Category Archives: Holy Week

Changing Evil for Good, Darkness for Light, Bitterness for Sweet

Posted on April 26, 2025 by salooper57

They acted decisively to stamp out the menace. And when they were done, they had stamped him into the ground, into a hole in the ground; and they buried him there. As far as they were concerned, the fire of extremism had been snuffed out. Continue reading →

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Holy Saturday: Waiting in the Shadow of Uncertainty

Posted on March 23, 2024 by salooper57

In his song “Maranatha,” Michael Card sings that “waiting is the most bitter lesson a believing heart has to learn.” I understand the sentiment, but doesn’t it depend on what kind of waiting we are doing? Waiting for the birth … Continue reading →

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Palm Sunday: Why Is It Called That?

Posted on March 16, 2024 by salooper57

This is the time of the year that churches celebrate Palm Sunday and commemorate what is popularly known as the “Triumphal Entry.” What is the origin of Palm Sunday, and why is it significant? The original Palm Sunday took place … Continue reading →

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First Stone in an Avalanche

Posted on June 13, 2023 by salooper57

Easter celebrations frequently focus on the fact that we will continue to live after we die. As true as that is, it’s important to realize that most people believed that before Jesus rose from the dead. They believed that humans … Continue reading →

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The Crossing (John 5:19-30)

Posted on April 16, 2023 by salooper57

Why would anybody not want this kind of life, the kind that goes on forever? I’ll be candid: they don’t want it because there is no way to postpone its onset. Eternal life doesn’t start at the grave. You cannot purchase it on the layaway plan. Some people wish they could. But when you accept the eternal kind of life, it begins immediately. Not everyone wants that. Continue reading →

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20 Years Later: Peter and John Reminisce About Jesus’s Resurrection

Posted on April 24, 2022 by salooper57

Enjoy this skit that takes us back to that first Easter Sunday!

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Celebrating Hope at Easter

Posted on April 16, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading time: approximately 4 minutes.) The first time I heard the quote (attributed to Dr. Johnson), “Men live in hope, die in despair,” I was not in English class but in the Student Union. I was playing ping-pong with my … Continue reading →

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Behold You King (Palm Sunday 2022)

Posted on April 11, 2022 by salooper57

Today, we remember and celebrate what has come to be known as “The Triumphal Entry,” Jesus’s highly symbolic entrance into Jerusalem just days before he was betrayed and executed. We know the broad outlines of the story. Jesus rode into … Continue reading →

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Wide Angle: The Place of the Skull

Posted on January 26, 2022 by salooper57

(For the background to this post, please read Mark 15 and click back to this post.) Sometime later, probably around eight in the morning, Jesus and two other prisoners were marched through the narrow streets of the city out to … Continue reading →

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Wide Angle: The Exchange (Barabbas)

Posted on January 19, 2022 by salooper57

In or around 29 A.D., a man named Barabbas found himself in the most secure prison in the country, awaiting execution in the morning. The story is told in Luke 23 but, before we get into it, we need a … Continue reading →

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