Come join with us at our church as we move through the special time of Holy Week. This time of reflecting on Jesus life as it climaxed on Good Friday and Easter is the most sacred time of the church year, and a wonderful time to freshen our faith.

PALM SUNDAY is April 1, 10 am. We will celebrate with the crowds of Jesus’ day as we welcome the arrival of the Messiah. They welcomed him into Jerusalem. We welcome him into our lives. This special service will be filled with uplifting music, a thoughtful message, and the waving of palm branches by everyone in the church. At the conclusion of the worship, we continue to celebrate with a brunch in our Fellowship Hall. You are invited and will be warmly welcomed to this and to all services at First Baptist Arlington.

MAUNDY THURSDAY is April 5, 7 pm. This time together is a quiet, reflective moment of focus on Jesus’ final presence with his disciples before facing the cross . Candles, music, communion and a short meditation will provide an opportunity to sense the crucial importance of Jesus’ sacrifice.

The Lord shared a last supper with his disciples, and he will do the same with us as we come together in the communion service. Everyone who is a Christian is invited to share the bread and the cup. We do not believe people who love the Lord should be denied Jesus’ invitation because they hold a different church membership or any other reason. Communion is a time for forgiveness and healing. Candles, music, stories told, and an opportunity to sense the crucial importance of Jesus’ sacrifice, and we leave the time together in silence.

GOOD FRIDAY is April 6. The Community service will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church at Noon. The focus will be somber, with clergy from various Arlington churches participating. The Holy Scriptures of Jesus’ final words will be read, and Dr. Jon Dale Hevelone, First Baptist’s pastor, will preach. Spend this time with the wider Christian community as we observe the traditional time of crucifixion.

EASTER SUNDAY is April 8, 10 am. This is a time of worship together you should not miss. Of all Sundays, Easter is the time we celebrate the awesome resurrection of Jesus Christ, and ponder what implications that has for us in our lives today. Everything we do in this service will be focused on praising and worshipping the Lord of Life. Our choir and congregation will sing to God’s glory, the mighty pipe organ will lift us to heaven, an inspired message will challenge us, and friendly people will make you feel at home at First Baptist Arlington.

Our church is getting saturated with the story of Jonah this Lenten season. The Wednesday series features several of our lay people speaking on various parts of this Old Testament book. I preached about Jonah on Sunday, and our children’s Sunday School is looking at the stories. Truth be told, most of us start and stop with the story of the whale that swallowed the reluctant prophet. It’s time for all of us to see what God’s Word has for us in the four short chapters of the book. The emphasis on repentance is very appropriate for the season of Lent, and needs to be learned and practiced by every one of us.

We probably aren’t as nasty as the Ninevites, but our sins do need to be acknowledged and forgiven. Jonah hated the Ninevites -- with good reason. He also knew how gracious God was, and the last thing he wanted to do was share that good news of grace with the wicked people of that great city. He knew that they would repent, and then God would not destroy them. Jonah was ready for fire and brimstone to wipe them out.

I wonder if there might be some Ninevites in your life? Are there people you just can’t stand? Are you ready to write off individuals who have hurt you? Are you ready for somebody who is particularly troublesome to drop dead? Well, maybe not literally, but you certainly would like to see a little punishment come along and cause some well deserved suffering. The last thing you want is for them to have good things happen in their life, especially if those good things come from a forgiving God.

Let’s face it -- either these feelings are pretty common, or there is something really wrong with me. I have nursed feelings of resentment from time to time, and can really identify with Jonah. I even know what it’s like to sense God leading me in one direction and then deliberately turn and go off on another tangent entirely. I suspect some of you also have that experience.

If we don’t get anything else from the story of Jonah’s life, let’s get it into our minds that God loves everybody -- even the Ninevites. He loves the people we hate. God loves even his enemies. Goes does that because that is the very heart of his personality. God is love. Think about that the next time you find yourself putting folks down, loathing them because they really hurt you, dismissing them because they are dumb enough to campaign for the wrong candidate, snubbing them because you are naturally superior.

When we are angry, when we hold resentments, when we vow to get even, we are not reflecting the image of our Savior. Instead we look like the devil! Worse even, our reluctance to repent and get right with God (and those Ninevites we know) opens the way for Satan to cripple us by tarnishing us with evil. Instead, let’s bow before God in life changing repentance, and begin to discover a love that is beyond us. Some of our Ninevites just might become our neighbors when we get to heave, and our new best friends here on earth.

A Series of Special Services for Lent
Wednesdays, 7 pm, in the Chapel

Jonah...for Lent? Sounds fishy, but it’s a natural fit. When the Jews asked
Jesus for a sign, he said, “I will give you only the sign of Jonah.” After
three days in the belly of the earth, Jesus rose with news of God’s
prodigal grace. This series of special services for Lent explores the
meaning of “The Sign of Jonah” as we follow Jonah on his journey...and
Jesus on his way to the cross.

February 22, Ash Wednesday
GOD IS CALLING (Jonah 1: 1-3)

February 29, First Week of Lent
SAVED IN THE STORM (Jonah 1: 4-16)

March 7, Second Week of Lent
OUR PROVIDING GOD (Jonah 1: 17)

March 14, Third Week of Lent
PRAYING IN THE BELLY OF THE GREAT BIG FISH (Jonah 2: 1-10)

March 21, Fourth Week of Lent
THE GOD OF THE SECOND CHANCE (Jonah 3: 1-4)

March 28, Fifth Week Lent
ABOUT FACE (Jonah 3: 5-10)

April 1, Palm Sunday
April 5, Maundy Thursday
April 8, Easter Sunday

This Advent season our thoughts are focused on the coming of Christ Jesus. Often, we think about the images of Bethlehem, the newborn baby, and the assorted animals and people gathered around Jesus in awe. Jesus is so much more. I came across a list of reactions to Jesus in the Scriptures that I consider personally riveting. As you read this, let me gently ask you the same question I asked myself, “What do you think of Jesus?

Just ask the angels about Jesus, and they will tell you,
“A Savior has been born unto you, He is Christ the Lord.”

Ask John the Baptist and he will tell you,
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

Ask the demons what they think of Jesus, they will tell you.
“What do you want with us, Son of the most high God?”

Ask Judas what he thinks about Jesus, he will tell you,
“I have betrayed innocent blood.”

Ask the apostle Paul, what do you think about Jesus? He will tell you,
“that nothing compares to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Ask Pilate what he thinks, he will tell you, “I find no fault in this just man.”

Ask the Roman centurion what he thinks of Jesus, he will tell you.
“Surely this is the Son of God.”

Ask Thomas what he thinks about Jesus, he’ll fall down prostrate before him and cry out,
“My Lord and my God.”

Ask Peter, what do you think about Jesus and he will tell you. “God has made this same Jesus,
whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Just what do you think of Jesus? This Advent focus on the heart of faith, and invite Jesus to be your Lord, God, Savior, your everything.