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“Good Friday” Afternoon COH Family,
As I write to you the next installment of my weekly Pastor’s Update — all of us know that I’m doing so on “Good Friday.” In terms of a historical Christian perspective, we are now entering into the three most holy days of the Christian year — Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. Everything we have come to hope for, believe in, and identify with in terms of our faith finds its roots in these three days. Sometime, over two-thousand years ago, Jesus entered Jerusalem, on what we now remember as Palm Sunday, and celebrated the Passover meal with the disciples in the Upper Room (Maundy Thursday). Across the next twelve or so hours, our Lord prayed the prayer in the garden that the cup might pass from Him, but NOT His will but God the Father’s will be done. He was betrayed into the hands of Roman guards under false charges. He was interrogated by Roman officials, beaten, humiliated, spat open, sentenced to death, and marched out to die — all to the taunts and cheers of those who had laid palm branches at His feet only days earlier. On this day, Good Friday, He was placed on a Roman cross to experience the most horrific death of ancient times.
I don’t know about you, but the juxtaposition of all that our faith teaches us about these important hours, measured against what we’re all dealing with right now across the world, only makes His sacrifice for me all the more breath-taking. Daily, we watch the bravery and self-sacrifice of our medical professionals who way before now put their selves in harm's way to care for people they don’t personally know. I can’t help but believe that all the compassion and sacrifice we see around us these days all connect back to the most powerful sacrifice our world has ever known. This is our story, this is our legacy. As Christians, this is our “family line.”
Across these days, I encourage you to take a moment to carefully and with somber and reflective remembrance — think through the hours of our precious Lord, and all He went through to buy your freedom from death and pandemic of our human sin and brokenness. To be clear, there’s not too much else to say here. This story demands my silence, my reverence, and my carefully weighed gratitude.
This weekend — although quite different from what we were planning only a few months ago — we will invite thousands in our community and around our nation and world, to join Community of Hope as we celebrate the other side of the story I just shared. The story of the empty grave, death’s defeat, and sin’s ultimate powerless hold over us. Powerful! Or, as my grandma used to sing:
“I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today. I know that He is living, whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him, He’s always near. He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!
In closing, I just have to take a moment to brag on you! Though in a very different way, our church is on fire and at work in this season. So many of you are participating in your small group, jumping into what our Children and Student Ministries are offering, displaying acts of compassion and grace to neighbors, friends, and strangers. This week, we fed 557 families composed of 2,301 individuals, and we will do it again tomorrow on our East Campus from 1:00pm-3:00pm. Click here for more info about our food distributions. Our first ever 24-7 Prayer Week, in which we are covering every single hour in prayer all week long, created the half-way point. My slot is 4:00am when Pastor Trevor hands it off to me after praying the 3:00am slot, and we’re praying for all of you during this time. Also, record numbers of you have jumped into giving online and continue to support the mission and ministry of your church. We are humbled...and also not surprised. Community of Hope is simply the most amazing church I have ever been a part of!
I look forward to being with you on Sunday — again in a digital format. Click here for more info on our Easter services. And let me say, you better bring your “A” game to worship our Risen Savior — because I can tell you that we will!!
I love you,
Pastor Dale
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