As Jesus is ushered into Jerusalem, we are brought into the most sacred of all times in the Christian year: Holy Week. Jesus has come into the city to die. We have come to this week after many weeks of Lent, eager for what God has for us as we remember what it means that He chose to die for everyone. What does it mean that sin now can die in us? What does it mean for our own death?

In the book of Luke, there is a word we want to focus in on this week, which is not found in Mark's version. When the crowds are joyfully praising Jesus, they call Him a king. Jesus is the King! Why? How can that title help us understand again who He is us as we begin the holiest of all weeks? It is a very important title and we want to worship Jesus just like those on the road into Jerusalem did that day. We take communion on Palm Sunday in order to ready our hearts for all Easter means. Praying for you on this Lenten journey. If you have not really engaged with any spiritual practices in this season, it's not too late. The booklets we have can be used for every week of Lent or for every day of Holy Week. Take some sustained time with the Lord in anticipation of Resurrection Sunday!

We come now to a familiar passage in the narrative we have been studying: Peter denying the Lord. As we have seen, relationships have come to the forefront in the arrest and trial of Jesus. Last week, we talked about how no one (especially Peter, who was there) stood up for their Master when people were lying and giving false testimony against Him. This week, we see that not only does Peter have no intention of being a witness for the defense, he will pretend to not even know Jesus. On Sunday, we want to think about why we have the capacity for denial and what this looks like in our lives. While we know Jesus gave Peter the grace he most needed later, we want to sit with the lies he utters three times and anguish that ensues for him. I encourage you to take some time with this passage, meditating in these waning days of Lent, asking God for wisdom for your life as you consider what He has to say through this passage.

Accused

This Sunday we will hear from four of our pastors, engaging the scripture above with different focuses:

Denzyl: We'll briefly review the history of the religious high court, and roles of the priests in the trial of Jesus. Through this trial, we'll explore how their motives against Jesus are counterintuitive to their roles, and what it means to refer to Jesus, through his death and resurrection, as our High Priest.

"For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin."

- Hebrews 4:15

Colleen: When a group of people get together and decide something is true, when it is not, then what ensues can often be a tragedy. We know this to be true in our lives and in the world at large. When it comes to Christ, what then is our role?

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

- Exodus 20:16

Jake: In our passage for Sunday, Jesus reveals to the mob the truth of who he is: the Son of God. Jesus's words here are few and seem to be chosen very intentionally. Why does the God of truth pass up an opportunity to defend himself against the people's lies? What do His words, or lack thereof, show about God's character at this trivial moment?

"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do."

- Thomas Jefferson

Danielle: Our passage ends with the supposed victory of the Jewish leaders and the apparent defeat of Jesus. In this moment, we see the beginning of the defeat of death and the enemies of God through unexpected ways.

"He died, but he vanquished death; in himself he put an end to what we feared; he took it upon himself and he vanquished it, as a mighty hunter he captured and slew the lion."

- St. Augustine

This Sunday we took a deeper look into Mark 14:43-52. We are going to open our hearts and minds to a story we may have heard many times. We might know the characters and the outcome. It is a story we often hear this time of year and it more or less blends in with the whole narrative of the crucifixion and the resurrection. It is a tragic story but perhaps we have become a little numb to how much it intersects with our lives. Within the passage we find different people and we see how they betrayed their relationship with Christ in significant ways. In the process we will find ourselves in the midst of these responses and lament how our own sinfulness is a part of our own betrayal of Christ. All this while remembering through Christ there will always be forgiveness, grace, mercy, resurrection and hope. Pray with me for open hearts and minds to what Christ wants to say to us.

- Pastor Doug

Our text for worship this week is a difficult one to read. Jesus, full of sadness, is imploring the Father to allow the pain of the cross to pass Him by. He is in agony. Meanwhile, the disciples sleep nearby. There are many angles to look at this scripture from. Which one might we choose? While these are familiar words to us, we want to be reminded of what God has for us in this season of Lent. As a spiritual practice this week, I encourage you to sit with this scripture each day until Sunday. Just read it, and contemplate what you see and how you feel. Read it aloud. Take it to your place of prayer. Allow God to speak to you. Write down your thoughts. Jesus is about to face the greatest challenge of His earthly life. As we journey with Him to the cross, may our focus on His word give us new insight and depth of understanding. May we hear His voice speaking to us, calling us closer to Him.

One of the greatest joys of my life has been going to worship God on Sundays and greeting my family in Christ. I look forward to seeing you and encouraging one another through His Spirit.

