This is Holy Week with its focus on Jesus and His journey to the cross which culminates with His resurrection and our celebration of Easter. I am moved by the different moments faced by Jesus and His followers in this final week of His physical life here on Earth. Holy Week began with Palm Sunday and Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The crowds welcomed Him by waving palm branches in the air and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” The people were ready to anoint Him as their Messiah and King. What a powerful day that was… full of religious and political hope. 

After that Jesus spent time with His followers, including Mary and Martha, in Bethany, the place where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. We don’t know much about this day except to think that He was spending time in community with His closest friends before the upcoming events. On Monday morning, Jesus returned to Jerusalem. Along the way, He cursed a fig tree because it had failed to bear fruit which symbolized God’s judgment upon the spiritually dead religiosity of His day. When He arrived at the Temple, He found the courts full of corrupt money changers and began to clear the Temple. He returned to Bethany on Monday evening.

On Tuesday, Jesus went back to Jerusalem, where the religious leaders attempted to entrap Him by accusing Him of blasphemy because He continued to establish Himself as a spiritual authority. Later that afternoon, He and His followers went to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus gave the Olivet Discourse. Tuesday is also the day that Judas negotiated to betray Jesus. Then, after a long day, Jesus once again went back to Bethany to be with His friends.

We don’t know what Jesus did on Wednesday except to project that Jesus spent time with God and friends to be strengthened for what was to come.

On Maundy Thursday, Jesus and His followers celebrated Passover and the Last Supper. As the Lamb of God, Jesus was about to fulfill the meaning of Passover by giving His body to be broken and His blood to be shed in sacrifice, freeing us from sin and death. Jesus washed the feet of His followers to show them how they are to serve just as He came to serve. He then went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray to His Father. Later that evening, Jesus was betrayed by a kiss from Judas which began the series of trials which ultimately ended on Good Friday, the most difficult day of Holy Week, when Pilate gave Him over to be crucified. Jesus was placed on a cross by the Roman soldiers, where He breathed His last breath. He was then buried in a tomb by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. 

We don’t know much about what happened on Saturday except to project that Jesus’ followers were deeply grieved and fearful for their own lives.

On Resurrection Sunday, Jesus was raised from the dead, which is the most important event in history. A dead man came back to life. On Easter Sunday, Jesus made at least five appearances to people, beginning with Mary Magdalene.

Holy Week is a great opportunity to devote some personal time to reflect on this pivotal event in history. This is a moment when we can focus our hearts and minds to feel some of what occurred and listen in our hearts to what God wants us to hear from Him as we celebrate Easter and the Resurrection this weekend. He is Risen! He is risen indeed! We adore you O Christ and we bless You because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world. We adore you O Christ and we bless you.

Here are some upcoming opportunities to SHARE LIFE, STRENGTHEN FAITH, SERVE OTHERS, and SPREAD HOPE to our family and community.           

Our annual EASTER EGG HUNT is Saturday, April 16. The weather gurus are forecasting RAIN so we’re making a pivot and are moving it indoors at our facility. Bobby and the Children’s Ministry Team have been scrambling to put all the pieces together so that we can best serve the families of our church and community. It will still include all the elements – a FREE pancake breakfast, face painting, and bounce houses. The fun starts at 8:30am. The plastic, candy-filled Easter Eggs will be scattered throughout the Children’s Ministry wing, and families will collect eggs together. We will still have a pre-school and special needs area as well. 

As you can imagine, pulling this off will require extra effort and work to set up and clean up. If you want to help, just show up early or come around 11:00am to help clean up. Also, please tell as many people as possible about this change. The good news is that the Easter Egg Hunt is still on!

The next DRIVE-THRU FOOD DRIVE collection day to support Interfaith Food Ministry is Friday, April 22, from 8:00-10:30am. Please bring your non-perishable foods to the church, and we’ll make sure all the food gets delivered to Interfaith. This is a huge help to the resource-challenged in our community. We will also be receiving specific items to help Hospitality House. Here’s how you can find out what they most need. Just bring items from this list with your food donations

WOMEN’S RETREAT is April 29 – May 1. Ladies, join us for Times of Refreshing at Camp Del Oro outside of Nevada City. Enjoy a weekend of fun, relaxation, workshops, worship, crafts, and stories of transformation. Register online or at church.

SERVE OUR COMMUNITY is back and expanding so we can impact more people in our local community. This year we will be out in our community over three weekends beginning April 24. There is something for everyone, whether you can do physical-type projects or not. You can check out the opportunities Pastor John Fairchild and Mare Dibert have worked to make available and sign up for the one that fits you best on our website.

THIS SUNDAY, we continue our UNLEASHING HOPE series as we focus on the Resurrection of Jesus. We will take a fresh and unusual approach by looking at Easter from the perspective of light out of darkness. It’s called Nevertheless: Hope in the Darkness. Please pray that we will all be moved by the promise we can receive from this momentous event in history. It’s not too late to invite family and friends to come gather with you for our Easter experience.

Here are the links you’ll need to prepare for Sunday’s Service: 

• Message Notes and Study Guide
• Weekly Spotify Playlist
• Children's Ministry
• Student Ministry 

Joyfully living everyday life on mission in intimacy with Jesus and others,

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