Dear Fellow Travelers,
Easter is almost here! Lent is all about preparation. I just returned from a vacation in Spain and Germany visiting some old friends. A highlight for me was visiting the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which is Antoni Gaudi’s famous cathedral. Starting in 1882, it is still under construction. It should be completed in a few more years. I was overwhelmed by its beauty and its whimsy. Despite its huge size, it has the feeling of intimacy and organic hominess, unlike any other place. That sense of grandeur and familiarity reminds me so much of Holy Week. The story of Jesus’s passion and resurrection is at once so familiar and also indescribably amazing.
Here is a picture I took of the Sagrada Familia.
I also did a short video on my feelings about the humanity of Jesus and the Church while I was there:
www.youtube.com/shorts/6wbRyFxiepg
We are cooperating with Maplewood Presbyterian, Calvin Presbyterian, and Terrace View Presbyterian for Holy Week worship this year. I will participate in the worship with Revs. Hallack Greider, Janine Moriarty, Emily Mitchell, and Neil Trainer. We will gather at Maplewood for Maundy Thursday and at Calvin for Good Friday. We will celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday at 10 AM as usual at Edmonds. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer.
Please tell your friends and family about our Online Streaming Worship. Please go to the www.epc-pcusa.org website for the latest links.
This is what I am planning for worship in March.
Sunday, March 3rd. I will preach “Jesus the Man” about the fully human and fully divine nature of Jesus. Sometimes we have difficulty seeing Jesus as a real man who learned and grew. It is essential to understand how only a real human Jesus can be God with us. And only a real divine Jesus could be our savior.
Sunday, March 10th. Margaret K will preach “Jesus We, Jesus I” about Jesus’s relationship with the leader of the Pharisees, Nicodemus, in John 3. Through clever language and turns of phrase we can see how Nicodemus became an ally of Jesus.
Sunday, March 17th. Since Jesus was a real man, he was filled with fear as he approached the cross. Through obedience to God, he gained the courage to complete his journey. I explore his incredible bravery in “Completed in Obedience.”
Sunday, March 24th. This is Palm Sunday! As the people shouted “Hosanna” Jesus emptied himself. Paul described how Jesus’s strength was in this emptying. In 2nd Corinthians, Paul would “Gladly Boast in His Weakness” showing that there was no other way to do the work of Christ Jesus in the world.
Sunday, March 31st. Easter is finally here! I will preach about the renewal of Resurrection in “A People of Strange Language.” The people of Israel were redeemed by leaving the foreign land of Egypt. God fulfilled His promise. This complete transformation is what we experience when we leave the strange language of our old lives and we are reborn in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is a joy to serve God with you! I look forward to worshiping with you in March!
Grace and Peace, Pastor Rob
Easter is almost here! Lent is all about preparation. I just returned from a vacation in Spain and Germany visiting some old friends. A highlight for me was visiting the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which is Antoni Gaudi’s famous cathedral. Starting in 1882, it is still under construction. It should be completed in a few more years. I was overwhelmed by its beauty and its whimsy. Despite its huge size, it has the feeling of intimacy and organic hominess, unlike any other place. That sense of grandeur and familiarity reminds me so much of Holy Week. The story of Jesus’s passion and resurrection is at once so familiar and also indescribably amazing.
Here is a picture I took of the Sagrada Familia.
I also did a short video on my feelings about the humanity of Jesus and the Church while I was there:
www.youtube.com/shorts/6wbRyFxiepg
We are cooperating with Maplewood Presbyterian, Calvin Presbyterian, and Terrace View Presbyterian for Holy Week worship this year. I will participate in the worship with Revs. Hallack Greider, Janine Moriarty, Emily Mitchell, and Neil Trainer. We will gather at Maplewood for Maundy Thursday and at Calvin for Good Friday. We will celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday at 10 AM as usual at Edmonds. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer.
Please tell your friends and family about our Online Streaming Worship. Please go to the www.epc-pcusa.org website for the latest links.
This is what I am planning for worship in March.
Sunday, March 3rd. I will preach “Jesus the Man” about the fully human and fully divine nature of Jesus. Sometimes we have difficulty seeing Jesus as a real man who learned and grew. It is essential to understand how only a real human Jesus can be God with us. And only a real divine Jesus could be our savior.
Sunday, March 10th. Margaret K will preach “Jesus We, Jesus I” about Jesus’s relationship with the leader of the Pharisees, Nicodemus, in John 3. Through clever language and turns of phrase we can see how Nicodemus became an ally of Jesus.
Sunday, March 17th. Since Jesus was a real man, he was filled with fear as he approached the cross. Through obedience to God, he gained the courage to complete his journey. I explore his incredible bravery in “Completed in Obedience.”
Sunday, March 24th. This is Palm Sunday! As the people shouted “Hosanna” Jesus emptied himself. Paul described how Jesus’s strength was in this emptying. In 2nd Corinthians, Paul would “Gladly Boast in His Weakness” showing that there was no other way to do the work of Christ Jesus in the world.
Sunday, March 31st. Easter is finally here! I will preach about the renewal of Resurrection in “A People of Strange Language.” The people of Israel were redeemed by leaving the foreign land of Egypt. God fulfilled His promise. This complete transformation is what we experience when we leave the strange language of our old lives and we are reborn in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is a joy to serve God with you! I look forward to worshiping with you in March!
Grace and Peace, Pastor Rob
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