Our speaker on Sunday is Kate Wallace Nunneley, whom we invited to come preach because she is also our speaker for the Women's Retreat. We are so glad she agreed to stay an extra day! Kate is the Lead Pastor of Wellspring Free Methodist Church in Bakersfield, CA. She is also the co-founder of The Junia Project, a volunteer community which advocates for the inclusion of women in leadership in the church, as well as mutuality in marriage. She and her husband Leif have two dogs and a full life! Kate is a graduate of Azusa Pacific University and holds a Master of Science from the London School of Economics. Currently, she is pursuing a Masters of Divinity from APU.

For this Sunday, we will be stepping out of the book of Mark and into the book of Luke, who records an instructive account of Jesus' temptation. A helpful thing to do when we come to the end of something, is to look back to the beginning. We are now at the end of Jesus' ministry. He is coming into the time of His death. We have already begun the journey to the cross, both in the season and in our study. As we step into this 40 day season of Lent, we will go back to remember Jesus' 40 days in the desert. As we do, we want to focus on the hope that carried Him through the hardship of temptation. We pray that He would give us what we need for the Lenten deserts we face.

- Pastor Colleen

Synopsis: As Pastor Helen reminded us, we are now studying passages of the passion of Jesus. His suffering and death free us from the penalty of our sin. This portion of Mark gives us the account of how it happened and what Jesus endured. On this communion Sunday, we will be reading the most important passage for understanding the Lord's Supper in the New Testament. Jesus is having a meal with His followers to mark Passover, the most important holiday in Judaism, because it remembers the Exodus, when God delivered His people from slavery into freedom. Jesus takes this beautiful feast and adds a new element: remembering how He has saved all people.

Sunday, we will be thinking about what Jesus is saying in this passage as well as the action He takes upon Himself. This is the last Sunday before we begin Lent, the 40 day journey to the cross. It is right and good that we are once again encouraged by the Lord to take in His body and blood. The sacrament brings us into the very presence of our holy God. What a moment that fills us and makes us whole.

The last five weeks Pastor Colleen has walked us through Mark 13 with her thorough and thoughtful studies. This Sunday we enter the Passion Narrative in Mark (chapters 14 and 15) with a beautiful story of an anonymous woman anointing Jesus at Bethany, bookended by Jerusalem authorities' enmity toward and Judas's betrayal of Jesus. The wasteful love shown at Bethany contrasts the hatred at Jerusalem, and simultaneously, the hatred at Jerusalem highlights the love demonstrated at Bethany to the fullest extent. Despite people's hasty criticism of her wasteful act, Jesus accepted and appreciated her unrestrained act of devotion in light of his impending death. In the action of each character--the Jerusalem hierarchy, the unnamed woman, people (disciples), and Judas--we see how each one measured Jesus' worth. Is Jesus worth our extravagant love, our everything? If Jesus is the truest and highest good in our lives, what in our lives should change?

Well, we have now come to the end of Mark 13. What a great five weeks it has been! For a piece of scripture so daunting, I think we have done very well together. Thanks for hanging in there. It is vital that we wrestle with all the passages of the Bible, so we can know what we believe, so God can teach us His truth, so we can be ready to talk about it with others. God's word is alive because the Lord Himself meets us through it. He inspired those who wrote it and He inspires us as we read it. Living God=Living Word.

This Sunday, we will see that Jesus ends this teaching to Andrew, James, John, and Peter by telling them to be watchful. He goes back to what happened with the fig tree a few days earlier when they came into Jerusalem, and uses that as a launchpad to talk about His coming again. No one knows when Jesus will be back, even Him! A few weeks ago, we talked about how we always want to know WHEN as people. How do we live with the tension of the unknown?

Worship is vital as God's people. In these days, it can be hard to always want to make it a priority, yet it is part of what Jesus is talking to us about this week. I am praying for you as the Lord invites you to His house and for all of us as we gather together.

We continue our sojourn through Mark 13, but it is not really a walk in the park. This is a serious trek uphill for us, and each of us brings baggage to the climb which may or may not be helpful for the hike. Some of us have been training for the time the Lord is coming back. We have read apocalyptic literature, tried to figure out Revelation, devoured the Left Behind series, and immersed ourselves in the Old Testament writings of Daniel and Joel. Some of us have tried to pinpoint certain events happening in the world overlaid with scripture, knowing there are similarities and no coincidences. We have looked for signs of when God will come again. Others of us have mostly avoided all those things, preferring to focus in on the person and teachings of Jesus and the exhortations for the church today found in the epistles.

However you come to Mark 13, know that the words of Jesus here are for all of us. They are not meant to inspire intense fear nor should we turn away and not look at them. They are given to us so we can understand the bigger picture of God's redemption plan. So, get your boots on. Grab your water and protein bars. Sunday is going to be a good day for a hike, with the Lord as our guide. I hope to see you and greet you with His peace.