Preface Coming from a congregational church, I wasn’t schooled in liturgy. Nor was I exposed to any of the other liturgically-based “holy days” in the ecclesiastical calendar. As a congregation, we would sombrely commemorate Christ’s death on Good Friday, triumphantly celebrate His resurrection on Easter Sunday, and joyfully cheer His birth on Christmas Day—the three most important days in the church calendar. But observances of special religious days like Ascension Day, Pentecost Sunday, the monthlong Advent, the six-week-long Lent, or the Holy Week did not feature in our church programme. It was only after I became the pastor of a church that I was drawn towards the Lenten observance. As pastor, I wanted my congregation to remember not just the two days of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Surely the sacrifice of our precious Lord and Saviour deserves much more deliberation and tribute than just what Good Friday or Easter Sunday would offer. As a people redeemed and saved by Jesus, we are gratitude-bound and motivated by love to devote a lot more time and effort to contemplate and appreciate what Jesus did in the last week of His life, culminating in His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.
Preface
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