Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week

Christians around the world will celebrate Palm Sunday this weekend, the final Sunday of Lent and the beginning of what is known as Holy Week.

The Bible recounts how on Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem, riding a colt as people greeted Him, palm branches in hand, with acclamations, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!"

Later in the week, however, Jesus would be betrayed, put on trial and killed in the cruelest form possible. He was flogged and crucified on Calvary's cross. But the story didn't end with the cross. As Scripture notes, three days later He arose from the grave, providing eternal hope to all who place their faith in Him.

This week area churches will host a number of special services. These are events to remember the sacrifice Christ made on the cross for the sins of the world and reflect on our relationship with the Creator. But it's not simply about tradition. The power of the Gospel is transformative in our lives.

Romans 6, verses 8-11 says it this way: "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

Hosanna, indeed.