Easter: A celebration of new life and the hope of new beginnings.

Easter is one of my favorite times of the year.  The winter is over.  The weather is warmer.  The days are longer.  The changes in nature that accompany the spring remind us how the resurrection of Jesus changes everything.  As the trees bud and the flowers begin to bloom after the apparent death of winter subsides, we remember how the resurrection of Jesus broke the power of death itself and offers us new life.   As the days grow longer and warmer, we remember how the love of Christ enlightens and warms our hearts with his love-infused truth.  Listen to those birds singing and think of the song God put in your heart.  Hear the patter of spring showers and think of His blessings that rain down His mercies upon us.

Over the next several weeks we will be preparing our hearts for an amazing celebration of Easter at The Capital Church.  The week before Easter will be particularly exciting.  On Wednesday, April 4^th, we will have a Messianic Seder.  The Seder is the traditional meal for celebrating Passover.  This would have been the meal Jesus and his disciples enjoyed together the night before he was crucified.  Come join us to experience the rich traditions celebrated during the Last Supper.

If you know kids, you won’t want them to miss out on the fun of the Easter Egg Hunt on the Saturday before Easter!  There will be games, prizes, food, bouncy castles, and lots of excitement.  Of course this event is for our own children, but we believe it is a wonderful opportunity to invite others.  This is a practical way to show the love of Jesus to this community.  It is a great chance to build relationships and to see how God might work to soften the hearts of those who may not know Him.

Easter Sunday itself will be a life-giving, Spirit-filled celebration of the resurrection.  We celebrate the resurrection every Sunday, but Easter Sunday will be a special focus on the new life and hope the resurrection brings.  Whom do you know who needs life and hope?   Why not invite them to church on Easter Sunday?

Over the next few weeks, I am going to be asking some of you who attend the second service to try coming to the first service.  The second service is filling up, and we need to make more room for guests in that service.  I would like to ask at least 50 people to consider making the first service their primary time of worship.  To make the transition a bit easier, we are moving the service times.  The new schedule will be Sunday services at 9am and 11am with Sunday School starting at 10:15am.  Beginning Easter Sunday, we are offering a full complement of children’s ministry at BOTH services.  This means we’ll need a lot more workers; but we are hoping that this, along with the new service times, might make it easier for some to commit to the first service.  Those who are not accustomed to coming to church will more likely attend the later service.  So, some of us who are more comfortable can help them by coming at the earlier time.

Please be in prayer that God would use this season of our church’s ministry to advance His kingdom in our community.  May this Easter be a real celebration of new life!