Why Easter?

April 8, 2022 | Tracy Troxel

We have added several services during Easter Week this year. Why did we do that?  Why should you consider coming to some or all of these new services this year?

  • First, we haven’t been able to have a ‘normal’ Easter week series of services in three years. The past 2 Easter weeks have either been cancelled or greatly altered because of COVID.
  • Second, the death and resurrection of Jesus is the heart of the gospel and the center of our faith. We have missed focusing on the death and resurrection of Jesus together. This Easter season we are offering more opportunities to worship Christ together.
  • Third, each of the services provides a unique and important emphasis on Easter. Unless we lament our sin and are confronted by the incredible sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, we can never fully appreciate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Unless we celebrate the resurrection with robust passion, we diminish what God has done for us in Jesus on the cross.
    • The Palm Sunday Choir Concert (6:30 p.m.) will lead us to contemplate the greatness of Jesus through 15 great anthems that highlight the glory and beauty of Jesus our Savior.
    • Our Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service (7:00 p.m.) focuses on the events leading up to the death of Christ. As we read through the passion narratives, we gradually turn down the lights until we are in total darkness. This service is reflective and sober as we contemplate Christ’s sacrifice for us.
    • Good Friday Prayer Meetings (6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) allow us to express our dependence on Christ alone for our entire lives.
    • Church-wide fasting (Thursday 7:00 p.m. – Friday 7:00 p.m.) enables us to focus on our Lord and Savior.
    • The Good Friday Service (7:00 p.m.) continues our reflections on the death of Christ as we lament our sin, the sin of God’s church and the sin and suffering of our broken world. This year, we will have a mix of corporate lament, confession, and music as well as meditations on the 7 last words of Jesus.
    • On Easter Sunday at 7:30 a.m. at Hilltop Park and in our two indoor services (9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.) we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. He is our hope! We can only be filled with overwhelming joy and hope as we worship Jesus, who died and is now alive. He is risen indeed!

I’d encourage you to take part in as many of these services as you are able. I look forward to worshipping with you throughout this week.

In His grace,
Pastor Tracy