Shelbyville Church of Christ

Shelbyville Church of Christ Shelbyville Church of Christ Welcomes You! Sunday Services/Bible Class: 10:00am-11:30am They all worship the same God, but not together. Why is that?

To get more information go to:
shelbyvillechurch.com
shelbyvillechurchofchrist.com

What is the Church of Christ in Shelbyville? Introduction :

As one looks around Shelbyville he sees a number of different churches. In fact, some churches don’t endorse the others or even recognize them as being valid churches. They all (including the Church of Christ ) believe one must have faith that Jesus is the risen Son of God and espouse faith in Him as their savior in order to be saved from the consequences of their sins and returned to fellowship with God. Interestingly, it’s estimated that all those who believe in Christ agree on 80% of the things they believe and teach. Thus, to have so many churches seems rather illogical and very much contrary to the prayer of Jesus that all of His disciples be united.(1) In the beginning there was only one church, but sadly, that 20% area of disagreement has all too often overshadowed the 80% area of agreement resulting in division after division. Some of the divisions are the result of major doctrinal differences while others are over more trivial things such as traditions or even loyalties to teachers from the past. Each church in Shelbyville is in some way different from all others in town. Some of the differences are small and inconsequential while others are very significant. Please allow us to describe some of the areas that distinguish the Shelbyville Church of Christ from the other churches in town. As you read, you will also find many similarities as well. Governed Only by Christ :

One fundamental difference between the Church of Christ in Shelbyville and some other religious organizations is that we do not recognize any man on earth as the head of the church. Jesus the risen Christ and Jesus alone is the head of His body, the church. (2) Consequently, no man or group of men has the right to originate teaching or establish rules of faith and practice for the church which belongs to the Christ. Non-Denominational :

Since Jesus is the only head of the church, there is no need for an earthly head. There are Churches of Christ in every state in the United States and all around the world. There are tens of thousands of congregations totaling millions of members, but each congregation is independent of all others, linked only by love for their common Savior. Therefore, the Church of Christ in Shelbyville is not organizationally linked to any other religious body. The local congregation is not overseen by, financially obligated to or in any way answerable to any organization beyond the local congregation. The local congregation is overseen by elders ( also called shepherds, pastors, bishops, overseers or presbyters ) which are selected from the local congregation to feed, direct and protect that congregation. The Bible :

Christians view the bible as the blueprint for their lives and for the church as well. If all Christians and all churches would strictly follow the same blueprint, the 20% area of disagreement would largely be eliminated and the divisions could be healed. This is the way to restore religious unity, by all returning to the pattern given by God and in so doing allowing Christ to rule His church. We of the Shelbyville Church of Christ believe the bible to be the way that God speaks to His church and to his people today. We believe that the bible and only the bible is the verbally inspired word of God; that it is without error, it is complete and is the final revelation of God to mankind. It is via these Holy Scriptures that Jesus rules His church today. Therefore, we do not accept any other authority for matters of faith and practice in the church; only the revealed word of God. Since the entire bible, both the Old and New Testaments, comes from God, we accept the entire bible as being authoritative. It is a grave error to take any one passage of scripture out of context to prove a point. One only has the will of God on any subject when he has all that the scriptures reveal about that subject. Thus, it behooves all Christians to study the scriptures in search of God’s will for their lives (3) and for the conduct of God’s church. Weekly Assemblies :

The Church of Christ assembles for worship each Sunday morning and evening. Our worship consists of the weekly communion service, prayers, congregational singing, bible reading, a lesson from the bible and a free will offering is taken. An hour before the Sunday morning worship service and again on Wednesday evening, we gather together for a time of bible study. Open Communion :

Open communion is practiced, but it is emphasized that the unleavened bread is to be partaken of in remembrance of Jesus having offered His body on the cross as a sacrifice for the sin of man and the fruit of the vine is partaken of as a remembrance of the innocent blood Jesus which was shed to wash away the sins of mankind. We make this remembrance on the first day of every week. You Are Invited :

