The time is nearly upon us. This Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the time between Good Friday and Easter. In many ways his is the most important season of the church year.
Now you might want to ask the question, What about Christmas? No doubt Christmas is hugely important. After all this is the day when we celebrate the incarnation. God becomes man, Jesus comes to earth to rescue His people it is very important, and we should celebrate it as best we can. Jesus is truly God’s greatest gift, but in the midst of that celebration, there is something we need to remember. The purpose of Christmas is Good Friday. Jesus came to lie down His life for our sins, to pay a price we could never pay. I’ve often wondered what the disciples would think if they would see us calling that day, “Good Friday.” Their friend was brutally killed and they were in fear for their lives. Remember they lived this story in real time. They did now know all that we know, and I doubt they would have seen that day as good, at least not when they were living it. And friends we need to make sure we get something as well. We need to remember the purpose of Good Friday.
We spend a lot of time in the church talking about Jesus’ sacrifice, Jesus dying for our sins, and please don’t get me wrong, we should definitely talk about it, but we have to remember that is not the end of the story. The purpose of Christmas might be Good Friday, but the purpose of Good Friday is Easter, when Jesus rose from the grave. Jesus didn’t stay in the tomb. He paid our price and on the third day He rose again. This is incredibly good news for all who place their faith and trust in Him. Because just as He rose, so too will we. The celebration of Easter is the celebration of eternal life, bought at a high price, the price of God’s only begotten Son. Have you placed your faith and trust in Jesus? Do you believe what the Bible says about Him? Do you believe that what He did on the cross, He did for you. He loves you. Trust Him and believe in Him today.
How do I do that. Well the Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. If you think about this, you know it to be true. There is no one who gets this life perfect, except Jesus and that is why He could lay down His life for us. Only a perfect sacrifice will do. So he first step is to pray and confess your sin to Him. Ask Him to help you to turn from your sin and live for Him. That is called repentance and it simply means to turn around. Then ask Him to come into your heart and to be your Lord and Savior. Tell Him you believe in Him and thank Him for paying your price. From there, life is a journey of learning to follow him and love Him more each day, and the good news is you don’t have to face it alone. First and foremost, His Holy Spirit comes to live in you, guiding and helping you, and secondly God has given the church, other believers to help you learn to follow Jesus. If you need that kind of help (and we all do), please consider joining us here at Springfield. We would love to have you.
Join us for our Easter Services Sunday April 21.
Sunrise service, 7:30 a.m.
Breakfast 8:30 a.m.
Easter service 10:00 a.m.
Our regular services are at 10:00 a.m. with Sunday School at 9:00 a.m.