It occurs to me that the first Good Friday and Easter were not marked by thoughtful gatherings and joyful celebration. That didn’t come until Pentecost when the Spirit came and the church was born. This year we’ll be apart, but it’s not because we’re ashamed of Christ or confused about his death.

Here are our plans for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Well, actually, we’ll throw an extra day in there. We’re converting our now weekly Thursday Zoom prayer meeting to a focus on the cross.

Praying Together on Thursday

Each Thursday you receive an invitation to join us for an hour of prayer on Zoom from 7–8 p.m. This week we’ll continue with that rhythm, but we’ll focus our attention on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. During this season we are prioritizing the Lord’s Day service and Shepherding Groups. If you’re able to join us for this time of prayer, that’s wonderful. If not, know that we are praying for our church, and that means we are praying for you!

Meditating at Home on Good Friday

Good Friday is a strange thing to call it. A man was crucified. But it was a good crucifixion: a man was justly punished for wrongs committed. But more than that, an innocent man laid down his life for the lives of many. That is, of course, what Jesus did for you and for me: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:11).

It is our normal plan to host a Good Friday service on site. This year we are providing you with a printable guide for meditation and prayer. Plan to set aside thirty minutes by yourself or with your family on Friday night, and download Friday’s meditation, prepared for us by Dan Cruver.

Live Streaming on Easter Sunday

On Sunday at 9:30 a.m. we will host our normal weekly Singing and Scripture livestream, available from our Heritage Live page. We’ll sing, read Scripture responsively, pray, and hear a sermon.

For this Sunday’s sermon we will hear a sermon from Psalm 46, titled, “A Very Present Help in the Pandemic.” In the course of this sermon, I will also offer some direction from our elders on this season for our church, a season we’ll title, Still. Together. This will be our way of remembering God’s command to the whole world, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). More on that later.

Two more things for you. On Sunday, we’ll sing a new song together, “Christ Our Hope in Life and Death.” Meditate on the lyrics and sing the tune ahead of Sunday! Then, here’s a playlist for Sunday’s songs. I’ll be providing this for you each week going forward in the Life in the Body email. The arrangements won’t always match ours exactly, but I hope these songs refresh you and sustain you in the Word. 

I miss you all.

Yours in Christ,

Trent