Holy Week - Junan-shu, Christian Thoughts

It was very important week from April 1 to April 7 in 2012 that Jesus’ final suffering week. During this “Holy Week” in English, many churches have held the Worship Service every day. In Japanese the week is called the “Junan-shu” which means Suffering Week.

This week is started on Palm Sunday and ended on Easter Sunday. In the Palm Sunday Jesus went into Jerusalem because the final suffering happened to him during the Passover celebration, but the Israelites in Jerusalem thought Jesus could be the king of Israel and would be fighting with Roman who was oppressing Israel in those days. People were so excited to see their king coming to Jerusalem that welcome Him with waving palm leaves.

Palm leaves and cross made with Palm leaves

During the week of suffering, Jesus taught the people in the temple, cleansed the temple, had dinner with His followers and at this dinner table washed their feet to teach them humbleness and held Communion with them to remember Him, and went to the Gethsemane garden to pray. At the garden Jesus was arrested. Now the final day of the Good Friday came.

The Lent is concluded on the day before the Good Friday.

Devon Church Lent Pulpit

Lent has been starting on the Ash Wednesday* and continuing for 40 days. Many Christians fast and give up things, for concentrating their thought on Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross.

Devon Church Good Friday Pulpit

The black pulpit displays the death of Jesus. Jesus only appease God’s wrath for people’s sin by His death. Jesus gave His life for saving us and frees us. Our good works, how much we do good works, it could never save us from our sin.

Ephesians 2:8-9 said, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”





The Easter is here!

Devon Church Easter Pulpit









Puppet show was presented on the day of 2012 Easter.
Story about puppet show is:
“Jesus died on the cross. His followers and especially disciples didn’t know what to do and scared of the Roman soldiers, so they hid. Mary Magdalene came to the hiding place and said Jesus was not in the tomb. Angels said that Jesus came alive, resurrected from the dead. After that His disciples and followers met Jesus and were given the instruction from Jesus, that He told them to spread this good news to the end of the world.”

Since then the Good News has been spreading all over the world for over 2,000 years.

Those who accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord believe this salvation comes by the grace of God and faith. More than ever Christians are waiting for the second coming the Lord Jesus Christ.

At the Devon Church the Combine Easter Worship Service was held with Japanese Section, Children Church and English Section. After the Worship Service the congregation enjoyed with our annual Pot Luck Luncheon, and spent and talked to many people and had a very joyful, peaceful, and wonderful time.

Give thanks to our Lord for letting us have this wonderful time on the Easter Sunday.

Many foods served at Easter Luncheon. Hiroko was busy eating so forgot to take photos of food.
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*The information of Ash Wednesday is taken from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.

According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke; Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting.

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered after the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned.