“Little princess.” I may or may not sarcastically give my immediate family members this title when they are being overly picky or wanting some extra attention. We have come to think of royalty as those who are pampered, don’t relate to the commoners, and have a rather easy life. But if you think about the really great kings, leaders, and rulers, a common trait emerges. They identified with their people, usually to the point of suffering or being put at risk with them. Alexander the Great led his armies to battle. George Washington suffered the cold with his men at Valley Forge. David fought Goliath even before he was king. As you would expect, Jesus falls on the side of great leaders who get messy with their people. As He said Himself, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Though this may be familiar to us, we may not realize this was part of His assignment as king. Read what God said about David’s descendent who would reign forever. “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him.” (2 Samuel 7:14-15a) I struggled to understand how this applies to Jesus. Jesus never sinned so there is no need to discipline Him. But it is obvious that God’s promises to David are only partially fulfilled in Solomon and completely fulfilled in Jesus, so what does this mean? Another prophecy, this one from Isaiah, helps. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6) Jesus was disciplined not for His sin, but for ours. The stripes He received were not for His iniquity but ours. As the greatest king, He identified with His people all the way to taking on our sin. The innocent bore the punishment of the guilty when He died on the criminal’s cross. As we ponder this amazing grace on Good Friday, aren’t you glad Sunday is coming? How will you show Him gratitude today? By Philip Jones Philip and his wife Stacy have been attending Immanuel since 2015. They are blessed to be raising four kids. His passion in ministry is to help others follow Jesus through teaching, preaching, and personal discipleship.

I wish the English language had more words to express love. We are stuck with one word to describe our strong preference for certain foods and the affections we feel for those closest to us. I love steak and I love my wife, just with a different type of love. Though you may have heard of the different words for love in the Greek language, you may not be as familiar with a special word for love in the Old Testament. ‘Hesed’ is used throughout the Bible and is normally translated as ‘love.’ But the word doesn’t have a direct translation to English. In other contexts, the word is translated as kindness, mercy, loyalty, and steadfast love. When translated as ‘steadfast love,’ it is meant to communicate God’s covenant love. That is His solid, committed, sacrificial love for those He is committed to. As Sally Lloyd-Jones says in The Jesus Storybook Bible , it is His “never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always, and forever love.” Marriage is the closest example we have of this type of love. And I am not talking about the happy couple walking out together on their wedding day. That is nice and all, but it doesn’t illustrate hesed. Hesed is shown as the couple grows old together, perseveres through trials, forgives when wronged, supports when needed, and cares for each other until one or both draw their last breath. Hesed is more often found in the ICU than in the wedding chapel. With that type of love in mind, I appreciate God’s promise to the future forever King. “But my steadfast love (hesed) will not depart from him.” (2 Samuel 7:15) This is not a complicated verse, but it is an enormous promise. God showed hesed to His people, but they kept rejecting it. The same would soon be true for the kings after David. But God’s hesed would not give up. In His great plan, He sent Jesus to bring His hesed to the world. Jesus, as the promised king descended from David, is where God’s hesed is perfectly given and perfectly received. Why is this good news for us? Because we are in Christ, all the hesed given and received by Jesus is accounted to us. When we don’t feel like loving God, His hesed will not depart. When we fail, His hesed will not. When we doubt or face discouragement, His hesed will remain close by. Whatever trials you are facing, take heart that God’s “never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always, and forever love” will never depart from those in Christ. Rest in Him today. By Philip Jones Philip and his wife Stacy have been attending Immanuel since 2015. They are blessed to be raising four kids. His passion in ministry is to help others follow Jesus through teaching, preaching, and personal discipleship.

He Has All Authority Royalty captures our attention. The Netflix series The Crown was watched by over 73 million households as they dramatized Queen Elizabeth’s life. Two billion people watched the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. And though it occurred 14 years earlier, Princess Diana’s funeral also drew a worldwide audience of 2 billion. The British royal family fills headlines and imaginations, which can give us a skewed view of royalty when we open our Bibles. We are accustomed to kings and queens being figureheads with no real authority in many countries. Things have not always been this way. Kings played a significant role in Israel’s history, usually for the worst. From the moment they rejected God as their king in favor of an earthly king (1 Sam 8:7), Israel’s fate was largely determined by royalty. With absolute authority, the king could send them to war, lead them in worship to God or idols, raise taxes, build a temple, steal land, and many more things that would have significant impact on the people. To simplify things, their experience went like this: Good king = good authority = God’s blessing Bad king = bad authority = God’s curse Israel knew their hope depended on a good king to rule with godly authority and lead them to God’s blessing. We can hear the excitement in their voices as they recognized Jesus as this king. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13) As we consider Jesus coming as king, it is good to reflect on His authority. He was not a figurehead or celebrity; He came to reign over God’s people. He didn’t come to hold an election so we all get our say in how God’s kingdom should be run. He came to rule. And this is a good thing. We have a king who rules with righteousness and justice. He liberates His followers from sin so we can know and worship the one true God. He does not abuse His authority but lovingly serves His people, even to the point of death. Do you rejoice in the authority of Jesus? Sure, His authority over us constrains us but only in good ways. He is a good king with a good purpose. Trust Him. Submit to Him. And rejoice with the crowd who welcomed Him. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9) By Philip Jones Philip and his wife Stacy have been attending Immanuel since 2015. They are blessed to be raising four kids. His passion in ministry is to help others follow Jesus through teaching, preaching, and personal discipleship.

