Have you ever forgotten to study for an exam? I hope I’m not the only one who has taken a test at school without studying and received the grade I deserved. It’s funny how different the test turns out when I’m prepared. I think it’s that way about most things in life. Sports? I can’t imagine going to a game and saying, “Put me in coach,” even though I haven’t made it to practice or making a sales pitch for a product I know nothing about. I know we can charm our way through a lot of situations, but most of what is worthwhile takes preparation. The old saying, “You get what you put into it,” continues to ring true in my own life experience. We are simply better when we are prepared. Sometimes it’s a matter of getting into the right frame of mind to confront difficult situations. So, Easter is coming, are you ready?

Do you have your goodies for the kids? Or your Easter outfit? No, I’m not talking about a bunny suit, but whatever you want to wear to the Easter service. Outside of the bunny suit, it’s all okay. And if you want to wear a bunny suit, well, that’s up to you.

Easter is a wonderful holiday to spend with family and friends. It’s even better when we celebrate together what God has done for us in Jesus. But even when we go to the Easter service, are we ready for what is being offered? Do we remember what we are celebrating? Easter is a living memory within the church of Jesus Christ. It is alive because it’s more than remembering what we have read or been taught. Without the first Easter event, there would be no church, no Christianity, or peace in the knowledge of our own life after death. Easter is the story of God’s outpouring of love and grace to humanity despite our ways which continue to perpetuate hate, violence, greed, and fear. It is grace and God’s grace is free to us, but it costs the Lord dearly. And how can we understand the pain of God’s broken heart over the cross? How can we understand the depth of God’s love for us if we do not try to understand the story behind Easter and the great new beginning that came from it?

What if we lived into Easter? By that, I mean preparing for the day with our hearts, mind, and soul. The closer we come to living with Jesus in his final week, before his horrible crucifixion, the better prepared we will be to receive the joy of that first Easter morning! For this reason, your church is offering a time and place for God to prepare us.

We will have prayer rooms set up to allow us uninterrupted prayer to speak with our Lord and listen. We will have a service on Thursday night to remember and experience Jesus’s gift of the Lord’s Supper. Our Good Friday service will help us understand the magnitude of Jesus’s crucifixion. And an opportunity to ask ourselves, if this was done for my salvation then what part has my life played in the events that led up to such a need? Easter is beyond our comprehension, but in every way, it is about us and for us. Let’s prepare together.

Join us this week, starting on Palm Sunday and into the glorious Easter morning. Let us seek the wisdom of the Lord together, that we may share in his love and the life he has made for us.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

Pastor Rick