan systems of sacrifice were based on retribution, but Israel’s was based on reconciliation. Under Israel’s system, rather than sacrifices and offerings being given to earn forgiveness, God provided them to cover for and remove the people’s sin so that they would be reconciled to God.
Israel’s sacrificial system was designed to make manifest and to witness to God’s love and mercy, pointing to the purpose of Jesus’ death, which is reconciliation with the Father. Jesus death also defeated Satan and the power of death: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15). Paul adds that Jesus “must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:25-26). Jesus’ death is the atoning part of our salvation.
Resurrection
He is Risen by Liz Lemon Swindle (used with permission)
On Easter Sunday, we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, which fulfills many Old Testament prophecies. The author of Hebrews tells us that Isaac being saved from death is a picture of resurrection (Hebrews 11:18-19). The book of Jonah tells us that Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster “three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17). Jesus related that event to his death, burial and resurrection (Matthew 12:39-40; Matthew 16:4, 21; John 2:18-22).
We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection with great joy because it reminds us that death is not permanent. It’s a temporary step toward our future—eternal life in communion with God. At Easter we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death and the new life we will have in him. We look forward to the time spoken of in Revelation 21:4: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” The resurrection is the hope of our salvation.
Ascension
Jesus Ascending to Heaven by John Singleton Copley (public domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Jesus’ birth led to his life and his life led to his death. But we cannot divorce his death from his resurrection and we cannot separate his resurrection from his ascension. Jesus didn’t just come out of the grave and live as a human being. Now a glorified human, Jesus ascended to the Father, and it was not until that great event occurred that he finished the work he started.
In the introduction to Torrance’s book Atonement, Robert Walker wrote this: “The ascension is Jesus’ taking of our humanity in his person into the presence of God into the union and communion of the love of the Trinity.” C.S. Lewis put it this way: “In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend.” The glorious good news is that in ascending, Jesus took us up with him: “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6-7).
Incarnation, death, resurrection and ascension—all vital parts of our salvation and thus our worship during Holy Week. These milestones point to all Jesus has accomplished for us through his whole life and whole work. Throughout the year, let’s take in more and more of who Jesus is and all of what he has done for us. He is the complete salvation package.
Holy Week blessings to you and yours, Joseph Tkach
Please pray for Dewey Peterson, lead pastor of GCI’s congregation in Crossville, Tennessee. Dewey recently spent five days in the hospital where an arterial blockage was found and temporarily corrected. Bypass surgery is now scheduled for April 3. Dewey is also recovering from a painful bout with shingles.
Please also pray for Dewey’s wife Georgia who also is battling health problems of her own.
Cards may be sent to:
Dewey and Georgia Peterson 12 Mariners Pt. Crossville, TN 38558-2771
Congratulations to the staff at The Rock, including camp directors Dennis and Diana Elliott, and their predecessor Stephen Webb. This is quite an honor for a camp in its third year of operation.
Over 350 people gathered for Converge 2015 at the Deer Creek Lodge and Conference Center in Mt. Sterling, Ohio on March 20-22. The event, sponsored by GCI Generations Ministries, started as a gathering of GenMin camp leaders and expanded through the years to include young people, pastors, ministry coordinators, camp and short-term mission trip leaders and others interested in exploring the mission of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In keeping with the theme of Epic Story, Converge 2015 proclaimed the message that every person’s story gets its meaning and purpose in the Epic Story of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Wm. Paul Young (in the center of the picture below), best-selling author of The Shack and Crossroads, was a featured speaker at Converge 2015 along with GCI President, Joseph Tkach.
Here are comments from a few people who attended:
It was excellent and first-class, on all fronts, from start to finish. I can’t commend or thank you enough.
I had an awesome experience with everyone at Converge this year. I really love how it gives our generations, both young and older, a fun, Spirit-filled time to bridge the generational gap. I can’t wait for next year.
