Pastor’s Note 04/06/23
Today is Thursday and the church down through the ages has used these next three days for worship in preparation for Easter and the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead on Sunday.
The three days, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, are three days of worship that are intended to be one service stretched over three days. It begins with Maundy Thursday, a service of remembrance when Christ was in the Upper Room with His disciples. The second service is Good Friday, when we remember Christ’s trial and walk to the cross. The third service is the Easter Vigil or Holy Saturday, a service of waiting in hopeful anticipation of Christ’s resurrection on Easter morning.
Now most churches don’t offer all of these services but at LCPC we observe two of the three. We are having a Maundy Thursday service on Thursday evening at 6:00pm where we will remember Christ’s Last Supper and a Good Friday Service at 6:00pm where we will have a service that includes the “Rites of Nails” remembering that it was our sins that nailed Christ to the cross.
Let me also encourage you to invite someone to our Easter service on Sunday at 9:45am. The best way is to give a verbal invitation but another way can be through an email. Here is something that you can send:
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Dear ______________,
I wanted to invite you to check my church’s Easter service this Sunday.
We meet at 9908 Channel Road in Lakeside and the service starts at 9:45am.
It is going to be a service filled with some great music (we have a wonderful organ in our sanctuary) and a sermon that I think that you will enjoy. We also are going to have some delicious goodies to eat after the service. You can find out more information on our website: http://www.lakesidepc.org
Thanks in advance for checking it out and I hope that if you don’t have a place to worship this Easter then come and meet me at LCPC. Have a blessed Easter.
With Love,
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The way our church will be a thriving growing church will be through personal invitations that you and I make. Be praying about all of the upcoming services and I hope that you will invite a few people to be a part of our Easter celebration.
Pastor’s Note 03/30/23
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is He who comes in the name
of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it,
as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your King is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
John 12:12-15
This Sunday is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week.
Palm Sunday should be a fun day as we begin our service outside the sanctuary and process in with “Willy the Donkey” leading us into worship. Tell the kids in your neighborhood that our church is having a donkey at church this Sunday! Willy also loves taking pictures so after church you can take your picture with Willy
The most important week of the Christian calendar starts on Sunday and we have something taking place every day next week.
- Monday thru Friday at noon, we will have a short communion service.
- On Thursday, we will have a 6pm Maundy Thursday Service with communion.
- On Good Friday, at 6pm we will have a service remembering Christ’s sacrifice for our sins by dying on a cross. This can be an emotionally packed service as we listen and see nails be driven into a cross.
- On Easter Sunday at 9:45am we will have a celebratory service remembering Christ’s resurrection, with lots of great music and excitement. Of course, we will have some goodies to eat after the service to enjoy.
So let me ask, “Who will you invite to Easter this year?
Holy Week and Easter Sunday are the perfect times to share about the great love that God has for us and it is the perfect time to invite others to hear about God’s love story and His desire to see the world know about His love.
Is there a family member, a friend, a co-worker that might be open to coming with you to Easter services at LCPC? Let me encourage you to pray about who you might invite and may we make this Easter time where God’s love shines through as we remember the resurrection of His son Jesus Christ.
I am praying for our week together and I hope to see you at some of our services.