“I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies” (Psalm 18:3). The gospel message is one of good news. The birth was needed, the death was necessary but the resurrection was the confirmation.
I was reminded Sunday morning, as my feet touched the floor, of a message my friend, Mike Harmon preached years ago entitled, “That Great Getting Up Morning” (or something close to that). And what a morning it was when the ladies found the tomb empty — the seals of the tomb were broken, the stone was rolled away — not to let Jesus out but to let us in — glory!
There must have been an atmosphere of mixed emotions that first Easter morning. His followers at first wondered what was taking place. Had someone stolen the body? Had He conquered death, Hell and the grave? I am sure several things were going through their minds. After all, this was the place He was laid to rest on Good Friday by some of His disciples. And can you imagine being one of those who was last to physically serve Jesus the Son of God, touching His cold dead body and lying Him in a borrowed tomb? I believe you and I still have a great opportunity to physically serve Him through the lives we live and the stance we take for truth.
Some have said, “After all, since Jesus was God, how could He have suffered?” While Jesus was all God, He was also all man. He cried out, “I thirst.” When cut, He bled. So never think His death was unlike any other death. The burden of all the sins of the world was laid upon Him, even to the point we had seen in the garden where He sweat, as it were, great drops of blood.
Jesus did for me what I could not do for myself. And to everyone who will call upon His name and believe in their heart that He is the Anointed One, the Savior of the world, will be given life everlasting. So, I encourage you to begin each day as though it were Easter morning. Thank God for His love and mercy. His children will experience their own personal “Great Getting Up Morning” in the near future. Belated, Happy Easter to all!
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “In commemoration of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, we had a prayer vigil on Friday from 7:30 p.m. until midnight. We love to remember His death by praying because that was Jesus’ precise invitation to His disciples the night He was arrested.
“During the vigil, in addition to praying, we read all the events written by Luke, from the plot to kill Jesus, the Last Supper to His burial. Oscar López, Oscar Gómez, José Luís and Marlon read the book of Luke and each gave their comments on the portion that corresponded to them. Marlon and José Luis had the opportunity to share the Word with the congregation for the first time, and they did it very well.
“We made groups to dramatize the passages read, which helped visualize the events that occurred and focus attention on details that generally go unnoticed.
“On Sunday morning, while it was still dark, we began our meeting at 6 a.m., singing songs proclaiming that He lives and concluded the readings from Luke with the resurrection of the Lord. Furthermore, we challenged the church to live worthy, as people redeemed by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, based on Colossians 2 and 3.
“In the Communion Room, while we were having breakfast, a group dramatized the appearance of the resurrected Jesus to the women and the proclamation of the Great Commission addressed to the church.
“It was a different weekend that took us out of our comfort zone, but it was worth it. We thank God infinitely because He has blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross, and stripping away the principalities and powers, He exhibited them publicly, triumphing over them on the cross.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “I thank God that even though it has been a busy week, it has been full of blessings. The Ebenezer sisters continue to meet and, with each meeting, I see how it is growing both spiritually and in attendance. The sisters took the opportunity to celebrate my wife, Kory’s birthday. Let’s pray that our ladies will be a driving force within Ebenezer for missions.
“The Discovery Bible Study in our home also continues to grow. Three people joined us this week who do not normally congregate with us in Chenal. It was exciting to be discovering the biblical truths in the gospel of John. Pray that God will raise up leaders in this ministry and we can multiply in other homes.
“We had the Sunrise Worship at Ebenezer, remembering the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is always a challenge, being at six in the morning and bringing food is not easy, especially if you have children, but our brethren responded well, with good attendance and encouragement. At the end of the service, we had a dedication of a baby girl, Antonella Pulgar. Together with her parents, we prayed for her, and we also dedicated the parents for the education of Antonella in the ways of the Lord.
“Thank you for your prayers and for your support for the mission. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a great week at Faith Chapel! We had a great number for Resurrection Sunday, with only a few empty seats, and we had a wonderful time of worship. After service, we had our Easter potluck, and it was great. All in all, it was just a great time as we celebrated our risen Savior — He is alive!
“The building is progressing. The drywallers have one more skim coat to put on, then they will texture it and we can paint. The footings for the classrooms have been poured, and after the plumbing has been roughed in, we will pour the floor. Then we will be ready for the Master’s Builders to come back in May and help us frame the classrooms and get them in the dry. We are so looking forward to getting in the new building, and it is closer every day! We praise God for blessing us so richly. Every time I look at that view of the Crooked Creek Valley, I am humbled by God’s plan for us and for Flippin. I always tell people that He saved this spot for us for all of time, and I believe He did.
“Thank you for your prayers and support, and for your faithfulness! We thank God for you.”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “‘Thank you, Jesus, for the blood applied. Thank you, Jesus, it has washed me white. Thank you, Jesus, you have saved my life. Brought me out of darkness into glorious light.’ We worship a risen Savior every day, but especially on Resurrection Sunday.
“Faith Journey enjoyed an evening of worship, fellowship and the celebration of Christ’s sacrifice for each of us. We had an Easter meal at the mission this week of ham, potato salad, green beans and all the sides and desserts! It was something special! We then had a great lesson about Jesus’ amazing gift to us by dying for the sins of all when He could have chosen not to. What a wonderful sacrifice.
“We hope everyone was able to enjoy family and friends while pondering all that we have been given during this Easter season. Have a blessed week!”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “We end the month of March thankful to the Lord for His grace and faithfulness. We continue to work on discipleship in an intentional way, teaching biblical principles of life, and we are also challenged to show it in our lives. I began working with Juan and Franklin to help me serve in our meetings, and they are very encouraged and willing.
“My wife, Patty started a new job and invited co-workers to our resurrection service. We had seven people visit who felt very good and we were able to talk to them and they promised to come back. The brothers also brought dessert meals and we enjoyed an atmosphere of brotherhood and love.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “It was a great week within Epic Life, but a strange one for me. The highlight was having someone join this week! That was incredible! I also had two individuals who have been coming to our groups for a while ask about giving — that’s always great for a pastor to hear!
It is encouraging because our structure doesn’t allow for ‘passing the plate,’ but it is encouraging to see God placing it on the hearts of people. We also had three strong Connection Group meetings and plans were made to begin one or two more groups.
“This week was strange for me in that we didn’t do anything special for Easter. Praying through it this past month, we felt it was more important that we try to keep up the rhythms of our weekly Connection Groups, monthly Coaches Meeting and monthly Collective Worship Gathering rather than trying to move our worship night or hold another one. This went against all I typically do as a pastor, but from the conversations we had this past week, I do believe we made the right move and look forward to that coaches’ meeting Sunday.
