Fellowship Baptist Church

Today we worshiped at Fellowship Baptist Church, 3151 Conway Wallrose Road, Baden, PA 15005, 724.266.1922, www.fbcoe.org, Rev. Bob Harrison, Jr., Pastor.

Scripture – KJV

John 19:1-5 –

Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,

And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.

Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

Mark 15:15-20 –

And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.

And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.

And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,

And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!

And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

Hebrews 2:9-10 –

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

1 Peter 2:21-23 –

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

Isaiah 53:3-5 –

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Bob’s thoughts:

We were warmly welcomed at the door by an Army vet whose father was a Marine vet who fought on Iwo. When he told his father’s story and detailed his war wounds, I wanted to say that we Marines seem to acquire extra holes in our bodies. He guided us to the sanctuary where he introduced us to the pastor.

I was disappointed that the only cross I could find was on a flag staff. The church is in a former elementary school and I’m sorry I didn’t get to ask how the rest of the building is used.

The pastor did an excellent job with a solo rendition of a hymn. I don’t think I was familiar with any of the hymns today.

The sermon title, “Pilate Illegally Mistreats Jesus” was misleading: Pilate tried to “save” Christ from His calling. It’s hard now to discern Pilate’s motives, but he did not want to accept his role in Christ’s death.

The pastor showed photos of Christ’s path to the Cross and used Scripture to support his message. He believes Christ was scourged twice and made good argument to support this.

I found it interesting that just this morning I read a post from a Marine who was questioning how a pastor of a megachurch needs armed guards when they come down off the stage to meet parishioners. In rebuttal to his statement, someone accused him of not having his facts right that the Roman government killed Christ. He was quick to correct them, that it was the church, not the Roman government, that killed Christ. Pilate tried everything to keep from being used.

I was thankful we got to talk to the pastor and his wife after the service.

Jan’s thoughts:

Today we learned the reason this church building looks more like a school: that’s the function this building served in the past.

We were greeted by a man who told us about how the church came to be located here and about his father, a survivor of the Battle of Iwo Jima. Bob was introduced to another Vietnam veteran while I chatted with the pastor’s wife. We were welcomed warmly by a number of folks and cordially invited to stay for the lunch following worship.

The gentleman who led the singing was accompanied by a pianist and an organist. I wished I knew any of the hymns, but I did not.

The pastor asked for a show of hands of everyone who had someone in the path of Hurricane Irma. After most hands went up, the pastor asked for a show of hands of all who believed in the effectiveness of fervent prayer. This time every hand was raised. Prayer was offered and all were encouraged to continue their faithful, fervent prayers.

The congregation was reminded that the church provides financial assistance through Operation Renewed Hope and several paths were outlined to give in this way.

The message was “Pilate Illegally Mistreats Jesus.” The pastor began by stating that Pilate planned to mistreat Jesus, parade Him in front of the Jews to appease their wrath, and then let Him go.

The pastor showed slides of the Via Dolorosa and some other architecture of the area where Jesus was tried, scourged, and mocked by the Roman soldiers. I heard for the first time the theory that Christ was scourged twice. Based on his studies, the pastor stated he believes this theory to be true though he urged the congregation to study it for themselves and arrive at their own conclusion.

He went into great detail about the scourgings, the Crown of Thorns, the mocking by the Roman soldiers, after which Pilate paraded Him to induce the sympathy of the Jews, as if to say, “Hasn’t He suffered enough?”

In verse 5, Pilate, the “unconscious prophet,” cried “Behold the man!” and we cannot help but hear in our minds, not “the man” but the Son of Man. The pastor reminded that Christ is the Man we need to see, that He suffered all this for each and every person.

He then asked one of the most vital questions, one we all need to answer for ourselves: “Will you choose to bow the knee in true humility and submission?”

It’s actually the question of our lives.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we pray Your continued blessings on Your church. May they grow where You have planted them. Amen.