Visitors are welcomed into all of our assemblies. You are invited to worship with us at your every opportunity. It is our desire to maintain a warm and loving environment in the church (4) so your visit should be a positive experience. We hope to see you soon. Meanwhile, if you have questions or would like more information about us, please click on the little green contact mailbox or call ( 217 ) 246-9893. email: [email protected]

John 17: 20-23
Eph. 1: 18-23
Eph. 5: 10
John 13: 34-35

08/23/2026

Darkness over the land (Slide 1)
Matthew 27:45

Reading: Amos 8

Matthew 27:45 (Slide 2)
45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.
Prior to Matthew writing concerning this darkness over all the land, we know that in the broad daylight, Jesus was crucified.
The daylight provided everyone who was there as a witness, with their own eyes, having full view, that it was this Jesus who hung on the cross.
There could exist no doubt! No one could deny that it was Jesus of Nazareth by claiming it was too dark to see.
This fact is important when the Apostle Peter called out the Jews who were guilty of having Jesus killed:
Acts 2:36 (Slide 3)
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
When this evil deed was done, then came the darkness.
We often associate darkness with evil. Probably the most well known 2 verses that bear out that sentiment are found in the Gospel of John.
John 3:19-20 (Slide 4)
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
There are some places, where people who are innocent of the ways of the world and the wiles of the Devil should not go at night. The darkness covers up evil deeds that the dark heart lusts after to commit.
Apostle Paul says that those things that are opposite of good are darkness and encourages believers to get rid of them.
Romans 13:12 (Slide 5)
The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
He says we have to act as if we are walking in the daylight. In other words, always with a moral code.
Romans 13:13-14 (Slide 6)
13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
This passage of scripture reminds me so much of the counsel Brother Don Shasteen gave to a young person many years ago when the young man asked him; “Should a Christian go to see such and such movie?” (I don’t remember the movie in question).
His simple answer was also partially in question form; “Would you take your children to watch it? If not, you shouldn’t go either.” (That used to be a good gauge of what one should do, but I question what many parents might do today).
Satan’s domain is darkness!
As Jesus is about to be arrested, He makes sure the religious leaders of the Jews know full well by whose authority they are acting.
Luke 22:52-53 (Slide 7)
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53 When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
Darkness is used to describe people who are without moral navigation in their lives. As if they are blind and cannot see where they are going.
Apostle Paul spoke before King Agrippa concerning his conversion and then spoke of his commission after becoming an Apostle stating in:
Acts 26:15-18 (Slide 8)
15 So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. (Slide 9) 17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
Who was he sent too? To those who were blind by ignorance to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God!
Over and over again we find darkness as compared to evil or to morally bankrupt hearts that may or may not realize they are following the darkness of Satan.
But darkness has no power over light. The “tiniest” flashlight can shine bright in complete and utter darkness.
God is master of both, light and darkness. Because He is light He chases away darkness and exposes its deeds.
Hebrews 4:13 (Slide 10)
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
From the very beginning God has had power and control over the darkness.
Genesis 1:1-5 (Slide 11)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
(Slide 12) 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
When God said, “Let there be light” there was light instantly. I believe in the 6th hour, when Jesus hung on the cross, God caused darkness instantly.
It wasn’t as if you could see a storm approaching and the darkness crept over the land.
God did not make the sun for light for the day and the moon and stars and all the lights in the heavens for light for the night until the fourth day. So what was the light when He said “let there be light?”
I believe the light was God’s presence and vocal command that sustained the light, the “Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters.” Our natural light is from God!
Because God has power over darkness, His handiwork can be seen in the night sky. It has been so hot lately that it is just such a pleasant experience to go outside as the daylight fades and feel the cooling of darkness as it creeps over the landscape of the sky.
One can gaze at the stars and sometimes the full moon, which provides a great deal of light even in the waning hours of nighttime.
There are times when we can witness a falling or shooting star over the night sky. Often the moon will change in color and we have given those changes descriptive identities.
(Slide 13) *A “full moon” occurs when the side of the moon that faces earth is fully lit by the sun.
(Slide 14) *A “Blood-Moon” occurs from a lunar eclipse. The earth lines up between the moon and the sun, though not as bright, it appears red.
