The television show “24” was unique in that each season looked at 24 hours in the life of Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each episode generally covered one hour of the 24 hour season. The show came to a close about a year ago, after eight seasons.
Jesus’ last 24 hours ended with His body being placed in the tomb. John tells us that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus placed Jesus’ body in a tomb that belonged to Joseph. During this Lenten season we have looked at some of the key events in those last 24 hours, beginning with the Passover Meal.
But in the case of Jesus, His last hour was not really His last. His story does not end with the tomb. On Sunday morning, as grieving followers approached the tomb, one of their concerns was, “Who will roll the stone away.” But to their surprise, the stone had been rolled away and Jesus had been resurrected. Sunday morning brought a New Day, a New Hope, a New Life. That’s what we celebrate on Easter. Death could not hold our Lord.
This week we have the opportunity to experience again the Last Supper and the Cross in very unique worship experiences. Thursday night at 6:30 PM, our worship ministries will lead us in a musical-drama entitled “The Living Last Supper.” This will conclude with the celebration of Holy Communion. Then on Friday night at 6:30 PM, our worship ministries will lead us in a musical-drama entitled “The Living Last Words.” This will be a unique look at the cross. Invite someone to join you for these special worship experiences.
Then on Saturday night and Sunday morning we will have four opportunities to celebrate the New Day of Easter. Again this year we will have a Saturday evening Easter Celebration at 6:30 PM. This will be a contemporary service in the gym. On Sunday morning, we will have the three Sunday Easter Celebrations at 8:30, 9:45 and 11:00.
Easter this year is the latest it can be. The following Sunday is the first Sunday of May. On the Church Calendar the first week of May is Festival of the Christian Home. That week concludes with Mother’s Day. On some calendars, the days between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are known as Family Month. With that in mind, we are taking the Month of May to focus on families. I’m going to be preaching a series of messages entitled, “Keys to Healthy Families.”
We are kicking off the month with a Family Night at the movies, Friday, April 29, 7:00. This will be at the Ampitheather at the Gardendale Civic Center. Chick-fil-a will be there as part of the concessions for the evening. The movie will be Despicable Me. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets, invite your neighbors and friends, and join in this night of fellowship.
To help us grow healthier families, we are offering several great Wednesday night opportunities beginning May 4th. There will be a Marriage Enrichment video based opportunity, a family/parent opportunity and a new study for single moms. More information on these will be in next week’s Connection. Regardless of the make up of your family, you will find an opportunity for you.
Next week is always our next Yard Sale for Missions. In addition to the Yard Sale, our Young Adult Ministry Team will have a Plant sale, with the money going to our Mission Ministries. This is a good time to clean out your closets, the money will support our Volunteer In Mission Teams.
Chuck Waller and I have been planning a trip to the Holy Land for next February. This will be an opportunity to tour the Lands of the Bible and for those who want to, spend a few days serving with Bridges for Peace. If you would be interested in such a trip, let me know as soon as possible. Some have asked about the price. That will be somewhat determined by the amount of interest. But a ball park would be around $3,000 for the basic trip, plus taxes and any insurance that you take out.
As always, your responses to these Reflections are welcome. You can email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.
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