Editorial: Palm Sunday offers opportunity to understand the power of the Gospel

This weekend marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final Sunday of Lent otherwise known as Palm Sunday. It's an important week for Christians to honor the life of Christ, his sacrifice and resurrection, and the eternal hope provided through His gift of salvation.

Scripture tells us Jesus entered Jerusalem on this day, riding a colt as observers greeted Him with palm branches, shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!"

Days later, Jesus would be betrayed by friends and crucified on the cross of Calvary. But as Christians around the globe know and celebrate, the story did not end with the grave. Three days later, Jesus arose from the grave. This is the eternal hope the Christian faith is based upon.

As people go to church this weekend, we know many will enter with heavy hearts following the events in Nashville, Tennessee, this week. An individual entered a Christian school and killed three children and three adults. This follows so many other school shootings over the years.

There's no way around it, these acts are pure evil. The pain and suffering these families face now following the loss of children and parents is gut-wrenching. Many will debate how to address these issues, ranging from mental health to gun laws and other safety measures. And certainly we need to make sure our schools are safe.

Some will discount the power of prayer, but we disagree. Prayer is absolutely important. The families grieving need our prayers. Our elected leaders debating how to address school safety issues need our prayers. Our country needs prayer.

We celebrate Easter not because of tradition but because of the transforming power of the Gospel. Our prayer is that many would come to know this in a real and personal way. Hosanna, indeed.