Monday's thoughts

Easter Sunday
April 12Th

6:00 am Sunrise Service
"It Was Early In the Morning"
The aspect of the Easter story from Mark's Gospel is the prevailing chaos that surrounded the scene. The worst thing that could be imagined happened. It was early in the morning and everybody had run for their lives. Jesus had been crucified. the disciples had gone back home believing they had chosen to follow a failed messiah, and three women went to the tomb to deal with a dead body. What followed in sequence can only be described as chaotic; in fact the women ran in fear. Mark ends the account suggesting that the women did nothing to promote the idea that the tomb was empty and a later writer added the part of the story (often listed as a footnote) that the women did go to speak to the disciples and Jesus did appear to them telling them to "go out into the world and preach the gospel."
The sunrise service sermon will focus on the chaos of Easter and he confusion of life and how we face it and how we turn it around.

We are living in a time of confusion and it's important for us to find hope and to live in that hope until the hope we have in our hearts becomes realized.

Easter Worship 8am, 9:30am, 11am
"Come and See"
John 20:19 begins "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week"
This service will revolve around a more empirical approach to Easter. The terror and chaos of the early encounters have passed. Now it comes to us to find evidence we can see and trust that there message of Easter speaks to us.

I will point so several ways in which the Easter message is as alive today as it was in the "Upper Room" when Jesus appeared to the disciples.

The message of Easter hope is not a once and for all kind of thing. It comes to us and it is real and tangible for us. It is the central message of the Christian faith.

It suggests:
Never give up because you never know what can happen next. Death will not have the last word. Love prevails.
Christ is alive and Christ, the Lord, is risen today.

Easter strikes us on so many different levels.

It is one of the most exciting days of the year.

What do you hope to hear this Easter morning? If you have some thoughts write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.

I look forward to hearing from you.


Charles Schuster