I had the privilege of attending my first Converge and let me start by telling you Converge was absolutely amazing!
Thank you for orchestrating one of the most Gospel-inspiring GCI events to date.
Wayne Mitchell, GCI lead pastor in Seattle-Bellevue Washington, asks for prayer for his wife Patty who is battling a new form of cancer after recent major cancer surgeries. Wayne and Patty are grateful that the new cancer is small and appears to be contained. Additional surgery is anticipated and the prognosis is hopeful.
Along with his prayer request, Wayne wrote this: “The Lord is so gracious to us. No matter where we go or what we enter into, he is already way ahead of us.”
Your prayers and loving support for Patty and Wayne are greatly appreciated. Cards may be sent to:
Wayne and Patty Mitchell 14509 254 Avenue SE Monroe, WA 98272-9333
Last December, GCI South Africa held a youth camp attended by 42 children, 57 teens, 26 young adults and 58 staff members. Camp activities included worship, Christian Living classes, outdoor sports, dancing, life skills, crafts and camp improvement.
Cycling, the newest camp activity, was widely enjoyed. Many campers, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, had never learned to ride a bicycle before.
The camp theme, Connected, proclaimed the reality that we always are connected to God, and in that connection we are connected to each other. The theme was preached and explained in morning worship sessions and included in all camp activities. The theme came to a conclusion in a full church service on the last day of camp. The service included the Lord’s Supper led by camp chaplain, Timothy Maguire. During camp, two youth committed their lives to Christ and were baptized.
Thanks to the generosity of congregations and the mission fund in GCI Canada, many of the disadvantaged campers were fully sponsored in attending.
In his Gospel and epistles, the apostle John tells us that God is light, love and life. These three key words are especially appropriate to consider as we approach Holy Week, which begins this Sunday (March 29). The apostle Paul also uses these three words in his epistles, where typically they appear in connection with the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Echoing Jesus’ proclamation in John 10:28-29, Paul declares that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39, emphasis added). In his first letter to Timothy, Paul indicates the connection between life and light:
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen (1 Timothy 6:12-16, emphasis added).
The biblical revelation is that our triune God is one and acts as one. We could summarize the Triune God’s unity of action by saying that the Father calls light and life into existence, the Holy Spirit illumines our lives with his light, and Jesus Christ is sent as the light and life of the world. Our Triune God does all this out of the overflow of their eternal holy love: “For God so loved the world.”
Light, love and life. Something about these three wordsevokes pleasure, and that leads to celebration. Have you noticed that weddings, renewal of vows, and even fundraising events are referred to as “celebrations of love”? Christmas and independence days are called “celebrations of light.” Late-life birthdays, funerals and memorial services are called “celebrations of life.” Such celebrations view light, love and life as gifts. But do people know the gift-giver?
In Scripture, light, love and life are interrelated as gifts that flow from the very being of God: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5). The story of Jesus is about this light coming into the world to give us life because of the love of the Father. Indeed, light, life and love convey the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection. This is seen in the last three days of Holy Week, which focus on Jesus’ passion (suffering), death and resurrection. These are three aspects of one, indivisible, unrepeatable, unique event that points us to one, indivisible person—Jesus Christ.
The one great event of Jesus’ “passover” from life to death, then back to life is called the Holy Triduum (and sometimes the Easter or Paschal Triduum). The word triduum (meaning “three days”) was first used by Augustine to express the essential unity of the three-day-long Paschal event beginning at sunset on Maundy Thursday (many GCI churches hold a Last Supper commemoration service that evening), leading into Good Friday (when we remember Jesus’ crucifixion and death), followed by Holy Saturday (when we remember Jesus lying in the tomb), and culminating with Easter Sunday, when we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.
