April 2016

Andrew Lewis, Worship Pastor

Jesus Christ came to earth approximately 2,000 years ago. Being fully God, and fully man, He lived a sinless life. Before Christ, God accepted sacrifices from man. Only the best animal offerings were acceptable. A lamb, perhaps, spotless and without blemish. When Jesus came, He accepted His fate as our sacrifice. No longer would an animal be needed for this task. Jesus became the spotless lamb of God on our behalf.  He endured the agony of the crucifixion for our sake, so that we might have eternal life through Him. On Easter we will celebrate him rising from the dead. Just a short time from now, we will be lifting our hands in excited wonder of the empty tomb! On Good Friday, however, we give full recognition to the death of Christ. We will focus on the pain He endured so that we didn’t have to and His great love for us that led Him to the cross. Our Good Friday program ‘Tis Finish’d will be a great time of worship, and a difficult but necessary time of reflection. It is wonderful to celebrate the resurrection, but perhaps sometimes we can overlook the crucifixion which had to happen for our sakes.  On March 25th, let us gather to honor the death of our Savior, to mourn his passing, if you will. We have the benefit of knowing what happened. We know he didn’t stay in the grave, and on Sunday, the 27th we will celebrate that; but at the time of Christ’s death, there was no darker moment in history. The Earth itself wept for the Son of God. We will honor the death of Christ during our musical program, and celebrate the resurrection on Easter morning and every day after. In this way we can truly appreciate the power and glory of what the Lord has done for us. Our silent remembrance on Good Friday will resemble a funeral. And our loud and boisterous celebration on Sunday will resemble a wedding as the bride of Christ longs for the return of its groom. I hope to see you and your invited friends on Friday, March 25th at 7:30pm.