FROM THE PASTOR
I was struck watching an item on the news the other day.  They were covering a major festival of a branch of the Islamic Faith and all the worshippers were deeply mourning the death of one of their leaders back in the eighth century.  They were very sincere and devout in their mourning but I couldn't help comparing this with our Easter faith.  We do indeed mourn the death of our Savior Jesus Christ on Good Friday and mourn for our sins that nailed him to the cross.  But we rejoice too that death had no dominion over him and he rose again from the grave and is as gloriously alive today as he was on that first Easter morning.  In contrast to other religions who commemorate a dead leader, a dead Saviour, Jesus is alive and is returning  soon ( All the signs point to His imminent return)  to put things right on planet Earth and to judge our lives with perfect justice.
And because he is alive he is able to fill our hearts with his Holy Spirit as we turn to him in repentance and faith so that we can live the same life of powerful love and truth and goodness that he did.
In other words for Christians, the resurrection of Christ from the dead is not simply a date on the calendar.  It is true that Jesus rose from the dead on a given day in history.  But the day is not as important as the event itself.  He is not just a crucified Christ but a living Lord, an abiding presence with his people through the ages.  He is just as much a living presence to us today as he was to those he walked with in Palestine over two thousand years ago and who witnessed his resurrection.  Our Easter joy abounds then throughout the year and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us to live the life he taught us in the Sermon on the Mount that is power to love all people, power to live in right relationship with all people, power to love and forgive even our enemies.  So we invite you to come and celebrate this Easter joy with us in our worship services.

Yours in Christ,

Tony Harvey.