LaGrave Live LIVE Morning Worship Service 03-22-2026 Cross Words: Taking Up the Cross About The concert: We continue our Cross Words series, focusing on the meaning and impact of Christ's cross. Pastor Jonker will preach on Mark 8:31-9:1. Order of Worship: https://lagrave.org/wp-content/uploads/2026-3-22-AM-Order-of-Worship.pdf About the Church: We are a traditional CRC church in the middle of Downtown Grand Rapids, MI, worshipping at 8:40am, 11:00am, and 6:00pm. (10:00am and 6:00pm during the summer months) We'd love to hear from you: Connection: https://www.lagrave.org/contact Let us pray for you: Prayer: https://www.lagrave.org/prayerrequest/ Giving: https://www.elexiogiving.com/App/Giving/lagr107178 The March special offering is for Mel Trotter Ministries. Mel Trotter Ministries provides shelter for individuals and families with services including: meals, emergency shelter, transitional housing assistance, case management. Listen on the go: Amazon Music: https://bit.ly/LGPodAmazonMusic Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3tuOdwQ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/LGPodGoogle Soundcloud: / lagravecrc https://soundcloud.com/lagravecrc Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3yXDFaT Follow us! Facebook: / lagravecrc https://www.facebook.com/lagravecrc Instagram: / lagravecrc https://www.instagram.com/lagravecrc Website: https://www.lagrave.org #LaGrave #LaGraveCRC Taking Up the Cross: A Lenten Journey into Sacrificial Power Taking Up the Cross: The Revolutionary Path Lenten Series: Cross Words | LaGrave Avenue Church (March 22, 2026) Fifth Sunday in Lent Theological Core: Matthew 16:21-28 "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." Roman Power (The World) Pure strength & domination Boasting in casualties (Caesar) "Iron laws of force" Cross Power (The Kingdom) Sacrificial love & weakness Absorbing pain for others "The last shall be first" Key Concept: Strepho Jesus' "dynamic turn" on Peter. It wasn't a casual glance; it was a passionate rebuke of the temptation to choose success over sacrifice. Illustrative Narratives The Mission (1986) Rodrigo (the gun) vs. Gabriel (the cross). True change comes through blood of the cross, not force. Leroy Smith (2015) A Black officer assisting a KKK marcher in the heat. Grace vs. the "bottles" of counter-protest. Community Pulse #SeminaryTraining #NewMembers #CaminoDeSantiago #GlobalPrayer Speaker: Pastor Peter | Liturgist: Levi Huizinga ⏱ ~85 min Service📖 Matthew 16:21-28 This worship service at LaGrave Avenue explores the radical call of Jesus to "take up the cross," contrasting worldly domination with the transformative power of sacrificial love. Through liturgy, scripture from Matthew 16, and contemporary illustrations, the congregation is invited to move beyond human concerns toward the "dynamic turn" of Christ. Detailed Summary Community Welcomes and Transitions The service marked a "homecoming" for Levi Huizinga, a pre-seminary student and former member returning to lead the liturgy as part of his training. The community also celebrated the addition of three new members representing three generations of one family: Lynn Stinson, Sarah Turnage, and Francesca Turnage. Notably, Sarah and Francesca shared their upcoming plans to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain this June. These introductions emphasize the church as a multi-generational covenant family where members support one another’s spiritual and personal journeys. Lenten Liturgy and the Theology of Betrayal During this fifth Sunday in Lent, the liturgy focused on the "shape of the cross" in daily life. The prayer of confession acknowledged the human tendency to deny the necessity of suffering or to hide behind religious "busyness" rather than truly following Christ. In a message directed at children, the betrayal of Jesus by his friend Judas was used to illustrate that Jesus intimately understands emotional pain and abandonment. This teaching framed the cross not just as a physical sacrifice, but as a place where Jesus absorbed the "mean" actions of others to offer healing. The "Dynamic Turn" (Strepho) In Matthew 16:23, when Jesus rebukes Peter, the Greek word strepho denotes more than a simple movement. It is a passionate, dynamic spin. Human Concerns Success, safety, and avoiding the cross. God's Concerns Sacrifice, love, and the path of the cross. The Radical Contrast of Power The sermon centered on Matthew 16:21-28, highlighting the moment Peter moved from being the "Rock" to a "stumbling block" by rejecting Jesus’ path of suffering. The message contrasted the Roman concept of power—pure domination and the slaughter of enemies as seen in Julius Caesar’s conquests—with the revolutionary power of Jesus. While the world values "pure winning," Jesus introduced a power that absorbs pain and offers forgiveness. This "cross-shaped power" is described as the only force capable of truly changing the world, moving beyond the "pagan" temptation to solve problems through brute force. The Choice: The Gun vs. The Cross To illustrate the difficulty of choosing the cross, the sermon presented two models of response to evil. First, a scene from the movie The Mission contrasted a priest who took up arms (Rodrigo) with one who carried the cross into a massacre (Gabriel). Second, a real-life example from 2015 described Leroy Smith, a Black police officer, who chose to help an elderly KKK protester suffering from heat exhaustion. While counter-protestors responded with anger and bottles, Smith responded with water and grace. These stories serve as a call for modern believers to recognize that the hope for the world lies not in "the end of a gun," but in the "blood of the cross." Models of Response to Evil ⚔️ Worldly Power: Forceful restraint, shouting, and "pagan strength" to crush enemies. ✝️ Cross Power: Absorbing pain, offering water to enemies, and sacrificial love. "The hope for the change of the world will not come at the end of a gun, it will come through the blood of the cross." Key Data Scripture Reference: Matthew 16:21-28 (The rebuke of Peter and the call to discipleship). Historical Context: Julius Caesar boasted of killing 1 million Gauls and enslaving another million to demonstrate "power." Biblical Terminology: Strepho (Greek) – A dynamic, intense turn or spin. To-Do / Next Steps Community Fellowship: Join the coffee time in the multipurpose room following the service. Congregational Care: Pray for Jim Kroll as he begins radiation for multiple myeloma. Healing Petitions: Keep Dan Goris in prayer as he recovers from a recent stroke and surgery. Global Intercession: Pray for those living in the "valley of the shadow of death" in Congo, Yemen, Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Tel Aviv, and Tehran. Support Missions: Remember Mike and Megan Ribbens in their ongoing ministry in South Africa. Conclusion The service concludes with a sobering yet hopeful reminder that following Jesus requires a "death to self" and a rejection of pagan power structures. By picking up the cross, the believer participates in the same revolutionary grace that Jesus modeled—a grace that seeks not to dominate, but to redeem through sacrifice.