Let me tell you a brief love story. Stacy and I will celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary this May. God has blessed us with an amazing life, but it almost didn’t happen. You see, we met while attending the same church. We were in our 20’s so a lot of that time was spent serving in the youth group. Within a few years, most of the kids accused us of secretly dating. We were that close, but we were really just friends. Call me slow, but the love of my life was right in front of my face and I didn’t see it. Thankfully, God and Stacy were patient. I don’t know if you can relate, but I think the disciples can. John records Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, then adds an almost humorous line. Read it for yourself: The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” His disciples did not understand these things at first… (John 12:12-16) These were the same people that had seen Jesus calm a storm, turn water into wine, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and just recently had raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus had revealed His identity and mission to them numerous times. And now when it is time for Him to fulfill the prophecy from Zechariah concerning the coming of Israel’s king, “they didn’t understand these things.” It’s easy to pick on the disciples. But are we that different? We hear the stories of Jesus. We see Him work in our lives. We enjoy fellowship with Him through the Spirit. We have heard the Easter story time and time again. Yet there are times we may not understand these things we so often see. Life gets busy. We get distracted. The worries of life weigh us down. We’ve heard the story before. This is why it is good to reflect on what it means for Jesus to be king. We may not encounter new information, but we can make sure we understand and apply what we know. Take a few moments to ponder what it means for Jesus to be king. And ask yourself, “Do I understand these things?” By Philip Jones Philip and his wife Stacy have been attending Immanuel since 2015. They are blessed to be raising four kids. His passion in ministry is to help others follow Jesus through teaching, preaching, and personal discipleship.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:14 ESV) We wear clothes that fit our activities, don’t we? We put on sweats for a workout, a jersey for a game, maybe a collared shirt with the company logo for our job, a formal suit or dress for a wedding, and comfy pajamas for a good night’s sleep. We would probably get strange looks if we wore our gym clothes to a wedding or our pajamas to work. Likewise, when we follow Jesus, we should also look like Jesus. So, what does it mean to “put on” Christ? But put on the Lord Jesus Christ… When we trust in Jesus, we are no longer under the rule and reign of sin. We are in Christ, bought with His blood. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds . (Titus 2:14 NLT). If we claim to identify with Christ by calling ourselves Christians, we should also identify with Him in right living. How do we do this? Well, there’s no better way to look like Jesus than to spend time with Jesus. The more we know and love Him, the more we desire to obey Him. We must choose to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” by displaying a Christlike character, showing our devotion to Him. …and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Although sin no longer controls us, it is still at war within and around us. If we are not living for Christ, we are living for something else. We must actively turn away from our sinful desires, leaving no room for darkness because we have the light of life (John 8:12). Paul tells us in Romans 6:2b-3, How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We are dead to our sin and have been given new life in Him – so we need to act like it! Let’s remember who we are “wearing” and show a lost and broken world that we serve the Lord Jesus Christ by how we live. Would others recognize that you belong to Christ by how you live? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to be clothed in the presence of Christ and cast off the sin that has entangled you. By Jessica Fox Jessica is an early childhood teacher and pastor’s wife. She and her husband, Travis, have been married for 23 years and attend Immanuel Baptist Church at Armstrong Mill with their three teenage children.

This week we are in John 17. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it..." This iconic phrase from Mission Impossible, both the original television series and the subsequent movie franchise, introduces viewers to seemingly impossible tasks that a team of agents is asked to undertake. The message would self-destruct to maintain confidentiality as the agents decided whether to accept their assignment. While it never affects the plot, it always troubles me that the message self-destructs before anybody writes anything down, and that there is apparently no feedback mechanism informing management that the mission has been accepted. How do they know when they need to send the same mission to another agent? These are the kinds of unnecessary details I think about. (And of course, the Mission Impossible theme song is fantastic. If you can’t remember it, I’ll wait here if you want to go look it up). As Christians, we too are called to accept a mission. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. (John 17:18 HCSB) Just as the Father sent Jesus with the divine purpose of providing a path of salvation, Jesus commissioned us to go into the world and continue His work and bring others onto the path we’re traveling. This is reinforced in the Great Commission: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20 HCSB) Just as I can get distracted by unnecessary details in a movie, we might similarly question just how God expects us to reach a world of over 8 billion people with the gospel, especially considering how restrictive and violent some nations are about Christianity. I personally get discouraged when I see high profile Christians behaving in ways that, and I say this with all humility about myself, sure seem counter-productive to our mission. But I must remember not to despair; it’s not up to me to figure it all out. When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:25-26 HCSB) By Mark Stuart Mark is the husband of Laura, father of Shelby and Jacob (Bailey), and grandfather of Charley.

