Extravagant Devotion

March 28th, 2024

Dear church family

"Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me." Matthew 26:10
There is something very special about the highs and lows of Holy week and I pray that you have had a chance to pause and reflect during the approach to this weekend. There is a particular poignancy to Good Friday that has always whispered a sense of awe and sadness that if I take time to be still, is almost palpable in the atmosphere. As a teenager, Good Friday meant walking with my Mother 2 miles to the market to get the weekly shopping and we would walk past an Anglican church around 3pm on our way home. I would look up at the spire and think about those hours of darkness as Jesus hung on the cross – there would be a stillness in my soul as though he were reaching out to me, whispering his presence.

This year I have been particularly struck by Jesus' anointing at Bethany and the words, "She has done a beautiful thing to me". It was such a simple, small act of devotion to anoint him; it would not be unusual for a visiting teacher to be anointed with oil as an act of respect, but she chose an expensive perfume. The onlookers were outraged at the extravagance – she may as well have poured a year's wages away. The scent of her small extravagance, however, could well have stayed with him through his entire ordeal. The oil had soaked into his hair, skin and clothing and shots of scent could have been released with his sweat, blood and tears. Perfume poured out in a moment of extravagant devotion that foreshadowed the outpouring of Jesus' blood as God's extravagant devotion for all humanity. I wonder if her beautiful act gave him some small moments of comfort through the hours of pain, a reminder to the human Jesus of why he chose to go to the cross.
Extravagant devotion. May you know, experience, receive and accept God's extravagant devotion to you and your loved ones this Easter.

With much love and blessings,

Paula
x

SUNDAY GATHERING - 10:30AM Join us this Sunday - for Easter Sunday - as we gather together in worship and conclude our Easter sermon series 'Living Hope'. For those who are unable to attend in person please join us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2ogTMqn7TxY

Easter 2024 - Youtube and Socials-12.png

Easter 2024 - Youtube and Socials-12.png

EASTER CELEBRATIONS Join us for our Easter events this week

Maundy Thursday Worship and Prayer Space | 28th March | 8am - 8pm. This is a reflective space to prepare your heart ahead of the Easter weekend. (Note their are no early morning prayers on Maundy Thursday but the prayer space is open)

Maundy Thursday Worship and Prayer | 28th March | 8pm - midnight.
If you are unable to attend in person please join us on Youtube: https://youtu.be/hpz0sm11MmA

Good Friday Worship for Everyone | 29th March | 10:30am.
If you are unable to attend in person please join us on Youtube: https://youtu.be/swpTJJHd6O8

Sunrise Service | 31st March | 7am - 7:30am | Wye Downs

Easter Celebration | 31st March | 10:30am | WBC

Easter 2024 - Cover photo-03.png

CHURCHES TOGETHER IN ASHFORD Join together with other church families this Easter!

CTA Good Friday & Easter Sunrise.jpg

YOUTH ON PAUSE During Easter, our amazing youth team will be taking a break. Blaze will still be on bar Easter Sunday. Furnace is back on the 15th April & Ignite on the 19th April.

WBC - Sunday Notices Slide - Youth on Pause.png

WBC - Sunday Notices Slide - Youth on Pause.png

COMMUNITY DAY - SAVE THE DATE! Saturday 18th May! We had a wonderful time last year blessing the community in Brabourne! A huge thank you to all the volunteers who helped with the event last year. If you are able to volunteer again, or would like to get involved this year please email Harriet on office@willesboroughbaptist.church THANK YOU!

Brabourne Social Media Ads - March 2024-01.png