Ephesians 2 shows that apart from Christ we are spiritually dead—enslaved to sin and separated from God—but in his great mercy, God has made us alive together with Christ. Through union with the risen Jesus, his death becomes our death and his life becomes our life, restoring us to God and securing an eternal future of his love. This salvation is entirely by grace: not something we earn but a gift we receive by faith. Because we are now alive in Christ, we don’t live for love anymore—we live from love, walking in the new life God has given us.

Holy Week begins with Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, while being hailed by many as the King, the son of David. The questions would should be asking ourselves are: What kind of King is he? And what kind of welcome have we given him? In this week’s sermon, we’ll see that Jesus is meek, and Jesus is not just able to save — but he wants to. King Jesus delights in saving you. That’s a king we can sing “Hosanna!” to.

In Exodus 17, Israel’s thirst reveals sinful unbelief as they put the Lord to the test, questioning whether he is truly among them. Yet God responds with compassion, providing water from the rock and pointing forward to Christ—the true Rock who was struck so that we might be satisfied and know for certain that God is with us.

The song of Exodus 15 is the first congregational song in all of Scripture — and they had good reason to sing, having just beheld their salvation! We, as Christians, have the best possible reason to sing praise to God and the firmest hope. Singing together is a Christian privilege, as we follow our Worship Leader (Jesus) in joining heaven’s song.