As of yesterday, we completed the season of lent which began on Ash Wednesday, 40 days ago.  Lent is a time to set aside for reflection on Jesus Christ – his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection.
A couple of days ago, on Good Friday, we gathered together in amazement that our Jesus would die on the cross for our sins and took the punishment in our place.  And we come today to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  Not merely that he died for our sins, but that he rose again from the dead for our eternal life!!
And the bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  So those who believe in the name of Jesus live because Jesus is alive!  And we rejoice together!  So Easter is the highest point, the climax of Jesus’ ministry.  And now we’ve reached the highest point, is this the end of the story of Easter?  Far from it!  The truth is that Easter is only the beginning of a real journey on earth for all believers.  The story of Easter continues on. 
Far too many of us have gotten to the cross and the resurrection, but far too few have moved beyond receiving resurrection to live eternally.  See, receiving forgiveness through the blood of Jesus and resurrection of Jesus, which is eternal life, is only half of the story of Easter.  Now Jesus wants us to experience His resurrected life on earth by living it until we go to heaven!
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.”  What he is really saying is, “since you’re been saved, now you must live your life accordingly, that is the resurrected life!”
The resurrection of Jesus brought about amazing transformation in his disciples.  They went from hiding to preaching boldly in public.  They were willing to go through hardships, persecution and even death.  What had happened to them?  They had seen Jesus resurrected.  The disciples and the followers of Jesus were so radically transformed that they affected their culture big time!  The reality of the resurrection of Jesus had a transforming power that changed people’s perspective and lifestyle.
And Jesus wants to continue the same ministry of transformation in this age, and he wants to work with us.  In Luke 15, Jesus was upset over the discussion the religious leaders were having about who matters to God and who doesn’t, and He revealed his heart for the lost through the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the lost son.  The point he was making was that lost people really mattered to Him!  In the same way, lost people should be matter to us as well.
Yes, we ought to rejoice together for the resurrected life we’ve received through Jesus.  We live because Jesus is alive!   However, let us not forget that Jesus doesn’t want us to be content with just ourselves being saved, but he wants us to reach out to our families, friends, neighbors and others by living out our resurrected life!   It’s all because lost people really matter to God, and they too should be matter to us. 

Happy Easter!!

From Pastor Neil’s Heart 
April 20, 2014

Finally, some warm weather!  It seems like we’ve been under a long winter’s spell from a white witch but now we’ve finally been set free by… a sunny lion, I guess?  This analogy is not very good.
Spring has this way of bringing out newness or fresh starts in people.  The onset of the warmer weather and the departure of the paralyzing cold remind us that we’ve got things to do this year!  Time to start doing some yard work.  Time to get outside.  Time to get ready for the summer beach season.  Time to order allergy medicine.  In reality, maybe Spring is when we should actually make our New Year’s resolutions since it ties in so well with this idea of new beginnings.  Also, I’m pretty sure that about 99% of us have already given up on our original January 1 resolutions anyway… don’t worry, I’m not judging you – my own claim that 2014 would be the year of eating better has been pushed to a yet-to-be determined time.
And why shouldn’t we be focused on making changes anew?  Spring is the perfect time to remind us of new life.  As all the snow melts away to uncover the hidden green, and trees start to bear colorful leaves instead of dry cracked branches, we are reminded that even with death, there is always new life being born again.
In the same way, Spring is when we celebrate Easter.  Can there be a more synonymous season for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?  For us, Jesus’ resurrection symbolizes not only our death to sin but also our new life in Christ.  In fact, not only during Spring or this Easter season, but every day, we need to remind ourselves of this fact.  Every day, we should wake up and commit to the Lord to die to ourselves today that we may live a new kingdom life by the power of the cross.  And Jesus never says, “too bad, you had your chance and you blew it.”  With Jesus, the invitation is always open and His grace is always enough.
So whatever our resolutions were, even if they have died, now is the time to resurrect them.  It’s not too late to go to the gym or read more or whatever else you may have resolved to do in 2014.  And it’s certainly not too late to start the M’Cheyne Bible reading plan that we go through together as a church or commit to a daily prayer schedule.  Wherever we are at, Jesus always gives us the opportunity to come back to him again.  Even now, if there’s a tugging at our hearts or a small desire to recommit some portion of our lives to the Lord, let’s embrace the thawing today.  Spring is here!

From Pastor David’s Heart
April 13, 2014