Though Holy Saturday often is overlooked in Protestant churches these days, it has been emphasized throughout Christian history. Orthodox Christians refer to it as “the Great and Holy Sabbath.” Part of their liturgy is to sing “This is the Day the Lord has Made,” taken from Psalm 118, the last Psalm of Passover, which was believed to be the hymn Jesus last sang with his disciples. Coptic Christians refer to it as “The Saturday of Light” and “Joyous Saturday.”
We should not miss the imagery of Holy Saturday, which portrays Jesus’ lifeless body spending the Sabbath in the darkness of death, buried in the tomb. As explained by the apostle John, this imagery points us to the light and life of God: “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5). John reminds us that darkness and death did not hold Jesus in bondage. God entered the darkness and broke through. The good news for all is that, for the sake of his love, God brings resurrection light to dispel all darkness; to bring life out of death.
Because of Holy Saturday, we need not fear the dark. When young, my sisters were afraid of the dark and wanted a night-light in their bedroom. But then they experienced some panic when seeing strange shadows. I remember what my mother said to comfort them: “God is always with us, even in the dark.” My mom’s words were a cogent reminder that God loves us in ways we cannot imagine. He loves us in our darkness, ignorance and foolishness. Hearing we are forgiven and that, in Christ, there is no condemnation for us, not only makes me appreciate the depth of God’s love, it makes me want to light up fireworks! I sometimes dream of enjoying supernatural light shows when we experience eternal life in the fullness of God’s kingdom.
It is the light of God that reveals reality to us. Physically, we are unable to distinguish color in the dark. Darkness hides dangers, while light exposes them. We need light to see. We need God to see reality. The three days stretching from Maundy Thursday through Good Friday, to Holy Saturday and Resurrection Sunday point to three aspects of one great event—what Jesus has done to reclaim, redeem and reconcile us to God, bringing us into the radiant light of the glory of God. It was the love of God that sent the light of God to bring us into the life of God.
Living with you in God’s love, light and life, Joseph Tkach
Picture credits (top to bottom): It is Finished by Liz Lemon Swindle (used with permission); Jesus at the Tomb by Jean-Jacques Henner (public domain via Wikimedia Commons); Resurrection of Christ by Carl Heinrich Bloch (public domain via Wikimedia Commons).
Here is an update on our earlier prayer request concerning the situation in Vanuatu, which was recently devastated by super-cyclone Pam.
Rex Morgan (GCI pastor in New Zealand) reports that communications have been restored in Vanuatu and Billy Taren, the pastor of GCI’s congregation in Rory, on the island of Malekula, advises that six of the homes of church families were devastated by Pam, and all of the gardens in the village were flattened. During the storm, members sheltered in our church building, a solid concrete and timber structure that suffered only minor roof damage.
Billy reports that the members in Rory will run out of food in about three weeks, so William Davies, GCI’s pastor in nearby Santo Island, shipped them food. Our pastor in Fiji, Isei Colati, will be there soon, bringing support from members in Fiji who made a special collection to assist their neighbors in Vanuatu. They have sent a large quantity of vegetable seeds to help re-establish the gardens, along with medical items and other supplies. Having experienced tropical cyclones in Fiji, Isei is well aware of what is most needed to help the Rory members at this time. In Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila, GCI members Euan and Eveline Kanas lost part their roof and sustained some water damage in their home and have already made temporary repairs.
Note: If your congregation would like to help members who suffer from disasters like the one in Vanuatu, you can donate to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. The Fund assists members in disaster areas with emergency needs such as food, water, medicine, clothing, temporary housing, home and/or church hall repair, temporary local pastoral salary expense and other emergency needs. Monies received into the Fund that are not immediately needed will remain in the Fund to be allocated in future disasters. To donate to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund, have your treasurer set up a one time or monthly donation through the GCI Online system (http://online.gci.org). If your congregation prefers to send a check, make it out to Grace Communion International, indicating on the memo line that it is for the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. Send the check to:
GCI Disaster Relief Fund Grace Communion International P.O Box 5005 Glendora, California 91740
Over 350 people gathered for 
