On the Tuesday of Holy Week, as I got out of my car at the gates of the Church I could hear loud bleeps. Upon wondering what it was I quickly realised it was the sound of a smoke alarm. At first I thought it was coming from the flats across the road from the Church, but as I walked through the Church gates and the noise got louder, I realised it was coming from our parish hall. To cut a long story short, it wasn’t long until the Fire Brigade was there, investigating what had caused the fire in the kitchen. This was one surprise that I was not expecting, and when I say surprise, it certainly wasn’t a pleasant one.
On Easter day and for the next six weeks we are encouraged to think of all the times our Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection. One can only imagine the surprise which Mary Magdalene and the others got when they when to the tomb on that first Easter morning. They went expecting to find the body of Jesus, whom they witnessed dying and being buried by Joseph of Arimathea. Their purpose for going was to complete the Jewish burial rituals that they were unable to complete due to the Sabbath customs and laws. Arriving at the tomb it wasn’t to long until they realised that Jesus’ body wasn’t there and that he was in fact not dead. Mark’s gospel tell us that a young man dressed in white told them that Jesus was not dead but that “He has risen!”
After the shock had passed, the followers of Jesus must have been overwhelmed by the joy of realising that Jesus, even though He was crucified, He was and is very much alive. For generations since this wonderful event, Christians have proclaimed the Resurrection by the reading of the scriptures and the singing of hymns.
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
For Christians, the Resurrection completes the Salvation plan of God and is central to our faith. It fills us with hope, joy, assurance, satisfaction and the knowledge of the love of God. We know that with putting our faith firmly in Christ, and in Him alone, we will benefit from His Resurrection by being resurrected ourselves to eternal life. The important question that rises from all this is: ‘Do you believe in the Resurrection?’
On Easter day and for the next six weeks we are encouraged to think of all the times our Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection. One can only imagine the surprise which Mary Magdalene and the others got when they when to the tomb on that first Easter morning. They went expecting to find the body of Jesus, whom they witnessed dying and being buried by Joseph of Arimathea. Their purpose for going was to complete the Jewish burial rituals that they were unable to complete due to the Sabbath customs and laws. Arriving at the tomb it wasn’t to long until they realised that Jesus’ body wasn’t there and that he was in fact not dead. Mark’s gospel tell us that a young man dressed in white told them that Jesus was not dead but that “He has risen!”
After the shock had passed, the followers of Jesus must have been overwhelmed by the joy of realising that Jesus, even though He was crucified, He was and is very much alive. For generations since this wonderful event, Christians have proclaimed the Resurrection by the reading of the scriptures and the singing of hymns.
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
For Christians, the Resurrection completes the Salvation plan of God and is central to our faith. It fills us with hope, joy, assurance, satisfaction and the knowledge of the love of God. We know that with putting our faith firmly in Christ, and in Him alone, we will benefit from His Resurrection by being resurrected ourselves to eternal life. The important question that rises from all this is: ‘Do you believe in the Resurrection?’