Easter Celebration
Easter Sunday, March 31 | 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00am
Each spring, millions of Christian people around the world celebrate Holy Week. This week, designed to remember the final week of the Jesus’ earthly life, has been set aside since the earliest days of the Christian Church. The gospel accounts give many details from this week of Jesus’ life, all worth remembering, but the most celebrated events are Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. We will recognize those three events in our services during Holy Week.
What do those days mean? Why do we remember them together?
In celebrating Palm Sunday, we remember Jesus entering Jerusalem to the accolades of the crowds, who cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The majority of those in the crowd were hoping for a political savior who would lead the charge in throwing off the bonds of the Roman armies that occupied their homeland. They were not expecting a humble Savior King.
In the Bible we see that even Jesus’ disciples were caught off guard by His death. They too were anticipating that Jesus would soon bring in a new era of God’s kingdom on earth as foretold by the prophets. They did not see two comings of Jesus, first as our suffering Savior, and second as a ruling and reigning King.
Join us on Palm Sunday, March 24 at 8:00, 9:30, or 11:00am
On Good Friday, we focus on the dark and somber events surrounding the death of Jesus on the cross. We remember His betrayal, abandonment, and physical suffering. The death that Jesus suffered was filled with great agony and pain. But it was not just a physical death; Jesus Christ died in our place as He carried the weight of our sin on His shoulders, fully satisfying the wrath of God against sin. Our Good Friday services are reflective in nature, filled with Scripture and meaningful songs that help us reflect on what Jesus did for us.
Join us on Good Friday, March 29 at 6:00 or 8:00pm
Then comes Resurrection morning, Easter Sunday! An empty tomb, angels, a stone rolled away, and hope reborn! As the early reports of that first Easter morning found their way to the frightened disciples, they found it hard to believe what they thought to be impossible – dead people don’t come back to life. In those early, dark hours of that first resurrection morning, despair still ruled the day. Some, however, dared to believe, and hope was reborn from an empty tomb. In the resurrection of Christ, death is dead, swallowed up in His victory. Easter Sunday is a celebration – Jesus is alive!
We are right to stop at the empty tomb of Jesus and follow John the Baptist’s wise advice: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Something amazing happened that morning that changed history for all time. Life conquered death, full atonement for sin was made, and the victory was announced in a most unusual way. The cry of victory from the empty tomb is still reverberating down through history.
About those Romans…despite all the conquests of the Roman Empire and the hundreds of years of world rule, today she lies in the dust of history, long since covered by the sands of time. But Jesus the Galilean who was crucified on a Roman cross? He’s alive and doing quite well.
He is our risen Savior, our soon and coming King!
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Join us on Easter Sunday, March 31 at 8:00, 9:30, or 11:00am!