This week we are in John 17. Once upon a time I was teaching a Sunday School class for three-year olds. I would like to say that my classes were a well-ordered full hour of Bible study; but between bathroom time, snack time, second bathroom time, arrival and departure time, and three-year old attention spans, my real goal was five or ten minutes of actual Bible study time. All this is to say that there was time for three-year-olds to do three-year-old things. One day two boys started pretending they had guns. I was not going to have a kid leave my class and tell his or her parents that another kid was chasing them around with a gun. I stopped their game quickly, but they kept starting up again every few minutes. And then a church staff member named Eric walked in our door; and to my dismay, the boys proceeded to “shoot” him. But then something remarkable happened. Eric has lots of experience with little kids. He widened his stance, puffed out his chest, put his hands on his hips and declared, “Force field!” He held that pose for a long time, dismissively looking off to the side like he couldn’t even be bothered to countenance his “enemies.” He was impervious. And it worked! The boys wandered off and didn’t play guns in class ever again. They had encountered an “enemy” with protection they could neither comprehend nor overcome. I have given them Your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world. I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, as I am not of the world. (John 17:14-16 HCSB) The Bible teaches us that following Jesus does not mean that our problems will come to an end. In fact, we might encounter new and dangerous problems because of our faith in Jesus. But we should never forget that Jesus Himself asks God to protect us. I have recalled Eric’s force field many times over the years since, so let me say to you what I was not clever enough to teach my young students back then. We are going to be attacked. We are going to have hard times. As Christians we don’t have a magical force field to protect us from everything. But we are impervious. The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2 HCSB) By Mark Stuart Mark is the husband of Laura, father of Shelby and Jacob (Bailey), and grandfather of Charley.

This week we are in John 17. My understanding of gold prospecting was shaped by television. I learned that in prospecting, excitable, bearded fellows like Yosemite Sam from Looney Tunes , or Yukon Cornelius from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer run around seeking their fortune with pickaxes. Now that I’m an adult, I know better. In the modern world, the excitable bearded fellows use metal detectors. When gold is extracted from the earth it is mixed with impurities such as minerals that reduce its quality and usefulness. For gold to be purified, the internet tells me that it must go through a refining process involving combinations of heat, chemical treatment, and filtering. It sounds like an intense process. Like impure gold, our hearts need some work as well. Jesus prayed the following: Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. I sanctify Myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth. (John 17:17-19 HCSB) Our hearts are sanctified and purified by God’s Word. For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 HCSB) It sounds like an intense process. But we don’t have to figure it out alone. The Bible teaches us that Jesus isn’t standing in the distance waiting for us to complete this lifelong sanctification process; He goes through the process with us. He doesn’t shun us until we achieve some threshold of refinement; He shows us how it’s done. He is the Word and was with God in the beginning, and He’s with us at every one of our beginnings. He’s there refining through our many victories and failures. And speaking for myself, there’s a lot of impurity that needs to be heated and continuously filtered. And every time I turn around there are more impurities that I too easily let infiltrate. The Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any sword, and I need to let Him do His work. By Mark Stuart Mark is the husband of Laura, father of Shelby and Jacob (Bailey), and grandfather of Charley.

This week we are in John 17. In my youth I was a competitive runner. I ran track and cross country in high school and college, and the time spent with teammates was a very impactful time in my life. Running was tough and took discipline, but I came to love it. Thirty-plus years later, every October there is a day when the weather and smell is just so, and I get the urge to go run a cross-country race. I know that sounds weird to a lot of you. I still run today but have devolved into that guy who shuffles around the neighborhood whether it’s extremely hot or cold, and whose neighbors likely question his decision-making. But there was a brief period in between youth and not-so-youth in which I dabbled in running marathons. I completed three before my body informed me that it was retiring from such nonsense. The mind was still willing, but the flesh became weak. One of my marathons went particularly poorly. I am not exaggerating when I say that in the last couple of miles, my thighs hurt so much that I contemplated what depth of stab wound would be comparable. But a funny thing happened when I crossed the finish line. Pain and despair turned to euphoria in one lurching step. The journey was tough, but completing it changed everything. This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent - Jesus Christ. I have glorified You on the earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. (John 17:3-4 HCSB) A marathon is 26.2 miles, and I’m here to tell you that while my body didn’t feel much different at 26.1 versus 26.2 miles, my perspective was incomparable. The same screaming muscles that wailed in despair immediately became a Hallelujah chorus. My limping walk back to the hotel might as well have been dancing. Jesus said He had glorified God the Father by completing the work given to Him. Jesus completed His work perfectly, but we don’t have to be perfect. While I never ran my marathons as fast as I wanted, you better believe I am glad that I finished them instead of giving up and quitting when I realized my target time was out of reach. God has given us work to do here on earth. We know we can’t do it to perfection, but we can glorify Him nonetheless by finishing it. The most important step in finishing a marathon isn’t the first one or the last one. It’s the next one. By Mark Stuart Mark is the husband of Laura, father of Shelby and Jacob (Bailey), and grandfather of Charley