I NEED to say a HUGE thank you to
everyone who made the Easter events at Knox, Midland, a meaningful and powerful
experience. I can’t possibly list
everybody who pitched in, because there are simply too many to name. Every time
I try I know I’ve forgotten a name or two. But please know this: we all
appreciate your great service. From Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday it was a
week of blessings and surprises.
On Palm Sunday we put ourselves in the
place of the crowd who greeted Jesus at the gates of Jerusalem with palm
branches and triumphant proclamations, but when we were asked to then put
ourselves in the place of those who five days later called for Jesus’ death, we
learned the extremely uncomfortable lesson that we have a role to play in His
crucifixion as it was for our disobedience and rebellion that He gave his
life. 
On Thursday evening 37 disciples
gathered in the Family Room. We sat at
two long tables and shared in the potluck feast that included ham, potatoes,
and Kentucky Fried Chicken, among other things.
We shared communion together in much the way the first Christians would
have celebrated the Lord’s Supper, by simply giving thanks for the bread and
the wine and sharing it together at the start of our fellowship meal. People were smiling and laughing and I think
this intimate and casual communion got many of us ready for the Easter weekend
to come.
Good Friday was a little bit different
this year as we entered a darkened sanctuary to behold a black curtain at the
front of the sanctuary. As people disappeared
behind the curtain throughout the service, we wondered what surprise lay in store
for us. During the sermon I invited us
to name the barriers that we place between us and God and then to rip a small
piece of cloth, which represented those barriers.[1] We declared as a group that through the cross
there are no longer any barriers between us and the Lord our God.
During the final song, as P33 led us in
worship through music, I tore the curtain in two and revealed the surprise
message that people had been creating for us throughout the service: a collaborative
painting that simply read, “LIFE.”[2] This
was a dramatic reminder that though Good Friday is a day of mourning, there is new
life to come in three short days.
Finally, on Easter Sunday we proclaimed,
“He is risen!” We celebrated with
vibrant music led by our passionate band, P33, and featured an opening piece on
the organ. I spoke about three reasons
(among many) that the empty tomb (resurrection of Jesus) is good news:
1.) Because it means that death is DEFEATED.[3]
2.) Because it means that God LOVES us.[4]
3.) Because it means that we ALWAYS have a chance at
new life[5]
Throughout
the service we celebrated together that in the fullness of Easter we always
have hope because it proves that God is for us.
He lived, died, and rose again for us, and he did it all – he saved the
world – in just one week. Amen?
All in all it
was an amazing week for me, and I sincerely hope that you also experienced the presence
of God in a special way this Easter. What can happen in just one week? You tell me.
I’d love to hear about what God did in your life this Easter. Feel free to post your comments below and
share.
-A
[1]
Mark 15:38-39
[2] Galatians 5:1
[3] "Where, O death, is your
victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
[4] "For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life. For God
did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world
through him.” John 3:16-17
[5] He who was seated on the throne
said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this
down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will
give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I
will be his God and he will be my son. Revelation 21:5-7
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