Our Messages

Last week, Jesus made an appearance to Mary, and we know from the other gospels, before the events we will study today, Jesus walked with a pair of disciples on the road to Emmaus (although, they didn’t realize it was Him until the very end of their journey). Even though the ladies told them they had seen angels, and even spoken to Jesus, they didn’t know what to do next. They were still afraid of the Jews. So today we find them hiding behind locked doors when Jesus makes an appearance to them all.

Last week Jesus died on the cross. It seemed like all was lost, and the disciples had lost all hope. But this was not the end of the story. The tomb would be rolled away, and it would be empty. Jesus had risen.

Jesus gives up His life on the cross and proclaims, "It is finished!" He completed the task for which He came to earth, namely, to pay for the evil deeds of all mankind. His friends then buried His body, not realizing it was only temporary.

This week, we will continue to see Pilate desperately trying to find some way not to kill Jesus, but it is to no avail. He wouldn’t follow through with his convictions and is persuaded by the crowd. So instead, He delivers Jesus to be crucified, which is where we will end today with Jesus still on the cross.

Today, we find ourselves still in the house of Annas, the high priests' father-in-law, for a short time as we see Peter continue to deny Jesus, and then finally, Jesus is sent to the Pilate’s headquarters so they could get Him to pronounce judgement and kill Jesus.

Jesus gets arrested in the garden and taken to a mock trial. John goes with Him and Peter, too. After getting brought into the courtyard, Peter denies Jesus. Jesus willingly allowed all the events of the Passion for our sake.

For Mother's Day, we are taking a look through some of the extraordinary cases of mothers throughout scripture, and the relentless, never-ending love that God has instilled into them. We want to thank all of the wonderful mothers out there, and thank God for blessing us with them!

After the teaching and instructions after the last supper in the upper room, we come to what many refer to as the High Priestly Prayer. Now He begins to pray first for Himself, then for His apostles, and finally for those who would believe on Him in the future.

Jesus finishes His discourse in the upper room by encouraging His disciples. They would be enduring a lot over the next few days, and this encouragement would be essential for making it through and coming out the other side with faith and passion.

Jesus again tells the disciples that He's leaving soon. He goes on to describe our relationship with the "world", seasoned with the promise that the Helper (the Holy Spirit) will guide us into all truth.

Jesus was aware that His time with the disciples was running short. Because of this, He knew it was important they had the proper understanding of their relationship to Himself, to God, to one another, and to the world. Today specifically, we will be looking at the relationship of Jesus’ disciples to Himself and the relationship of the disciples to one another. Jesus uses the picture of vines and their branches to describe our relationship to Him and we are to abide in Him and He in us. And as for our relationship with one another? We are commanded to love one another the same way Jesus loved us.

Why was the death and resurrection of Jesus so important? There were a lot of amazing and miraculous things about the life of Jesus. He was God in the flesh, born of a virgin, and performed numerous miracles during His ministry. But His death and resurrection were the culmination of His ministry. In these He purchased forgiveness for our sins and set us free from sin and death. He made us Alive in Him.