"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me."  Psalm 51:12

I grew up in a family where music played an important role.  My mother and brother both played the piano so in third grade I took piano lessons. Looking back I wish I had kept with it for more than that one year.  My father played the trumpet and so in fourth grade I took trumpet lessons.  The band director in sixth grade asked if anyone wanted to play the baritone horn and I volunteered.  It was in seventh grade that I joined the youth choir at church.  Music has always played an important role in my life.  There is something about music that brings out an emotion that goes beyond the words that are sung.

This year our music ministry will be sharing again an Easter Cantata in which we focus our attention on The Wonder of the Cross.  The cantata is about remembering and why that is so important. On the evening of His trial and execution, Jesus made it clear that we were to remember Him and His sacrifice.  He illustrated this by sharing bread and wine with those closest to Him. This has become a sacrament in the church, a central part of the Christian faith, a time for believers to remember His life, death and resurrection for us.

It is amazing when you stop and think about it what Jesus has done for you and me.  How easy it is to go through the motions and not really reflect on the wonder of the cross. One thing is for sure we cannot stand at a distance and casually observed the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  No one can pretend it did not happen, that it is insignificant or that it does not touch our lives.  The cross is not something we should get used to or comfortable with and not something we should take lightly.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by His own choice died nailed to a cross for the sins that you and I committed. My hope and prayer is that we never forget His sacrifice. May we never see as commonplace the wonderful things of Christ.  May we never take His blessings for granted.  May we never fail to acknowledge and respond approprately to the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

Take time in these days to reflect on the wonder of the cross and all that Jesus Christ has done for you.

Pastor John