Easter 2003 Dr. Drake Williams III,  Minister of Spiritual Enrichment

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

April is the month this year when we celebrate Holy Week. We will look forward to a cantata at both services on Palm Sunday. We will conduct communion services on both Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Once again, our Passion Play will be held at Freddy Hill Farm on Good Friday evening. On Easter Sunday we look forward to our dawn service at 7:00 AM and then our regular Easter Worship Service at 10:30 AM. This is a very important week in the life of our church.

Holy Week highlights the key aspects of Jesus' life - that He is fully God, fully man and our great Savior. On Palm Sunday, we remember how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Although He rode into Jerusalem in humble fashion, people proclaimed, "Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!" much like they did for conquering kings. While Jesus looked just like those of His day, already He was rightly praised as the true and conquering king (Mark 11:1-11; Revelation 5).

On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, we remember the depths of Jesus' human experience in the final events of His earthly life. We remember the suffering and anguish that He experienced as He was betrayed, mocked, accused, and then died. Jesus experienced great pain, trial, and temptation as He took upon Himself the sins of the world. He felt the tremendous pains of being human, and as a result, we have a Savior who knows the great pains of this world (Mark 15:1-47; Hebrews 4:15).

On Easter, we remember that Jesus rose again from the grave. Although He died a gruesome death, He could not remain in the grave because He is the living God (Luke 24:1-12). By His resurrection, He proves that He was not solely human but also God Himself (Colossians 1:15-23).
This year as we make our week through Holy Week, I encourage you to think deeply about these different aspects of Jesus. May this week in the life of the church cause you to sing loudly in your heart, "Hallelujah! What a Savior!"

With Christian Greetings,

Dr. Drake Williams, III,
Minister of Spiritual Enrichment

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