The Whole of Holy Week

So often we bypass Holy week and head straight for the resurrection.


Let's not stop at Maundy Thursday, after all there isn't any significance of Jesus washing His disciples feet.


And Good Friday? What't that? Its all about Easter right?!


WRONG.  

Four years ago I attended my first Good Friday Service.

I will never forget it.

My pastor painted this picture of Christ, hanging there, nails in his hands, slowly dying one of the most painful deaths ever imagined.

For me.

With a blood red stamp on his chest.

PAID IN FULL

Right there, God comes down and puts a red stamp on his Beloved Son’s chest.

That is exactly what happened, Christ died for us and took our debt, past present and future debt… It is paid in full, yours, mine, the neighbor who blasts music at three in the morning, or the parent who was not there for their child.

This is Love.

That a man, who while God, was still FULLY human, suffered for the sins of the WHOLE world.

Yes, we have Easter, the resurrection, the celebration, but too often we forget that before He rose, He died.

God gives us this Love. In our relationships with people He sets the example, He says  “look at how much I love you, go and love others like I love you”.


How He loves us is how we should love others.

Good Friday is the day to remember the sacrifice, the day to prepare our hearts for the resurrection, but it is the day that God shows us just how much he loves us. 

“Eloi, Eloi” “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

It wasn’t easy.

It was not painless.

Quite the opposite.

So tomorrow is Easter.

Yesterday we took the time to prepare our hearts, to recognize the depth of that our Father went though just to reach us.

These past few weeks Lent has prepared us, driven us closer to our Father so that tomorrow we can celebrate, celebrate everything good and beautiful and true about the Light, about how He saved our lives.

Fee writes the perfect song for Easter, Rise and Sing , I encourage you all tomorrow to Rise and Sing for the Glory of the King, our Father, who paid in full our debt so that we may be free.

If you’re alive and you’ve been redeemed, rise & sing, rise & sing.
If you’ve been touched by the mercy king, rise & sing, rise & sing.

If you were bound but now you’re free, rise & sing, rise & sing.
Lift up a shout of victory, rise & sing, rise & sing.

Our God is risen and reigning and we’re elevating the glory of our God and King, everybody rise & sing

It’s in your heart rings a melody, rise & sing, rise & sing.
If you have tasted and you have seen, rise & sing, rise & sing.

Let the redeemed of the Lord sing hallelujah, hallelujah.
Let the redeemed of the Lord sing our God reigns, our God reigns!

Our God is risen and reigning and we’re elevating the glory of our God and King.
'Cause Our God is risen and reigning and we’re elevating the glory of our God and King
'Cause Our God is risen and reigning and we’re elevating the glory of our God and King, everybody rise & sing.