Happy Easter, Friends!
We will continue to celebrate the Resurrection over the next 40 days. This is the number of days the Risen Christ spent talking with his disciples, appearing before crowds, giving “many convincing proofs of his real existence (Acts 1:3).” And although I said we were finished with the I AM statements of Jesus, there is one more *BONUS* statement that tells us much about the Risen and Conquering Son. Don’t you just love bonuses? Have you guessed what it may be? I AM The Alpha and the Omega- who is, and who was, and who is to come (Rev 1:8).
Like the Alpha, the first letter in the Greek alphabet, God is the beginning of all things. John begins his Gospel with this truth. “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God.” Jesus, the Son, has always been with God, the Father. Remember our first lesson in John 8, Jesus said “before Abraham was, I AM.” Like the Omega, the final letter in Greek alphabet, God is the end. After his resurrection Jesus said, “Surely, I am with you always to the very end of the age (Mat 28:20).” And what about everything in between? All people, all leaders, all nature, all spiritual forces are “held together in Christ Jesus” (Col 1:17). Jesus is not only the Beginning and End, he is also the Life in the middle.
Who holds your past? Who holds your future? Who holds your present? In all ways Jesus is Lord. That’s what “I AM The Alpha and the Omega” means…When all is said and done, Christ is still Lord. After we have debated and doubted and run out of excuses, Christ is still Lord. After we have come to the end of our human understanding and imagination, Christ is still Lord. When we don’t know what’s going to happen next, Christ is Lord. When we try and fail, praise God…Jesus Christ is still Lord. What a privilege it is live in light of this truth! I’m not the one keeping the universe going and neither are you, nor are our leaders. It’s God who holds all things together, and God has the final word on all things including death. Rejoice, Christ is risen…He is risen indeed!
I look forward to seeing you Sunday. We’ll have a special slide show from pictures taken at Palm Sunday and Easter. If you came to our Good Friday service, you may like to know that I’ll be preaching Sunday about Jesus’ Last, Last Words. See you then!
Peace,
Pastor Amber
· A memorial service for Gretchen Brodie will be held THIS Saturday, 4/10, at 2pm at the chapel of East Ridge Retirement Community. All church friends are welcome to attend.
· A BIG Thank You to all those who helped make the Easter events possible. Between Thursday and Sunday we hosted almost 450 people here at Cutler Ridge!!! And utilized about 50 volunteers over that period. Many of those volunteered for more than one event. A special thank you to the Worship Team for their preparations and service.
· Exciting News! The Church Council approved unanimously to proceed with FIU/MDC Wesley to make the Annex into intern housing. The move-in date will be August 1st. Church volunteers, along with students, will be doing much of the light labor. We start with 2 immediate needs: 1) monetary donations marked “Annex” or to the “Major Repair Fund” to off-set the cost of the new roof 2) a small Task Force who will oversee the process from all angles- physical repairs, relocating the Crafts, creating a new children’s space in 201, furnishing and decorating. A Question & Answer sheet is available in the Narthex for more detailed information.