(Slide 15) *A “Super-Moon” makes the moon appear larger in size simply because it is much closer to earth than usual.
(Slide 16) *Have you ever heard the expression, “Once in a Blue-Moon?” The phrase is from the concept of something that rarely happens. A “Blue Moon” isn’t “blue” but actually refers to an “extra full moon” in the seasons of full moons. It happens roughly every two and half years.
(Slide 17) *A “Harvest-Moon” refers to the “Full-Moon” which occurs closest to the start of our Autumn season.
(Above info is from NASA’s website).
What each one of these moons have in common is that their origin is from the handiwork of God’s creation. God rules over both light and darkness.
The darkness that came over all the land was controlled by God and I believe it was immediate, it did not turn dark gradually and I also believe it was a warning sign for those people who committed such a vile sin as to crucify Christ and it is a warning sign for us as Christians today.
Some believe that the words of Amos 8, particularly his words in verses 9 and 10 refer to what we are witnessing in Matthew 27.
I believe they do have a relationship to the darkness described but I don’t believe Amos is necessarily prophesying regarding this darkness and Jesus’ death.
In fact, Amos’ prophecy was reserved for the Jews and he actually prophesied during a time of plenty. Business was booming so to speak.
Amos 8:1 (Slide 18)
A “basket of fruit,” indicates fruit that is ripe and ready to eat. But if it isn’t consumed soon it will wither and rot. Amos’ prophecy is about judgement.
“The end has come upon My people Israel;
I will not pass by them anymore.”
Amos prophecies that God is fed up with their treatment of the poor and He has had enough. They are about to experience a famine like they have never seen before.
For now they move in their blindness, their darkness, but soon God will shed light on their deeds and dry up their prosperity.
They are living with a great sense of superiority over others. A great sense of entitlement.
They are living like people will be living when the Lord comes again, eating and drinking, living in revelry, living for self……then sudden and swift judgement.
(Slide 19) “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in broad daylight.
Though all the moons and even an eclipse of the sun can be predicted to occur by science, in other words, they are expected to happen, the darkness that came on the 6th hour and lasted until the 9th hour was an unexpected, unpredictable phenomenon.
It should have served as an “eerie sign of judgement!”
When you consider that these people were crucifying the Son of God at a place called the skull, a place some say looks like the skull of a human, the combination of darkness and location should have been terrifying.
I personally don’t believe the earth was still when the darkness came but the people were stunned into silence.
This darkness is a warning for any who would reject the Son of God. Thanks be to God that we are as Apostle Peter says;
1 Peter 2:9 (Slide 20)
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light
Invitation
So the call today is “send the light.” The Gospel call. For those of us in Christ, Jesus says;
Matthew 5:14-16 (Slide 21)
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. (Slide 22) 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
If you have heard the Gospel call but have yet to exit the darkness and enter the light, what are you waiting for? Become a child of God today by being baptized into His death to rise again a new creation.
If you are a child of God but need the prayers of your Brethren, please let us know and we will pray for you.
Whatever we can do to assist you please let us know…..
Reading
Amos 8
1 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And He said, “Amos, what do you see?”
So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”
Then the Lord said to me:
“The end has come upon My people Israel;
I will not pass by them anymore.
3 And the songs of the temple
Shall be wailing in that day,”
Says the Lord God—
“Many dead bodies everywhere,
They shall be thrown out in silence.”
4 Hear this, you who swallow up the needy,
And make the poor of the land fail,
5 Saying:
“When will the New Moon be past,
That we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath,
That we may trade wheat?
Making the ephah small and the shekel large,
Falsifying the scales by deceit,
6 That we may buy the poor for silver,
And the needy for a pair of sandals—
Even sell the bad wheat?”
7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
“Surely I will never forget any of their works.
8 Shall the land not tremble for this,
And everyone mourn who dwells in it?
All of it shall swell like the River,
Heave and subside
Like the River of Egypt.
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning,
And all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on every waist,
And baldness on every head;
I will make it like mourning for an only son,
And its end like a bitter day.
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall not find it.
13 “In that day the fair virgins
And strong young men
Shall faint from thirst.
14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria,
Who say,
‘As your god lives, O Dan!’
And, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives!’
They shall fall and never rise again.”

