Resurrection Sunday

He Is Risen!

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! 
Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia! 
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! 
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia! 

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia! 
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia! 
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia! 
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

 Text by Charles Wesley

The Resurrection

Mark 16:1-7


Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.
 
When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”

Easter: A Love Story (God's Valentine)

Narrated by Anne Graham Lotz

Good Friday

<sup>Why is it called Good Friday? Jesus was betrayed by someone he loved, beaten, and then hung to die... it doesn't sound so good. Jesus came to this earth on a special mission, sent by God. What was that mission? To take the sin of the world (that's you and me) through death, burial, and finally resurrection. As followers of Jesus, we know the story doesn't end on the cross and that's what makes it good. The wrath of God was satisfied on the cross and we can now live at peace with God if we believe in Him. 

That's an over-simplified version of the story. I encourage you to read it for yourself. I've included some scripture below and links to the Biblegateway.com website so you may study further. The passage from Isaiah gives the Old Testament Prophecy about Jesus and the selection following that tells of John's account of Jesus' death.  

Isaiah 53

3</sup> He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care.

⁴ Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins!
⁵ But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
⁶ All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and treated harshly,
    yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
    And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
    he did not open his mouth.
⁸ Unjustly condemned,
    he was led away.

Selections from John 19

So they took Jesus away. ¹⁷ Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). ¹⁸ There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. ¹⁹ And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰ The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.

²⁸ Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”²⁹ A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. ³⁰ When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.

³¹ It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was the Passover). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. ³³ But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. ³⁴ One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. ³⁵ (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also can believe.) ³⁶ These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,” ³⁷ and “They will look on the one they pierced.”

Wordy Wednesday

My uncle went home to be with the Lord this week. As I reflected on his death, I imagined what the reunion in heaven would be like for him. How wonderful to see those who have gone before him--parents, siblings, friends. It also reminded me of the hope I have for a glorious future in heaven one day. It makes me a little bit "homesick." With this in mind, I am dedicating this week's Wordy Wednesday post to my uncle by sharing this hope from the Word.

The Hope of the Resurrection

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you

to know what will happen to the believers 

who have died so you will not grieve 

like people who have no hope.  

For since we believe that Jesus died 

and was raised to life again, 

we also believe that when Jesus returns, 

God will bring back with him 

the believers who have died.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (NLT)