Beauty Beyond…

We shall be like Him!

(because He is risen) 

 An old spiritual asks the question:

“Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”

The answer: “Yes. I was there. We were all there.”

“Knowing” the Power of His Resurrection

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection… (Phil. 3:10)

Here’s the good news: we will. We will know RESURRECTION POWER . And all that was once good and beautiful and has been lost or destroyed will be made new. I invite you to think expansively about this. Acts 3 speaks of “times of refreshing” and “the restoration of all things.”

Refreshing. Restoration. All things. How can we be sure?

Because of Christ’s victory over the curse that came upon all creation at The Fall. He defeated death by living the perfect life, dying the perfect death, preaching the Good News of salvation to even those who had died before Him and were held captive in death, setting them free to live in the glory of His presence, and promising the same liberation from the curse for all who call upon His Name.

That was a long sentence. I earnestly believe that when it comes to the power of the Resurrection and what it promises and portends, we could begin writing a sentence about all that will be refreshed and restored through Christ and the sentence would literally go on and on and on without end.

Easter is that big a deal, that magnificent, that overwhelming. Again, think expansively. Think about all that has been good in your life, good gifts from God, and consider that every loss will be recovered, never to be lost again. Maybe it’s a spouse, a relative, a friend. Maybe it’s a beagle puppy. Maybe it’s the ability to run and jump. Maybe it’s faith without fear.

He is risen; He is risen, indeed! Happy Easter.

News & Announcements:

• Special Prayer Walk @ Salem4Youth: Wed., April 11, 6:30We’ll leave from the church about 5:45
• The first four letters in Salem? SALE
  For all the right reasons, we are being invited to be part of the auction @ Salem on April 14. Clear the decks! In fact, if you’ve ever wanted to have a horse, this is your opportunity. Buy one at the auction and they’ll board it for you at a very reasonable rate! If enough of you buy a horse, we can start a church polo team!
  Or…
  If you have valuable items (art, antiques, jewelry, e.g.) which you’d like to donate to the auction, please let Pastor Dave or Kent Robson know.
• Softball Season Starts Soon … See Stuart

The Shape of Beauty

 An old spiritual asks the question:
“Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”
The answer: “Yes. I was there. We were all there.”

Interest Rates @ All Time High

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

- Charles Wesley, 1738

This timeless hymn asks one of the most pertinent and penetrating questions any spiritual seeker can ask: “How can it be?” That question has been asked – and answered – billions of times over the centuries. The answer is in this verse: “Amazing love!” proven in the substitution of the innocent for the guilty.

Perfectly innocent. Entirely guilty. Switched on the cross. I peel off, He climbs up and is nailed fast to the rough wood.

Paul warns the Corinthians that the message of the cross just doesn’t make sense to those who don’t/won’t believe.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (I Cor. 1:18)

As Christians, we kick around a lot of ideas and notions about many things. We wonder at the mysteries; we invoke hopeful formulas and formulate hopeful invocations; and if we’re honest, we must admit that we even question some of the solutions to that which seemed mysterious. But this, this substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross, this we believe and assert as the most beautiful act of love the universe has ever seen. This is the reversal of the dark curse. This we must have.

News & Announcements:

• Prayer gathering this Wednesday: 7:00 @ the church
• Special Prayer Walk @ Salem4Youth: Wed., April 11, 6:30
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer March – Emergency Department
• SUSA 2012 and the coming Basque Invasion – ask Bob V. for the current plan of attack.
• The first four letters in Salem? SALE
  For all the right reasons, we are being invited to be part of the auction
  @ Salem on April 14. Clear the decks!
• Maundy Thursday Service of Communion and Prayer
  Thursday @ 7:00
• Easter Service
  Sunday, April 8 @ 10:30

Beauty in Action

The Beatitudes:

Insights that Change the World and Bring the Kingdom of God

“And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying…”
Matthew 5:2

Do you remember this?

What if you learned that some of the fellows with guns and masks are no longer Muslim terrorists, but Christ Followers? How did that happen?

New Tribes Missionaries Abducted In Philippines

May 28, 2001|By Gary Taylor, Sentinel Staff Writer

SANFORD — Two missionaries from the Sanford-based New Tribes Mission were among a group of about 20 people kidnapped Sunday in the Philippines.

Martin and Gracia Burnham work in some of the country’s most remote areas, but they were abducted while visiting a resort to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary.

News & Announcements:

• Prayer gathering this Wednesday: 7:00 @ the church
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer March –Emergency Department
• Time for a Tuneup for Married Couples? Or maybe a Test Drive for Dating Couples?
  A Weekend to Remember
  March 30-April 1 @ The Marriott Uptown Normal
  Derek and Abigail leading the charge; see them; scholarships available!
• SUSA 2012 and the coming Basque Invasion – ask Bob V. for the current plan of attack.
• The first four letters in Salem? SALE
  For all the right reasons, we are being invited to be part of the auction
  @ Salem on April 14. Clear the decks!