I am the Alpha and Omega

“I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This hallmark confession stands at the center of our faith. It was excellent hearing of the Old Testament background connected to Christ as the anointed Messiah in last Sunday’s sermon. We learned, from John 11, the crowds surrounded Jesus and treated him as a victorious king as he rode into Jerusalem.  As the Israelites awaited their coming king, they had so many expectations and thoughts about who and what this king was to be. These expectations went unfulfilled in their minds, as a group of people, and as a city. The crowds turned on Jesus and crucified him after hailing him as a triumphal king just the week before. How do we cope with situations when it seems they aren’t going the way we think God should handle them? Do we turn on Him and question Him, or do we stay focused on God and His ways? God sees the bigger picture and always has the best plan.

This Sunday we will celebrate Easter in a big time way. We’ll have all four of our services at their normal times, but we will have additional, simultaneous services in the new Family Life Center at 9 and 10:15 with live music in both of those services. The message will be live streamed to give everyone a great experience. We’ll also have overflow parking at the Boone Hospital building with vans shuttling people to and from campus. Consider possibly parking there to make more room for visitors. 

On Good Friday, we’ll have a celebration of Christ in which we will lift up Christ in song and hear a message on the hope of Christ. We’ll celebrate communion together as we think about Christ dying on a cross for our sins. “Good Friday” is a message of irony and paradox because the event that brings good news to the world was marked by the death of Christ Jesus, our Lord. We praise Christ together in word and song throughout this entire weekend. 

Let’s make this an Easter that counts in terms of our lives. We’ll be studying the name for Jesus, “I am the Alpha and Omega” focusing on Jesus being the beginning and the end. When Christ spoke from the cross, “It is finished,” he completed God’s plan of redemption for this world. It’s such a grand story in which we can participate. I’m looking forward to sharing Easter with you this year. We’ll see you Sunday. 

-Scott