Easter reflections

I wonder why ham is one of the main foods consumed on Easter (we had it yesterday)? Of course, to a Jewish person, pig is an unclean meat, so, they probably didn't have it on that first Easter to celebrate the Risen Lord...and I'll bet they didn't have deviled eggs either.

I wonder why some people sit in an Easter service and hear great music, a sermon, an invitation where people respond to Jesus' call and then decided not to come back next week? Are they afraid? Disinterested? Unbelieving?

Easter is a vision of what your church can become. Our former Sr. Pastor, Gary York, used to say, "if you can hit it, you can average it". I think that's true. If people will come to church on Easter, then you just have to figure out what might minister to that group the other 51 weeks of the year. I have prayed this morning that God would grow us into the church we saw yesterday. It is also a great way to assess possible limitations, programmatic challenges, staffing/volunteer needs/parking etc.... If God would make yesterday's service a normal Sunday what would you have to do grow into for that to happen?

It is a wonder that the good news of the resurrection never gets old. I have told it hundreds of times and prayerfully on Easter Sunday, 2035, I'll still be preaching somewhere on Easter and I'll still be moved by the good news!

I wonder what first time visitors thought of the mix of people we have at Eastview? We are becoming a beautiful kaleidoscope of all kinds of people! Some were in shorts and some in three piece suits, some poor, some rich, some from India, Mexico, China, and Leroy. All of God's children come together as one family...beautiful!

The video stuff yesterday was awesome: if you were late, you missed the movie trailer for GENESIS. Then of course the "siltent film" about Jesus' death and resurrection! The staff were real gamers for dressing up and playing the part, our video guy Scott - great job.

The music was off the charts - Matt and his musicians did a great job with every element..pointing to our awesome God ....I could go on...if you stayed at the end of the service, we rolled credits just like the end of a movie and there were literally hundreds of names who made yesterday possible...I can't say enough thanks to the staff and volunteers for all they did

Decisions were made at the invitation each service! The third service had five scheduled baptisms with three more spontaneous and at least two more confessed Jesus as Lord and will schedule baptisms this week! Praise God.