Good Friday and Easter Service 2015

Written by Julie P.

We begin our Passion Week with Palm Sunday, the day Jesus enters into Jerusalem, and his arrival was welcomed by many who believed Jesus would become a political leader against the Roman government. Unbeknownst to them, Jesus came for a better reason – to become the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sin of the world. As we prepared ourselves for this week, many of us went through the Passion Experience which was a series of rooms that brought us back to the time of Jesus’ encounters with the Pharisees, Pilate, Judas, Peter, and many others.

On Good Friday, we began the night watching an abridged version of The Passion of the Christ as a reminder of the way Jesus suffered for all of us. Afterwards, Pastor Jonathan gave a message over the meaning of forgiveness and the cost that Jesus paid in order for us to be forgiven by God as He said the words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” It was definitely a sobering moment for all of us as we reflected on Jesus’ willingness to become that suffering servant for us. We ended the night by having a time of prayer and commitment as we shared the Lord’s Supper.

“And on the third day he will rise.” On Easter Sunday, the stone was rolled away, and the tomb was found empty because our Savior Jesus Christ has risen! As a prelude to our Easter Service, our musically-talented folks decided to gather as an orchestra to perform a beautiful music piece for this joyous occasion.

Then, Pastor Jonathan gave a message of the hope that Jesus' resurrection brings, and he painted a picture of what Heaven would be like from Revelations 21:3-6. Because of Jesus' resurrection, He defeated the grave and bridged the chasm between God and humanity, and we can now look forward to this eternal relationship we have with God in Heaven!

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57