The Minister writes

Dear All, 

Dear All, As we celebrate Easter this year, we remember that there is much for us to rejoice in and I pray that as we reflect once more on the resurrection stories and rejoice in the God who is always giving us life, there will be a stirring of new life and hope within us. The possibilities of new life and fresh hope, which are depicted in the Gospel stories of the first disciples’ encounters with the resurrected Jesus, followed the darkest of days when Jesus was crucified and died. These resurrection encounters profoundly affected the first disciples; they were transformed and their whole way of viewing God, themselves, life, death and indeed, everything, would never be the same again. Peter wrote about this in his first letter:

What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven - and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all - life healed and whole. (1 Peter 1:6-7, The Message).

Indeed, what a God we have! And by choosing to follow Jesus and be a part of our church family, we have left our old lives behind and are now blessed with a wonderful, brand-new life in God. The ‘brand-new life’ Peter writes about, speaks to us of how ‘new’ our life now is. We have all been ‘given a brand-new life’ and a God filled future which starts right now. Whatever we are going through, even if we are walking through dark days, we can be certain that the new ‘Day’ that Peter speaks of is breaking into today. Praise God!

So, as we celebrate this Easter, let us hold onto God as we expectantly look for resurrection life and light within our own lives and within our broken, hurting world today. As we reflect on the Resurrection stories, we grasp that there is hope for today and for all of our ‘tomorrows’. The Spirit of God assures us that because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, we are his beloved children and that whatever we go through in this life, we do so as those who are strengthened and sustained by God’s resurrection power and in this same power, we will be lovingly held forever. The Risen Lord now beckons us to live transformed lives, to see everything differently and to go into the world with faith, hope and love and make a real difference in his glorious name.

With much love,

Andrew's signature

An Easter Prayer (From ‘Progressive Prayers for Progressive People’ by Revd Dr Mark Sandlin)

Good God,

As we celebrate the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, let us not forget the life of Jesus. it is so easy to get so caught up in the birth and resurrection stories that we forget the piece that leads us to the divine, to Love - the life and teachings of Jesus. What he taught us, was what he would show us at Easter: that with God’s love, there are no endings, that with God’s love, hope is never lost. With that thought, with that knowledge, with that reality, on our minds and in our spirits, we prayerfully remember those who do believe that all hope is lost, those who do believe that they are forgotten, alone, despised, worthless… that there is nothing good left for them, or so little that there is no joy in life. We prayerfully remember those who are abused, bullied, ignored, alone, sick, grieving, depressed, unhappy, stuck, overwhelmed, dying, crying, lost, seeking… whatever their struggle, may we help bring into their lives the renewed reality of Easter. May we be the hands and feet of Love in their lives. And when it is us in need of Easter grace, let us be open to those who are seeking to share that grace and love with us. We give thanks this day for the Easter promise of new life, new hope, new beginnings. Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

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