Please visit our website for the full audio of this study:
Shelbyvillechurch.com
Shelbyville Church of Christ

07/03/2026

Mocked and Scorned! (Slide 1)
Psalm 22:6-8

Reading: Hebrews 11:32-40

Psalm 22:6-8 (Slide 2)
6 But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7 All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

David is expressing the very derogatory behavior of those who feel a sense of great power and control over someone else.

The proverbial concept of “kicking someone while they’re down” even has greater meaning when we look at the events of Jesus and the Cross.

Matthew 27:39-40 (Slide 3)
39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
They were referring to something they simply didn’t understand. After physically cleansing the temple from the hands of thieves, Jesus makes this statement and John records what He meant:

John 2:19-22 (Slide 4)
19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”
(Slide 5) 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
Scoffed and Scorned while on the cross

They scoffed, scorned and ridiculed Him saying; “He was so great! Just look at Him now!” To scorn someone is to characterize that person as despicable and worthless.

Mockery is a shameful component in rivalry and perhaps that is one concept we can derive from the experience Jesus had on the cross.
He was a rival to the prevalent religion of the day. Even today, true Christianity has many rivals.

In our society, in particular, we see mockery that has become the norm in sports. Rivalries become so heated and often, mockery stokes those intense feelings against an opponent.

So often I hear chants of disdain against the loser of what should simply be a friendly competition. It has gotten so out of hand that even in little league baseball and softball games, in which young impressionable children compete, the supposed adults in the crowd lose their temper and lash out against opponents in the stands, referees or umpires on the field and even coaches and players.

I attended a league softball game my granddaughter was participating in right here in this community that got so out of hand that as a mandated reporter I was forced to call law enforcement before the rhetoric caused physical escalation.

Many of those people who were leaving the field continued their mockery and scornful talk. It was shameful.

That is the depiction of those who pass by Jesus and wag their heads. That is the rationale that put Him on the cross in the first place.

It is as reprehensible as the many with wealth and status feel toward the poor. The contempt many show to those who have little.

The proverb writer illustrated that those who mock others because of their lowly estate will not go unnoticed:

(Slide 6)
Proverbs 3:34
Surely He scorns the scornful,
But gives grace to the humble.

Proverbs 19:29
Judgments are prepared for scoffers,
And beatings for the backs of fools.

Proverbs 17:5
He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker;
He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

Clearly, even Solomon taught that it is nearly impossible to change the heart of the foolish:

Proverbs 26:4 (Slide 7)
Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest you also be like him.

Mocking and ridiculing others is a serious offense. Such was the suffering Jesus bore for us!

The Bible teaches that Christians are not to engage in mockery and ridiculing of others no matter how staunch their opposition to Christianity and to our righteous belief is:

Ephesians 4:29 (Slide 8)
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

I don’t believe this verse is exclusive in nature, that is; exclusively applying to when we are only speaking to fellow believers. Rather, it includes our conservations with unbelievers as well so that we will have a spiritual influence.

Mocking and ridiculing others can happen in a variety of ways. We often see it projected as humor and perceived as harmless. Yet, it is such a derogatory act that even in so-called harmless fun people are hurt internally.
What many young and naive people don’t realize is that often they believe people are laughing with them when in reality they are laughing at them.

Searching for acceptance they deliver themselves to the same fate as others:

Colossians 3:8 (Slide 9)
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

So often people want to fit in that they will sink to the depths of others who they admire. We have to be sure that when we admire someone that they are truly worthy of our admiration.

But this is the deceptive nature of common mockery and ridicule. It appears we are accepted when in reality we have become a spectacle.

People are often mocked because what they feel inside becomes visible on the outside. Those who have empathy and sympathy are often mocked because they are drawn to the oppressed and downtrodden, in other words, the “underdog.”

Beware that God is not mocked in more ways than one and is aware of how His people are treated:

Psalm 147:6 (Slide 10)
The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.

