Dearest Family,

May this time of remembrance over Passion week have helped us each to HOPE! FULLY! in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is such a time of thanksgiving, first and foremost to our God and Father who has given us His Son, gathering us as sons and daughters, and providing us full access into communion with Him. This Resurrection reality has also flung open the courts of heaven making a way for us to boldly ask of our Father – which we have all relied on these past 40 days of asking with fasting! Thank you all for seeking the Lord so faithfully over this season, it has been such a joyful experience to seek together the will of our Father in heaven. Thank you to Alysha, the worship leaders, team and choir (Willie) for leading us with joyful exuberance into the presence of the Godhead, not only this past Sunday, but at the worship night starting off our days of fasting. Thank you to Celia, who spoke the Spirit-filled exhortation which so freely presented us with this invitation in the first place! Thank you to all those who helped lead our prayer gatherings. Thank you for sharing of your hearts, your sacrifice, your testimonies, and your offering to the Lord! This has been a true time of heart-filled service to the Lord! Thank you, it would not have been what it was without every one of you! This is the reality of our Risen Lord Jesus – the body of Christ!

Here is just a brief recap of our time together over Passion Week:

Maundy Thursday – What an incredible time of remembering, honoring and sharing in the life of our Lord Jesus! Filled with hymns of praise, stories of Jesus, a feast of food, and tear-stained testimonies it was an event for the COSC history books. Here is a picture of our transformed sanctuary. If you missed the event, here is a link to the program. Watch for details of upcoming corporate fast days, third Tuesday of each month, prior to Evening Healing Prayer Service.

Good Friday – A sweet and somber time together with our brothers and sisters from Church of the Resurrection, while Stuart was with Pastor T.L. Rogers at Triumphant Church, joining in unity before the Cross of Christ. We were exhorted to remember the Tale of Two Gardens - the Garden of Eden where we lost our humanity, and the Garden of Gethsemene where we gained it back through the marred and gruesome death of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, then comes…

Resurrection Sunday – Hallelujah! Death could not hold Him down!!! (And it can’t hold us down either!) If you missed our choir or wish you could have heard the choir a hundred more times – you are in luck!! It was recorded, and available here on YouTube!

Stuart filled us full with hope in our Resurrected Savior. Starting with the critical details on the historicity of our faith, founded and sustained in the evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The eye witness accounts, the transformed lives of the disciples, the recorded details, the female witnesses (who shouldn’t have been in the story if it was made up, because they were not reliable April 3, 2018 sources at the time), the debunked theories of a stolen body, sleeping guards, or a half-dead Christ. We do not stand upon shaky ground, but on the very voice of Christ who said, “I am the Resurrection and the life!” His resurrection from the dead is the prophetic sign to authenticate His claim - He is indeed the Messiah. This story does not lend itself to secular accommodation. To say that this is just a metaphor of encouragement for folk feeling a bit under the weather, will just not cut it. Scripture and history speak credibly of the Reality of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Without this reality, there is no hope - no hope for Woody Allen and no hope for you or me. This is foundational to the Christian gospel, and we cannot fudge this one. Because the resurrection establishes our hope, hope becomes a key descriptor in the New Testament. Hope is not just an interesting aid to discipleship, it is the heart and call of everything we believe. “Hope in the gospel ... hope in salvation … the hope of eternal life ... the confession of our hope ... the one hope to which we are called … new birth into a living hope ... the confession of our hope.” In this hope (of the resurrection) we are saved (Romans 8:24).

How does this Easter find you? Responding to stimuli or responding to a Savior? Unsure or Assured? Detached or Engaged? Jesus knew that life without Him was going to be desolate, and we see in the accounts post-crucifixion how hopelessness expresses itself in people in different ways. The hiding, the fear, the doubt, and the shame. Meet the Resurrection! He shows them His hands and His side, those who secluded themselves are sent into the world full of hope. Hopelessness confines us to enclosed spaces, but Resurrection life walks through the walls and proves you cannot keep Him out. The risen Christ still comes, through walls and oblique angels, at moments you cannot predict. Meet the Resurrected Christ!

We have been born anew in a living hope through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3). Who has more authority than Peter to remind us that our hopelessness is equally redeemable, and our hope is equally sure because of the resurrection of Jesus. So, we can HOPE! FULLY! (not hopefully), but HOPE, FULLY because our present and future have been secured by the resurrection. This is a Living Hope for our fear, doubt, despair, and disappointment, but especially our denials.

Many came forward this weekend to press into the altar! Please know that the invitation is always available to join with your brothers and sisters continuing to seek the healing presence of our Resurrected Savior. If you are stuck in a place without hope, let us join you, as our healing prayer rooms have seen many occurrences of disappearing walls in the presence of Jesus. Today, if you hear His voice…

May we continue to hope fully in our Risen Savior who still walks through walls.
Hallelujah! And Amen!