Easter Sunday worship preview

Dear Saints:   Within a span of two days this past week, Spartan fans experienced both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  They witnessed the stirring triumph of their men's basketball team over the University of Connecticut last Saturday.  Two nights later, the team was buried by the University of North Carolina.    As Christians, we will experience a couple of significant events within the span of two days as well.  In contrast to the experience of MSU players and fans, we will face the agony first and then the victory.  On Good Friday at 8 pm, we will recall once again how Jesus experienced the depth of human suffering in his death on a cross.  Readings from Scripture and responses both sung and spoken will unfold for us the events of Jesus' death.  And then two days later, on Easter Sunday, we will celebrate the greatest victory of all, the triumph of Jesus over the grave.   I hope you will join us as we worship in the context of these two central events of our faith.  To prepare for Easter, I invite you to read Matthew 28:1-15.  In the service we will focus specifically on the choice the guards made to take the hush money and deny the resurrection.  We will use that text as a way to think about how we are tempted to deny the reality of resurrection in our own lives and how we can open ourselves more fully to the depth of God's gift to us in Christ.   As you read the texts you might ask yourself: why were the leaders in Jesus' day so afraid of the truth of Christ's resurrection?  what did they have to lose if the word got out that Jesus was raised? in what ways are you tempted to deny the power of the resurrection in your life?  what would living a resurrected life in its fullness look like?   Don't forget we have three services on Easter at 7,9, and 11 am and a pancake breakfast that will take place from 7:45-10:45.   I look forward to worshiping with you in this most holy of weeks.   In Christ,   Bryan