Holy Week

I would like to share an email that I sent to the New River Worship Center community of believers. I truly believe that it is very important for ALL BELIEVERS to turn our attention to God and seek Him with all of our heart. These are perilous (dangerous) times in which we are living. We need to focus our attention on Christ and remind ourselves of the promises that are found in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!!

Good morning from the Pastor's Desk! 

I trust that your week is going well. Spring is here and the pollen count is high but we have the promise of a Risen Savior being present and active in our daily lives. I have seen the presence of God up close and in a personal way throughout this week. The goodness and greatness of God is revealed on a daily basis but there are times that we have to make an effort to look for and recognize His presence. I am thankful that I have "learned to trust in Jesus and that I have learned to take Him at His word..." Oh, what a glorious day that will be when we are able to see Him face to face and offer our praise and adoration to Him. We are called to remain faithful to our race of life until that day arrives. I desire to continue being faithful to God because He has certainly been faithful to me.

The week between Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday is referred to as "Holy Week." The last week of the life of Jesus Christ on planet earth is full of many events that have great significance to each of us. Jesus enters Jerusalem to a wonderful celebration. He teaches in the synagogue and encounters great resistance from the "religious" leaders of that day. He faces a series of "trials" that prove to be a farce to say the least. He is betrayed, beaten and humiliated by those He came to redeem and rescue. The end of this process leads Him to Golgotha where he dies on the cross for the sins of humanity. But you can't stop reading the story at that point. You must push on and find His body placed in a borrowed tomb and prepared to be interned for His burial. BUT "Up from the grave he arose, triumphant over His foes..." 

Sunday will be a special day of celebration because the "TOMB IS EMPTY." The empty tomb promises each of us the hope for eternal life. The empty tomb reminds us that we can draw near to God in a personal relationship through the blood of Christ that was shed on that old rugged cross. The empty tomb reminds us that those who die in Christ will also be resurrected at some point in the future. The empty tomb reminds each of us that we can be freed and delivered from the bondage of sin. Oh, we have so much to celebrate when we look back at the story of Jesus Christ that is revealed in the Bible. EACH OF US NEEDS TO TAKE TIME OUT OF OUR BUSY SCHEDULES TO OFFER OUR PERSONAL PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING TO GOD. 

John 11:25, "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." (NKJV) (Emphasis added)