He Is Risen! "A Living Hope"
CHRIST HAS RISEN!
Tomorrow (Sunday, 4/5) is a Resurrection Celebration! This is the day we celebrate our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has risen from the dead. Paul the Apostle said, “Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:25).
Early in the morning, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus had cast out seven demons, visited the tomb where He was buried. Much to her astonishment, the stone had been removed, and the grave was empty.
She quickly ran to find Peter and John to tell them what she had seen. Both men ran as fast as they could, and when they arrived, Peter stooped down first to look at the neatly lying linen cloths that had been used to wrap Jesus’ body.
John followed Peter, and when he saw the linen cloths and the handkerchief folded together around Jesus’ head, he believed. He remembered Jesus's words about His resurrection, which would undoubtedly occur after His death.
At the time, none of the disciples heard this promise due to the grief that filled their minds regarding the arrest, suffering, and crucifixion of their Teacher. But now John saw clearly that Jesus had kept His word that on the third day, He would rise out from among the dead, never to die again.
Today, two thousand years later, we celebrate the day that changed the world forever. We can confidently proclaim that because He lives, we have been declared righteous before God the Father. Because He lives, we never have to fear death. Because He lives, we are assured that He is for us, not against us. Because He lives, we know we will be with Him when this life ends.
When we gather in the main sanctuary after breakfast (8:00-9:30), we will focus on Apostle Peter's eyewitness account of that morning’s events and his letter that followed, when the entire religious and secular world hurried to respond to the news that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. What happened changed the world forever.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was and continues to be a message for all the world that whosoever believes in Him and what He accomplished on the cross will experience a transformation from the inside out and the guarantee that once their time on earth is complete, they will spend eternity with Jesus and all the saints of all the ages. For the followers of Jesus, the resurrection is a message of hope amid a Christ-rejecting, sin-loving, selfish world.
Invite your family and friends to come and celebrate. A recent statistic stated that 82% of people invited to an Easter service would attend. That is a fantastic fact. You have an incredible opportunity to witness someone’s life changed for eternity. Breakfast is 8:00-9:30 am, and worship begins at 10:00 am.
BECAUSE HE LIVES,
Pastor