Isaiah 11:4 (Slide 11)
But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

That is a warning to those who dare mock God’s Children!

The Apostle Paul and those who traveled with him to spread the Gospel, were mocked and ridiculed along the way and as we know, their life was in constant jeopardy.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (Slide 12)
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

We might not even realize the depth of which mockery goes in the heart of individuals. Evil mocks good because it simply cannot understand it. Evil mocks good because good exposes the bad.

Feelings of envy and jealousy fester until those things evolve into disdain and utter disregard for fellow human beings.

The mocker’s internal rationale is that they are superior in thought and that those to be scorned are illegitimate in their system of belief. In all, non-believers will always mock the believer who strives to do good.

Much like Job’s wife who said to her husband: “Curse God and Die!”

The Greek word for Mockery in the Bible carries with it a desire to mock (glad at calamity), ridicule, and scoff someone with derision (contempt and disbelief) in the public square. A desire to publicly humiliate someone else in order to tear that person down.

Mockery is ugly and devious and mockery out of control seldom is absent of violence.

Our lesson reading depicts the depth of mockery for those who expressed their faith:
Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.
Jesus endured the mockery from those who He was literally trying to save. Predicting for the third time what would happen to Him here on earth He states in:
Mark 10:32-34 (Slide 13)
32 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: 33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, (Slide 14) and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”
Isaiah prophecies that He will be despised and rejected.
The Lyrics of this song ring true according to the Prophecy of Isaiah concerning Jesus:
You were despised
You were rejected, Lord
Those who passed by
Even averted their gaze from your sight
Such was the suffering you bore for us
Invitation
All praise and glory be to God because that is no longer the case!!
In that same song we also learn that God now has “Highly Exalted” Jesus our Savior:
God has Highly Exalted your Name
He has enthroned you on high,
Jesus the Name above all names!
Thank God for what He has done for us through His Son.
Jesus went through all kinds of mockery and ridicule and died for our sin.
Have you taken advantage of the free gift and been baptized for the remission of your sin? If not, don’t delay. Do it today.
If you are in Christ but need prayer for any reason, please let us know and we will lift up your petition to God……….
Please let us know how we may assist you…………..

Reading

Hebrews 11:32-40
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

Please visit our website for the full audio of this study:
Shelbyvillechurch.com
Shelbyville Church of Christ

06/26/2026

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? (Slide 1)
Psalm 22 & Matthew 27:46

Reading: Ephesians 2:14-22

The research and preparation of this sermon has led me on a journey of discovery. That is; to grasp and to understand the circumstances of this plea and to search and understand the incredible events that occurred after our Savior on the Cross spoke these words and committed His Spirit to God Almighty.

Take note that as I begin this series based on Psalm 22 and the significance of the events after the death of our Lord, I am unsure at this time how many lessons will follow. As always, any work or lesson writing becomes a living document. Always learning, ever discovering.

Psalm 22:1-2 (Slide 2)
1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.

David expresses in his writing a sense of great fear and loneliness. He feels he faces his circumstances alone without God. Undoubtedly, David knew in times past and leading up to where he is now that God had been with him. But now he feels he faces his challenges alone.

Matthew 27:46 (Slide 3)
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

I submit to you that Jesus, though I am convinced felt these words, He also knew exactly what He was saying when He quoted Psalm 22:1. He knew what He was saying would be recorded and that His words would validate that He is the Messiah. That is what David is prophesying in this Psalm.

Just as some of His final words prove His identity, so too did they prove His voluntary submission to the will of God and the giving of His life for the lost.

Luke 23:46 (Slide 4)
And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
No one took His life He gave it. “I commit My Spirit” indicates the completion of His voluntary mission.

Matthew 27:41-43 (Slide 5)
41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. (Slide 6) 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

Could He have come down from the cross? Could He have saved Himself? Could He have asked God to rescue Him? Absolutely!! But He didn’t! He chose to follow through.

Again, it is no coincidence that Jesus cries out just as the Psalmist David had written in Psalm 22. The pleas of both men connect to the prophecy of Jesus on the cross bearing the sins of man alone.

