Spring is in the air… or is it!
The snowdrops have blossomed, the daffodils are growing tall and strong, the trees are starting to bud – all the signs that spring is here. However, as I write this something just doesn’t seem quite right. All these signs of spring are surrounded by a blanket of fluffy white snow. I am sure like me, you are familiar with the old saying ‘March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb’. I guess we will just have to wait and see if this is right.
This year the month of March also brings us a week which just doesn’t seem right – the week before Jesus died. It begins on Palm Sunday with Jesus entering Jerusalem on the back of donkey. The crowds are so excited to see him. They cut down palm branches and laid them on the ground along with their cloaks. It was as if they were laying out a red carpet for someone important, and their shouts certainly gave that impression as well. They shouted “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord”.
Only 5 days later we a see a completely different scene, a total contrast to the previous Sunday. The crowds are gathered again and are shouting about Jesus. Only this time they are shouting something different, they are shouting “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”. Jesus is then taken to a place called ‘Golgotha’, where he was crucified.
We sing about this in the hymn ‘There is a green hill far away’ which was written by Cecil Frances Alexander. In this hymn Mrs Alexander explains why these events had to take place.
“There was no other good enough,
to pay the price of sin,
He only could unlock the gate,
of Heaven and let us in”.
It is our sin that separates us from God and without trusting in Jesus, we have no way of getting to Heaven. In an old Gospel hymn we sing “There is power in the Blood of the Lamb”. As we read in 1st John 1:7 “…the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies [cleanses] us from all sin.” We need to ask Jesus to save us from our sins and wash us clean. When He does, we will be washed whiter than snow.
Please plan to come along to Church during Holy Week as we explore the events which led up to Good Friday.
The snowdrops have blossomed, the daffodils are growing tall and strong, the trees are starting to bud – all the signs that spring is here. However, as I write this something just doesn’t seem quite right. All these signs of spring are surrounded by a blanket of fluffy white snow. I am sure like me, you are familiar with the old saying ‘March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb’. I guess we will just have to wait and see if this is right.
This year the month of March also brings us a week which just doesn’t seem right – the week before Jesus died. It begins on Palm Sunday with Jesus entering Jerusalem on the back of donkey. The crowds are so excited to see him. They cut down palm branches and laid them on the ground along with their cloaks. It was as if they were laying out a red carpet for someone important, and their shouts certainly gave that impression as well. They shouted “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord”.
Only 5 days later we a see a completely different scene, a total contrast to the previous Sunday. The crowds are gathered again and are shouting about Jesus. Only this time they are shouting something different, they are shouting “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”. Jesus is then taken to a place called ‘Golgotha’, where he was crucified.
We sing about this in the hymn ‘There is a green hill far away’ which was written by Cecil Frances Alexander. In this hymn Mrs Alexander explains why these events had to take place.
“There was no other good enough,
to pay the price of sin,
He only could unlock the gate,
of Heaven and let us in”.
It is our sin that separates us from God and without trusting in Jesus, we have no way of getting to Heaven. In an old Gospel hymn we sing “There is power in the Blood of the Lamb”. As we read in 1st John 1:7 “…the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies [cleanses] us from all sin.” We need to ask Jesus to save us from our sins and wash us clean. When He does, we will be washed whiter than snow.
Please plan to come along to Church during Holy Week as we explore the events which led up to Good Friday.