TMG
Hello, Crossroads Church!
“He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.” (Matt 28:6)
That’s one of my favorite verses in the Bible, and probably the best and most exciting news anyone could ever receive (even if the hearers on that first Easter morning may not have fully understood what had happened)!
After having lived a few years in France, it dawned on me that I didn’t know why in America we call this day “Easter.” In French, the word used is “Pâques” which is essentially a translation of the Hebrew word for “Passover” and makes a lot of sense.
The word “Easter” descended from a Germanic word, “Austron,” a goddess of the sunrise, rebirth, and fertility. Basically, “Easter” means what it says — “East.” It speaks of the rising of the sun, a new day, new life, etc. These are good pictures of the new life that’s ours through faith in Christ, but we don’t want to forget that the central truth of Easter is that a man who claimed to be the Savior of the world rose bodily from the dead, showing us that life after death is real for all who believe in Him. We want to be careful that Easter is not just a celebration of Springtime. (I wonder what they do in countries of the southern hemisphere where it’s actually fall now!)
It has also always been interesting to me that, while there is some discussion about the correct date of Christmas, there’s no doubt about the day of the year when Christ rose from the dead. We know for certain that it occurred on the first Sunday after Passover, a date which has been fixed in the Jewish calendar since Moses’ time.
So this is wonderful special day in our lives! How exciting that whether we’re from east or west or north or south, from Missouri or Kansas or Arkansas, we join together with people all over the world to celebrate the hope available to us because of the resurrection! I hope you’ll come ready to make that our focus this Sunday morning! We’ll have people visiting with us, I’m sure, so try to come early and make others feel welcome! Thanks to those who are bringing food and organizing our Easter morning breakfast.
Breakfast at 9:00 at the Community Center (200 N. Ash St.).
Worship at 10:00 at the Community Center.
- Children’s Church for the young ones during the sermon.
- We’ll receive Communion this Sunday as a remembrance of the Lord’s death and resurrection, and of our unity in Him.
Don’t forget that there will also be a Good Friday service tomorrow, sponsored by the Vernon County Ministerial Alliance, at First Presbyterian Church in Nevada, 500 N. Olive St.
Elders Meeting Summary
We had a good elders meeting last Sunday after the worship service. Here are some highlights of the meeting. Forrest will give a summary at the conclusion of worship on the 16th.
- We reviewed two sessions of Larry Osborne’s “Sticky Teams” video series on team-building.
- We discussed the upcoming fellowship Sundays. (May 21, June 18, July 16, and August 20 are all dates now for some fellowship following the morning service. I hope you’ll plan to join the family on those dates!)
- Forrest gave an update on the new Youth Group series.
- Tyrell Shoemaker, one of our new missionaries, will be speaking at Crossroads on April 30. We’re in need of rides for Tyrell to and from Kansas City on Saturday, April 29 (afternoon) and Sunday, the 30th. Let me know if you think you can help — a good way to serve, and you’ll be blessed by your time spent with Tyrell!
- We discussed some needs in Children’s Church.
- We discussed the need for renewing some small group (home group) ministry for adults. How can we develop the life of the church beyond Sunday morning only?
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
— 1 Peter 1:3
I look forward to seeing you Sunday!
— Tom
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