March 29 & 30 – The Upper Room
Saturday Night – 6pm | Sunday Morning – 9:15am & 11am
“The Last Supper” was the beginning of the end of Jesus’ life. Jesus knew that, within the next few hours, He would be dead. Jesus knew what was coming; the pain, the torture, and the violence. Despite it all, Jesus chose to spend the last few hours of freedom doing two things: Serving his friends and praying (we will talk about prayer in week 2). The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus washed the feet of ALL of the disciples. He washed the feet of the man who would soon betray him (Judas). He washed the feet of the man who would soon deny him (Peter). In a moment where we would have been filled with bitterness and anger towards those who are about to betray us, Jesus acted with love, grace, and humility, even though He knew their future actions. During the last week of Jesus’ life here on earth, He said to a group of people around Him, “The greatest among you will be your servant” and then He showed the disciples what that truly meant and looked like. When others wrong you, will you still serve them? Will you humble yourself enough to serve everyone around you? Will you serve even when it costs you something?
Key verses: John 13:1-17, 1st Corinthians 15:58, Matthew 23:11-12 Bottom Line: Be steadfast in your service to others, no matter the cost
April 5 & 6 – The Garden
Saturday Night – 6pm | Sunday Morning – 9:15am & 11am
In Jesus’ last moments of true freedom on Earth, He withdrew to pray. He prayed a simple, but bold prayer: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.” Jesus tells God exactly what He wants. He shares His heart’s desire because He knows the pain that is about to take place. Jesus knows that He can share His heart with the Father. He is bold in His prayer like Hebrews 4:16 tells us to be, “Let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” We should never shy away from the boldness of our prayers. If we need a miracle, pray for a miracle. If we need wisdom, pray for wisdom. But more importantly, He says, “Yet not my will but yours be done.” Jesus prays the bold prayer but also wants to show us that our desires should not supersede the desires of the Father. Though we have thoughts, plans, desires, and things we want accomplished in our lives, we have to submit to God’s plan for our life. Jeremiah 17 tells us that when we put our confidence in the Lord, we will not fear the heat, or the year of drought. Even though Jesus knew what the next few hours held for Him, He still put His faith in Christ. Are you bold enough to bring your concerns to God? Do you trust Him enough to know that He cares? Will you submit to His plan, even when it opposes your plan?
Key verses: Luke 22:39-46, Hebrews 4:16, Jeremiah 17:7-8 Bottom Line: Trust God’s plan for your life, even when it opposes your plans
April 12 & 13 – The Trial
Saturday Night – 6pm | Sunday Morning – 9:15am & 11am
After being questioned by the High Priest, Jesus is standing in front of Pilate. Pilate seems confused as to why Jesus is there which leads to one of the most interesting conversations of Jesus’ grueling night. Jesus explains that His “kingdom is not of this world” and, if it was, He “might not be delivered over to the Jews”. The concept of the “upside down Kingdom” is on full display during their interaction. Pilate viewed Jesus’ kingship differently than Jesus did, when he asked Him, “Do you claim to be the King of the Jews?” The world says that true power comes from force when Jesus tells Pilate that “my servants would be fighting” if His kingdom was of this world. Jesus then tells Pilate that “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” to which Pilate responds with the question, “What is truth?” The conversation ends with the crowd wanting to save Barabbas instead of Jesus. They exchange the life of a traitor for the life of a Savior. We exchange truth for a lie. We exchange God’s kingdom for our’s every day. Paul warns us to not be taken captive by “hollow and deceptive philosophy”. How can we live a life that embraces the truth of God’s Kingdom, even when it feels “upside down”? How can we exchange the desires we have for the plans God has for us?
Key verses: John 18:33-40, Colossians 2:4-8, 1st Timothy 2:1-7 Bottom Line: The crowd exchanged Jesus for Barabbas. We exchange truth for a lie.
April 18 – GOOD FRIDAY – The Cross
Friday Night – 6pm
Jesus shows great restraint during His arrest, torture, and crucifixion. He never fights back and, oftentimes, He doesn’t even say a word, even in the face of false accusations. After the crown of thorns has been placed on His head and the beating is well underway, Pilate tells Jesus, “I have the power to either free you or crucify you”. Jesus simply responds, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” Though Jesus was there at the creation of the world, He restrained His authority. The sacrifice Jesus made was His choice and He made that choice because of the love for His people. Jesus had the authority to stop the pain and torture at anytime but chose to endure it to obtain “eternal inheritance” for us.
Key verses: John 19:1-25, 1st John 2:2, Hebrews 9:11-15 Bottom Line: Jesus’ submission was an act of love
April 19 & 20 – EASTER SERVICES – The Ressurection
Saturday Night – 4pm & 6pm | Sunday Morning – 7:30am, 9:15am & 11:15am
After the longest night of Jesus’ life and the longest 3 days in the lives of the Disciples, Sunday has arrived. The dawn was at its darkest, but, like Romans 5 tells us, “at just the right time”, the daylight was about to break through. As Mary arrived at the empty tomb, she was greeted by two angels who asked, “Woman, why are you crying?” Then Jesus also asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” Maybe they were trying to comfort her in her moment of sadness. Or maybe they were trying to gently communicate to her that there was nothing to cry about anymore. The Savior she thought was gone, had returned. The silence had been broken with the sound of praise. The separation she had felt from God had been replaced with closeness of God. The darkness in our lives feels overwhelming but the light of Christ drives it out. Jesus’ sacrifice has the power to break all addictions, heal all relationships, provide redemption to all of our stories, and so much more. Jesus is the “light of the world” and He then calls us to be the light in this very dark world. Darkness is gone, light has driven it away, and salvation is here.
Key verses: John 20:11-18, John 8:12, Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 5:6-8 Bottom Line: At just the right time, Christ died for us. At just the right time, Christ raised Himself from the grave.