4.3.26

Dear Grace Family,

Happy Holy Week! While I am a huge softie for all things Christmastime, this is the week that defines everything for us as believers in Jesus. The culmination of years of ministry and preparation now leads to Jesus going all the way to the cross, to suffer and die…for us! Jesus really did “pay it all” on the cross. All of our sin and death and despair, all of our loneliness and hopelessness and anxiety—he took it all by “becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8)

But he didn’t stay dead. As Andrew Peterson says, “everything was changed, the blood that brought us peace with God is racing through his veins.” He’s alive. And so, there’s hope. In all of it. And that’s what we’ll celebrate this weekend. 

A quick pastoral encouragement: last week I invited you to slow down for a couple of minutes to spend time with God. This week, I want to encourage you to stop for a moment and reflect. Maybe it’s a simple prayer of gratitude, maybe it’s hanging out in those final chapters of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John where these events are described, maybe it’s in a time of personal or family worship. But, it’s not simply doing the good “religious” thing of Good Friday and Easter without reflecting on the mind-boggling miracle of these truths. 

I’m eager to see you on Friday night at our Middleburg Heights campus at 7 pm as we reflect on this sacrifice and on this blood shed for the forgiveness of sins. Then, we’ll celebrate Easter together:

Middleburg Heights

Saturday: 5 pm 

Sunday: 9 am, 11 am, and 1 pm

Olmsted Falls

Sunday: 10 am

Spanish Campus

Sunday: 12 pm

We’re going to begin our services with baptisms on Sunday, so make sure you plan accordingly. We don’t want you to miss any of them! A quick word about service times: for those of you planning to come to Middleburg Heights, I would highly recommend you consider Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 1 pm to ensure a spot in the Worship Center. But, whenever you can make it, we can’t wait to see you (and maybe a friend or family member) there. 

As I’ve been reflecting on my first opportunity to lead Easter services here at Grace, I’ve been moved thinking about the kindness of God to Rachel and me to allow us to be with such an amazing church family. And, then to see what He’s doing in our midst, new people coming, new people making decisions to follow Jesus, what an amazing blessing. 

See you soon!

Pastor Tim