Good Day, Beloved!
It’s hard to believe that spring is here … but it comes whether or not we are ready. It makes me think of the other things in our lives that we are not ready for them to come but they do … seemingly without any warning. We have taken a journey this Lenten Season unlike any I can remember. The world is returning to some version of what we remember to be “Normal.” AMEN!
Holy Week is just about upon us, and I hope you are prepared for the emotional roller coaster that this week brings. This week, in my opinion, is the most important week of the church year. Christ’s birth is truly important, but it is solely in the events of this week that give us hope.
So, what will be different for us this year following Our Savior’s resurrection? Will it just mean that we can finally have the things we gave up for Lent? Or does it have a deeper meaning. I pray you said a deeper meaning.
Once again let us ponder the words from Luke 23: 44-47 … “44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
In these verses from Luke, we see prophesy fulfilled. The curtain was torn in two and darkness encompassed the whole land. This is a sacrifice like no other man has made, nor father, for that matter. This was the biggest recorded act of love that mankind has been a part of. God knew that only through the death and resurrection of His one and only Son Jesus Christ would humanity have a path to eternal salvation. I love this scene as depicted in Mel Gibson’s “Passion Of The Christ.” After those last words were uttered by Jesus and He gave up His spirit, a huge tear dropped from Heaven. This is indicative of the sadness that God must have felt as He watched His Son mocked, ridiculed, tortured, and crucified for the sins of mankind.
Do not let this visual escape your thoughts during Holy Week and beyond. Jesus loved us so much that He willingly endured all of it for you and me. So, if Christ could do this for us … then why is it so hard for us to share a minute fraction of that love with others? That, my beloved is what must be different after Holy Week this year. We must be renewed in the love that is Holy Week. Let that love set us apart from the world. Amen?
He Has Risen … He Has Risen Indeed … Alleluia !!!
Pastor Gary Pomrenke, Junior Counselor
It’s hard to believe that spring is here … but it comes whether or not we are ready. It makes me think of the other things in our lives that we are not ready for them to come but they do … seemingly without any warning. We have taken a journey this Lenten Season unlike any I can remember. The world is returning to some version of what we remember to be “Normal.” AMEN!
Holy Week is just about upon us, and I hope you are prepared for the emotional roller coaster that this week brings. This week, in my opinion, is the most important week of the church year. Christ’s birth is truly important, but it is solely in the events of this week that give us hope.
So, what will be different for us this year following Our Savior’s resurrection? Will it just mean that we can finally have the things we gave up for Lent? Or does it have a deeper meaning. I pray you said a deeper meaning.
Once again let us ponder the words from Luke 23: 44-47 … “44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
In these verses from Luke, we see prophesy fulfilled. The curtain was torn in two and darkness encompassed the whole land. This is a sacrifice like no other man has made, nor father, for that matter. This was the biggest recorded act of love that mankind has been a part of. God knew that only through the death and resurrection of His one and only Son Jesus Christ would humanity have a path to eternal salvation. I love this scene as depicted in Mel Gibson’s “Passion Of The Christ.” After those last words were uttered by Jesus and He gave up His spirit, a huge tear dropped from Heaven. This is indicative of the sadness that God must have felt as He watched His Son mocked, ridiculed, tortured, and crucified for the sins of mankind.
Do not let this visual escape your thoughts during Holy Week and beyond. Jesus loved us so much that He willingly endured all of it for you and me. So, if Christ could do this for us … then why is it so hard for us to share a minute fraction of that love with others? That, my beloved is what must be different after Holy Week this year. We must be renewed in the love that is Holy Week. Let that love set us apart from the world. Amen?
He Has Risen … He Has Risen Indeed … Alleluia !!!
Pastor Gary Pomrenke, Junior Counselor