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Easter 2011

Easter is a powerful example of what happens when truth meets accusation.  The “Truth” – Jesus – obliterated the false accusations of His enemies and introduced death to its Master.  Hope was given a new and glorious image as death and the grave were proven powerless to prevent a resurrection.  New life, a new start, a new beginning all made possible by an experience called Easter.

It is never enough to say “Christ is risen.”  Each of us must also say, “I am risen.”  Have you risen above your circumstance, your doubt, your fear, your anger, your failure?

At theChurch we together rose to a new level of ministry this Easter as more than 8,000 people joined our Easter celebration and hundreds gave their life to Christ.  Thank you for being a part of this great miracle.  The Noel Project has risen to a new level with our Home for Hope Giveaway and we are anxiously awaiting to see who God has chosen to receive the house.  Christ is risen and we have risen!

As Easter Approaches Us @ theChurch

Each of us has the experience of being lost in some facet of our living.

“Lost” is incomplete unless there is a “found” in the story.

Perhaps we should see the Church as the world’s greatest lost and found place.

There is a sense in which things and/or people are lost to us.  There is also a sense in which we are lost to things and/or people.

This means we as a church should do some pretty extravagant things, costly things, to find and rescue those who are lost.

The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son all have value to someone.

The Kingdom of God is a place where everyone has value – not because they are special or good or deserving but because they belong.

Life is at times a strange paradox – exciting, joyful, fun, and fulfilling on the one hand.

On the other hand, it’s more about being lost than found.  It’s more about feeling incomplete than whole.  It’s more about feeling excluded than included.

All of us stray at times.  We all get lost in the desert – loneliness, fear, rejection, disobedience, estrangement.

All of us need someone out there, willing to go looking for us.  We are always in the process of trying to turn back, to find our way home again.

God is not through searching.  The “lostness” within the human community is still a crisis for Him.

Every lost one is being searched for.  It’s kind of like a giant game of hide and seek, where, as soon as you are found, you join forces with the one who is “it.”

Jesus is inviting you to join the ones doing the searching.  Like Him, we must seek and save those who are lost.

Who will you invite to experience Axcess this Easter 2012?

The HOPE of Easter

Easter is about hope – the hope of the Resurrection.

• It’s Friday and the world’s economic system is teetering on the brink of chaos.  But, Sunday is coming.
• It’s Friday and Toledo is bankrupt.  But Sunday is coming.
• It’s Friday and unemployment is double digit and rising.  But Sunday is coming.
• It’s Friday and Wall Street is Fear Street.  But Sunday is coming.
• It’s Friday and Main Street is in a panic.  But Sunday is coming.

Our Hope is not fixed on the bail-out.

Our Hope is not fixed on the economy.

Our Hope is not fixed on banks recovering.

Our Hope is not fixed on the dollar.

Hope is our response to God’s work in Jesus Christ.

Hope is our attitude toward the future.  Hope is believing, trusting, expecting, anticipating that God’s Word works.

When life hurts and dreams fade, nothing helps like hope.

Hope is confident expectation of good.  Hope is Heavenly Optimism Personally Experienced.

Romans 15:3 (MSG)  – May the God of hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope.

Go Bear Fruit… the last message of our “Go” series…

In His final hours on earth in His fleshly body, Jesus profoundly assigned His followers a task that would change the world.

He said “I have chosen you and appointed you so that you would go and bear fruit.”

When anyone responds to Jesus and acknowledges Him as Lord, “going” must become the nature of their lives.

Your life becomes powerful, fulfilling and successful in direct proportion to the degree His Word fills your being, life, breath as healing and creative power.

I Thessalonians 5:24 ─ “Faithful is He who is calling you and He will also do it.”

When God assigns us a task, His Words include enablement.

God’s commitment to His purpose in you is absolutely complete.

He initiates our involvement in His Kingdom ─ “I have chosen you…”

You and I have been “appointed,” “released” to “go forth” as His ambassadors and proclaim the message of His saving love to all who need Him ─ all who are bound in sin and darkness.

We become “fruit bearers” as we share what Christ has done in us with those around us.

As we remain in His Word and His Word remains in us, we bear (produce) much fruit.

We are chosen and appointed to go and bear much fruit! Just do it!

The Story of Easter…

This weekend, may we be reminded of Him and what He did for us!

Matthew 27:50-53  (MSG)

⁵⁰But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.

^51-53At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What’s more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus’ resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)

Matthew 28:1-10  (MSG)

Risen from the Dead

^1-4 After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God’s angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn’t move.

^5-6The angel spoke to the women: “There is nothing to fear here. I know you’re looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.

⁷“Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ That’s the message.”

^8-10The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. “Good morning!” he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, “You’re holding on to me for dear life! Don’t be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I’ll meet them there.”

1 Peter 1:3-5  (MSG)

A New Life

^3-5What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.