Hi friends,

 

            This week is a busy one but an important one for remembering Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross.

 

            I was at the Seniors’ Breakfast this morning and Jim Rilling shared the devotional. I thought it was very profound. He talked about the words that the mockers threw at Jesus while He hung on the cross in Matthew 47:42,

 

            “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself.”

 

            They meant those words for mockery, but, as Jim noted, truer words were never spoken.

 

            Jesus had the power to come down from the cross, but he couldn’t if He wanted to save the world. He didn’t save Himself from the derision of the people. He didn’t save Himself from the beatings of the Romans. And He didn’t save Himself from giving up His life.

 

            He didn’t because He knew that it was the Father’s will that He should be crushed and killed so that the sins of the people could be taken away for good.

 

            What an incredible Saviour! No one was ever more courageous. No one was ever more loving. No one was ever more sacrificial.

 

            May our hearts swell with the understanding and impact of that truth. It is easy to let these realities slip by us without us taking much note. May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened in order that we may know the glorious hope to which He has called us.  May He grant us a deeper insight into His gift of love to us.

 

            Tonight, we will be having our Maundy Thursday Service where we remember Jesus’ last supper with His disciples and His command to love one another. We will spend most of the time in worship song but will also share communion together and hear from God’s Word. I am super excited about tonight.

 

            Tomorrow is Good Friday. We will be having a community worship service at Emerge Church at 11:00am. Our own Pastor Dallas will be part of the worship team. It will be a powerful time of focusing on Jesus’ death on the cross. At 9:45am, there will be a group that will meet at City Hall to march with the cross up to Emerge. There will be times of prayer for our city as they march. You are more than welcome to join them.

 

            Then on Sunday, we will jump into a brand-new series called “IMPACT”. This series will focus on the impact that Jesus’ death and resurrection had on the spiritual realm, on believers and on non-believers. I will be teaching this Sunday out of the incredible passage in Colossians 2:13-15. Man, I love that passage. It is just a glory-fest about the power of our incredible Saviour!!!

 

            I hope you can participate in some or all of these events this weekend; I look forward to seeing you.

 

            I love being your pastor.

 

Pastor Tim