Easter Weekend

Easter is one of my favorite weekends of the year.  First of all, even though we celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ each week, I love a Sunday that is completely focused on this day in history.  I also love it because we get another chance at some folks that we only see a few times a year.  Even better are those outside of Christ who will give church a chance.  We know it doesn't always end the way we want it to, but the opportunity is provided.  I heard about one church yesterday who ended service by saying, "For those who only come for Easter and Christmas we want to go ahead and wish you a happy Thanksgiving." Funny, but we never know what the power of the Good News of Christ can have on someone that day.  Now we need to pray for those who came.  If there was someone you knew, make contact with them this week and invite them back.  Ask them if there was anything from Sunday that especially spoke to them.  Who knows, they may have been waiting for someone to talk to about things.

For those interested, I wrote a blog Saturday about what Jesus was doing between His death on Friday and His resurrection on Sunday.  It was mainly for those on social media who may be thinking about Jesus because of Easter weekend.  If you would like to read it for yourself you can click on tracylmooreblog.wordpress.com.  Also, I'm planning to write another blog encouraging people to think about all they miss between Jesus birth (incarnation) and resurrection.  In other words, if you only hear sermons at Christmas and Easter you are missing a lot of powerful stuff in between.

That being said, we will begin a two part sermon series this week on the Preeminence of Christ (Col. 1:15-23).  This Sunday we will look into the idea that Jesus is superior as the creator of the universe.  The second week we will see His preeminence as the head of the church.

This weekend the children's ministry put on our annual flashlight egg hunt.  The hurricane shutters are pulled down to make everything on the first floor of the Lynn Center completely dark.  The kids love it as they get to use their flashlights to hunt for eggs.  David Paladin and his crew did a great job.  They served a great lunch with barbecue sandwiches, hotdogs, baked beans, chips, and the works.

Joel and his motley crew of teenagers had a wild time at the Wild's land.  They used eggs in a whole different way.  I think more of them came back cracked than the eggs themselves.  Later they would lick their wounds in front of a bonfire.

COMING UP: This Sunday Joel and I will be meeting with anyone interested in attending the Caribbean Lectureships in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  We will go over dates, costs, and the overall plans of the trip.  Personally,  it was one of the favorite trips I made last year.

COMING UP: Manland Retreat (May 2nd-3rd).  All the men (and boys 10 and up) are invited to a ranch a little over an hour away.  It is an old fashioned camp out.  There is electricity, but you must provide your own housing (tents, cots, etc.).  The costs is $15 to cover the cost of food.  Friday night will be a shrimp boil and Saturday morning a good breakfast.  If any of the men would like to help David Paladin with cooking, please let David or myself know.  We will have a list of other items that you may want to bring A.S.A.P.

COMING UP: A new class on Wednesday nights for those recently baptized or those who feel they do not have a good knowledge of the Bible.  It is a basics class and will be based on the material we used last year on "The Story." The teachers will be David Paladin and myself.

Whew!  Enough for today.  Remember those who sit around you who were not able to attend.  Give them a call, send a card, or call to see if they would like a visit.  If it is something the leadership needs to attend to, please call to let us know.  Have a great week - Jesus is risen!