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I hope you have taken up the Lenten Challenge of finding some solitude and silence this week. One of the benefits of arriving at the church by 5:00 am is that silence and solitude are readily available and I try to be quiet and still before the Lord on those days. In our busy and noisy world, carving out time each for some peace and quiet (one of my mother’s favorite phrases growing up) is all the more important. The prayer life of Jesus who modeled finding solitude to pray inspires me to do the same. I hope you have been blessed by our Taking Up Lent challenges over the last five weeks.

Last night I had the final cottage meeting of the Lenten season. There was a total of 15 and my thanks to those who came out and to our deacons for coordinating and hosting these very important gatherings. If you haven’t turned in your questionnaire please do so asap. There are a few extras in the gathering area. If you didn’t make a cottage meeting, we still would love for you to fill out and turn in a questionnaire. Simply put your completed questionnaires in my mailbox.

Tomorrow is a big day here as the 7:00 am Men’s Bible Study will have its last time together until September. Spring cleanup begins at 8:00 am so please consider coming out with rakes, gloves and such as we clean up around the grounds. In the evening, the Men’s Banquet will happen. I am looking forward to seeing many of you tomorrow as well as Sunday.

Sunday is Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week. In addition, it is a fifth Sunday with an every generation Sunday School starting at 9:30 am in the sanctuary. We will be completing the Believe lesson in an intergenerational and creative way. In addition, we will reference Palm Sunday through the music and liturgy in both services and the kids sermon in the 10:30 am service. We will have palms available in both services.

With next week being Holy Week, we have been busy in preparation. Wednesday is a Roots Night with our usual meal and activities. If you are interested, the Adult Bible Study on Wednesday is on the resurrection of Jesus, certainly appropriate in Holy Week. Thursday evening at 7:00 pm is our Maundy Thursday Love Feast and for Good Friday, the youth are having a fundraiser meal at 5:00 pm followed by a showing of “The Passion of the Christ” for adults in the sanctuary at 6:00 pm and an age-appropriate movie for children in the children’s wing. Holy Week culminates with Resurrection Sunday. Sunrise service starts at 6:15 am at Alan and Pam Platt’s home and then our traditional service is at 8:15 am. Sunday School at 9:30 am and Believe will be on hold as we celebrate our Savior’s resurrection with an appropriate Sunday School lesson. Our 10:30 am contemporary service will follow. Expect some meaningful worship experiences in the coming week and of course the joyous celebration of the greatest news of all - “HE HAS RISEN.”

This week I was reading again of the last week of Jesus life. So much happens in Jesus final days from the triumphal entry to the resurrection that too often we skip over in our rush from Palm Sunday to Easter. Since this week’s practice is on Bible study, I spent some extra time in studying the last week of Jesus life. And what I found amazing was of how “in control” Jesus was in every situation. When he announced that a disciple would betray him, to being arrested in the garden, to a mockery of trials, and to the scourging that all but took his life before He got to Calvary, Jesus didn’t panic and didn’t overreact. Isaiah 53:7 predicted as much hundreds of years before the passion of Jesus. That verse reads, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” My prayer as we complete our Lenten journey with Jesus through Holy Week is that we will once again be in awe of the goodness and grace of Jesus as He gave His life for ours on the cross of calvary. As horrific as His death was, His resurrection is all the more glorious. As Paul so boldly declared in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Indeed, He does!

Have a great weekend and enjoy some solitude and silence as we prepare for a busy Holy Week. Looking forward to continuing our Lenten journey together this weekend. And remember it is Friday…but Sunday’s coming!

Pastor Kevin