-Janice K.-

Wow, it is almost the end of the semester!

Throughout Passion week, some of us met on Memorial Glade to read the Passion Readers together, initiated by the Spi-Di (spiritual discipline) team. We reflected about how Jesus showed us his humility and obedience through his willingness to suffer for our sake, and how the two criminals on the cross next to Jesus had contrasting response to Jesus as they are nearing death.

Two weeks ago during Good Friday Service, we listened to Pastor Ed.’s message about how our sins are the core of our own personal burdens. Through the testimonies given by various brothers and sisters of the church, sharing with us their struggle with carrying their burdens and how Jesus saved them from being crushed by their sins. We were challenged to think about how our sins crucified Jesus on the cross, and it was for our sins He died, and through Him, we were saved and redeemed.

On Easter Sunday, we celebrated Jesus Christ’s resurrection! We heard about The Road to Emmaus, when the men were walking away from Jerusalem to Emmaus shortly after Jesus’ crucifixtion. Similarly, we tend to have this mentality, when our hopes of having our desires met are dashed, we despair and leave. The men were expecting Jesus Christ to redeem them politically from the Romans’ control. Jesus showed us how He came down not for political salvation, but for spiritual salvation, which is far greater and significant.

After the message, there was a video and spoken word skit about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The brothers and sisters on stage shared about their unfulfilled dreams and the ways they were let down by their pursuit of relationships, career success, and seeking perfection in self. Steven C. spoke about Jesus’ message to the men from The Road To Emmaus, and how he possibly started from Genesis, the creation of mankind and the universe, to how the prophets tried to lead Israelites back to God, and ending with God saving us through Jesus Christ.

Thankful for the reminder of how Jesus personally saved us from our individual sins, and how he loved us so much that he willingly surrendered to God’s will of him being the Lamb of God that paid for our sins through his own blood. We rejoice not only because Jesus was crucified for our sins, but also how he took our sins to the grave and then conquering death, allowing us to be freed from being chained by our sins permanently.

Good Friday & Easter Sunday