Greetings Disciples of Jesus!

Christ is Risen! Alleluia! The 40 days of Lent are over and we are blessed with 50 days of Easter, to feast and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord! To live into the reality of Jesus resurrection and the meaning that has for our lives will take a good 50 days to sink in. We have all the good parts of Revelation, and continuous readings from John and Acts to walk with from the Bible helping us to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. We will begin each service not with confession but with thanksgiving for Baptism to celebrate Jesus’ defeat of sin and death. Even though we continue to encounter both sin and death, they do not have the last word or the final say. Jesus has walked through all sin and death and shows us the way.

I share with you this Easter poem/prayer from Pastor Mark Anderson that does a lovely job of connecting Easter with our baptism and the promise of this covenantal relationship.

Lord,

The grave is empty.

The stone is rolled away.

Death has lost, and You have won.

And yet,

our hearts are slow to believe,

still tangled in fear,

still clinging to yesterday.

But You are risen

whether we feel it or not.

You are risen for the doubters, the weary, the broken.

For us.

Raise us with You.

Pull us into Your victory.

Let us walk in the light of Your never-ending mercy.

And You have spoken: “I have called you by name. You are Mine.”

You have raised us in Baptism,

clothed us in Your righteousness.

Your Word is stronger than our doubt.

You are risen! Indeed! Amen.

Blessing to you all as we live into the promise of our baptism and look beyond the power of sin and death remembering there is more because the tomb is empty, Christ is risen and meets us on the other side of sin and death.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack