He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! That truth makes Easter weekend a special time no matter what happens. Special things happened this weekend which made it a very special Easter. As for my musings …

-I was privileged to witness 8 people come to faith in Christ between my 2 churches. I told you it was special!

-We had a very powerful and meaningful Good Friday service. Attendance was reasonable and the spirit was so rich. We focused on Jesus telling his disciples that what he was doing was “for you”. When he broke the bread and passed it and when he passed the cup he told them that it represented his body and blood, broken and poured out “for you”. That is a powerful phrase. He did all that he did for you. Let that marinade in your mind and soul for a while.

-On Saturday I received an incredible message from a person that I have been praying for nearly every day for over a year. The person told how God is working on them and in them. They told me how much they appreciated my ministry and just wanted me to know. My wife and I both had trouble reading the message because our eyes were full of tears. It was a keeper moment for sure.

-My message on Easter was “Seeing Easter through the Eyes of Barabbas”. It is the picture of the Gospel. A person sentenced because of their sins and Jesus took his place on the cross. As a result Barabbas was set free and able to live.

-As I was preaching I messed up Barabbas’ name a couple of times. Instead of Barabbas I said Barnabas. The difference between the two is huge. One of the times I said the wrong name I did not realize it until I saw the look of confusion on my wife’s face. Hopefully I didn’t do it any more than a couple of times.

-We had children involved in the service at both churches. As you might guess there was some challenges as far as gathering them and getting them ready to do their thing. But, everyone still loved it because the kids were up front and participating.

-My mind is processing things slower this morning. It is the normal “Monday after Easter week” sluggishness.

-At my 10:30 church we had a great crew come out on Saturday morning to help insure that the building and property were in order and ready for Easter Sunday. I love that kind of sacrifice and service. In fact one couple is here this morning helping to put some things put in their normal place that had to be moved to accommodate the Easter activities. How awesome is that?

-My 9:00 church had great attendance. In fact they had exactly double the number that attended last Easter. The good news from the attendance is that all of the people were from the area. Now to reach out and build those relationships.

-My 10:30 church was up a little from last year and we had some who had been invited often and this time they came. That is encouraging.

-My wife deserves a big break after all that she did in preparation, and participation, for both churches for all of the Easter events. She won’t be able to take much of a break, but she deserves a big one.

-The real key to Easter is what we do with the relationships with those who visited yesterday. If we just wait till next Easter or Christmas we have failed those people. We must be intentional in building those relationships and reaching out throughout the year. The real work begins this week in the follow up.

-From what I hear, the breakfast at my 10:30 church went very well. There was great fellowship, good food and a good number of people who came and shared with each other. I can only report what I heard since I was at my 9:00 church during this breakfast. Sadly, they didn’t save me any of the biscuits and gravy.

-Preparing the message for the Sunday after Easter is always a challenge after the energy and focus expended for Easter Sunday. But how we handle things this Sunday is just as important as it was last Sunday. So I better shake the fog out of my mind quickly and get to work.

Here’s hoping that you have a week full of reminders that you are loved and that you are not alone.

Dennis