Jesus and Friend
Caring and Loving People To Christ
Palm Sunday (April 5) 9:00 AM Service 10:00 AM Sunday School Maundy Thursday (April 9) 6:00 PM Passover Dinner Good Friday (April 10) 7:00 PM Tenebrae Service Easter Sunday (April 12) Note: No Sunrise Service this year. 7:30 AM Easter Breakfast 9:00 AM Traditional Service
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| Centennial Lutheran Church |
| 3595 W. Belleview Ave. |
| Englewood, Colorado 80110 |
| Pastor: William Mantei |
| 303-798-1424 |
To many people, Easter is a right of passage, from the dismal grayness and bleakness of winter to the emergence of color and freshness of spring. They "celebrate" this event with decorated eggs, baby chicks, and chocolate bunnies. They perhaps vaguely recall that the day has something to do with a man named Jesus Christ, a religious figure who lived 2000 years ago. Some may know that Jesus was an itinerant missionary, whose popularity and unconventional teachings among the people of his time threatened the security of the established Jewish religion with the dominant Roman government. The Jewish hierarchy coerced the government to have him executed. Normally, that would be the end of the story; Easter, however, represents the climax.
Jesus was popular with the Jewish people because he taught as one having divine authority, not like the religious leaders. He also performed many miracles, perhaps the most convincing of which was raising a dead man, one in a tomb for four days, back to life. This happened within a few weeks of the annual Jewish celebration of the Passover, and Jesus, a loyal Jew, entered the central city of the festival, Jerusalem, triumphantly. Many of the people, including some of the Jewish leaders, acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah, the one who, according to Jewish tradition, would overthrow the Roman authorities and establish Israel as a sovereign Jewish state. But, shortly after the Passover, Jesus was betrayed by one of his own followers, handed over to the Jewish authorities, subjected to a mock trial, and hanged on a cross like a common criminal. The question many people asked then and continue to ask today is: "Couldn't this man who healed the sick and raised the dead have saved himself and so proven his divinity?" The answer to this question requires an understanding of God's plan for mankind and Jesus's willingness to participate in it.
Jesus was God's own son, born of a human woman. He is the Messiah, but God's plan for Jesus was much broader than the narrow scope the Jews had in mind. Jesus would sacrifice himself for the sins of the world by willingly dying on a cross. In this way, man, not only Jews but all men, would become acceptable to God again, regardless of how bad they were and how many mistakes they made, as long as they acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Savior. He died on a cross much like the lamb in the original Passover feast was sacrificed for the Jews before they left Egypt. He became the "bronze snake" of Old Testament times, raised on a pole, so that everyone who looks on him would live!
Jesus died with our sins on him, but on the third day of his burial, he arose from the dead, not as a ghost, but as a real person. He did this to demonstrate that death itself is not the end of life, but a transition to a more glorious state, like a seed planted in the ground. That's the miracle of Easter, the true reason for the celebration. Between the time he arose and the time he departed to rejoin his Father in Heaven, Jesus appeared to more than 500 people, who served, often with their own sacrificial deaths, as messengers of God's great love for us through Christ. And, rather ironically, by the time of the close of the Roman Empire, the worship of Jesus as Lord and Messiah was established as the official religion of the state. God had indeed overthrown Roman domination with Christian love and forgiveness.
If you live in or are visiting the Denver area, we invite you to visit Centennial and accept the free gift of God in Jesus Christ.
Centennial Lutheran Church is an affiliate of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). We believe that God endows each person with special talents and abilities and that life in Christ is a celebration of our unique qualities.
Search through our web pages to get an idea of the services we offer and the activities available. The next page is an overview of upcoming events.