“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” is an exact representation in Hebrew as the prophecy written by David. It is then translated into Greek by Matthew and for us in English for our understanding.

Psalm 22 was written approximately 1,000 years before the crucifixion of Jesus and is considered as one of the most vivid and detailed prophecies regarding Jesus and the cross.

The words written by David and spoken by Jesus on the cross are heartbreaking and depict the anguished feeling of abandonment felt by our Savior and reflected also in the life of David.

David's writing was inspired by his own personal suffering, Yet, even his life experiences never reached the depth of abandonment that Jesus experienced on the Cross.

The Holy Spirit guided the thoughts of David as he pinned the words of this Psalm and Jesus, forth right, fulfilled and spoke these words on the Cross signifying all that the Cross meant for victory over death and the grave.

The words spoken by Jesus are proof positive of His suffering, His death and ultimate victory. The passage of Psalm 22 and the inspired Gospel accounts show the continuity of the entire Bible and the main theme, that is; it all points to Jesus.

Jesus made these statements concerning the Bible’s central theme:

Luke 24:25-27 (Slide 7)
25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” (Slide 8) 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Luke 24:44-45 (Slide 9)
44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

David’s agony of abandonment was happening in real time as he fled from his enemies and utterly felt alone. A time in his hour of need when he seems to feel God had forsaken him. Yet, his writing is prophetic concerning the words Jesus spoke on the cross.

I would venture that there are few Christians today that on occasion do not feel in hard times our spirit within waver and wonder where God is in my time of need.

I hope at the conclusion of these lessons we will be able to see that God has been “there all the while.”

Even though David had fallen on hard times because of persecution, his abandonment was not the literal abandonment that Jesus endured.

I don’t have a complete grasp on what Jesus meant when he cried, “Why have you forsaken me” but I do know that’s what God had done.

Jesus had the entirety of all of man’s sin laid upon Him.

Sin is dark, black, cruel, evil, spiritually deadly, the summation of immorality, ugly, and encompasses everything that opposes the very nature of God. God cannot have fellowship with anything that is opposite of His nature.

The very purpose of Jesus going to the Cross was to destroy what is opposite of the nature of God.

1 John 3:8 (Slide 10)
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

In order for that work to be completed something extraordinary had to happen. So for the first time in the existence of eternity, Jesus is alone and without fellowship and connection to God. He truly has been forsaken as the stench of our sin is born upon His body.

The reality and the concept of being separated from God as visually seen in Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross is relatable to separation from God for eternity for those who reject God’s grace and mercy. Reserved by separation for an eternity of suffering.

However, David knew that God had always been there for him:

Psalm 22:3-5 (Slide 11)
3 But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
5 They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

Despite this feeling of abandonment, David knew the true makings of our Holy God. He reminds himself that God has always been a stalwart fixture in the lives of the Israelites.

He later writes in:
Psalm 46:1 (Slide 12)
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.

He knows God is ever present and his feelings of abandonment were the inspiration of his prophetic words regarding Jesus and the cross.

However, be reminded Jesus was truly forsaken on the cross. Therefore, Holy is our God who could not look at the sin carried to the Cross by Jesus.

Isaiah 53:4-6 (Slide 13)
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
(Slide 14) He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 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.

Jesus submitted Himself to the Holiness of God volunteering to take on the necessary requirement for our justification on the Cross.

Romans 3:23-26 (Slide 15)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, (Slide 16) because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Invitation

God’s abandonment of Jesus on the cross is the life preserver of our soul.
Jesus not only conquered death, but the death caused by sin. Having given all mankind a path to be justified through obedient faith by shedding His Blood on the cross.

Have you heard the Gospel call yet remain in your sin? Why not choose the cleansing power of the Blood of Christ and be washed clean in baptism. The Gospel message is the power of God for salvation.

If you are in Christ but the feeling of being all alone has clouded your journey, let your brethren pray for you and help restore your faith.

Please let us know how we may serve you…………….

Reading
Ephesians 2:14-22
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Please visit our website for the full audio of this study:
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Shelbyville Church of Christ

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