Praise the Lord for
this last day of March. Our town is preparing for its annual Maple
Festival. During the festival, our town becomes the epicenter of
festivities and celebrations. It begins Friday evening with the Maple
Pageant and concludes Sunday afternoon. Thousands and thousands converge
in the streets, parks, and greens of our town. Almost every
organization in town is involved in this annual event. Those of you who
live in the area please join us. Our church serving hundreds of
Barbeque Chicken dinners. Our men of the church will be
barbecuing chicken both on Saturday Sunday. High School students
and faculty will be serving pancakes for the pancake breakfast.
Around the village everything is coming up maple, from Ice cream to sundaes to
maple candy. It is a huge event for the high school students as they sell
freshly roasted nuts, balloons, spiedie sandwiches, and so much more.
Join
us for our Friday Evening Television outreach on Time Warner cable channel 4 at
7.00 PM. I will sharing the Easter Message.
Praise
the Lord for He is the Resurrection and life. If Christ merely
died for us, he would be no more or less than any other great man, but he did
more: he rose from the dead. He conquered hell and the grave, and made eternity
possible. If Christ only died, then the Bible says, “. . .your faith is futile;
you are still in your sins. . . If only for this life we have hope in Christ,
we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Corinthians 15:17-19). If Christ only died, then he is only a dead prophet. But if
he did conquer death, he is the giver of resurrection life which is
eternal.
In 1887, twenty-two years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, his coffin was dug up and opened because there were persistent rumors that he was not in his grave after all. Fourteen years later, his withered body was again exhumed because rumors persisted that he was not there. But each time there were witnesses of the gruesome ceremony who attested to the fact that Lincoln was indeed still in his grave. Three days after the death of Christ, rumors of the same nature began to spread throughout the land of Israel. Only this time, there were no witnesses who could say they had seen his body. To the contrary, many witnesses claimed to have seen him out of his grave, and talked with him after his resurrection. the resurrection of Jesus Christ is: It is the distinguishing mark of Christianity. It is said that Auguste Comte, the French philosopher, once decided to start a brand new religion to improve on Christianity and ultimately replace it. He began to develop its philosophy, moral tenets, ideals, and beliefs, but he was having trouble gaining support for his project. He shared his intention to start a new religion, and his problems with the project with Thomas Carlyle. He asked what advise Carlyle could give to help him in his enterprise. Carlyle replied that he did not know if such an undertaking would be possible, but after a moment he said, “There is one thing you might try. I suggest that you be crucified, rise from the dead on the third day, and get the world to believe that you are still alive.” Obviously Mr. Comte never followed through with the suggestion. He realized its impossibility. But the Christian faith is built on the fact that Jesus Christ did rise from the dead, and that he is still alive changing people’s lives today.
On June 18, 1815 British General Arthur Wellington faced Napoleon in the decisive battle of Waterloo which would determine the future of England. To communicate the outcome of the battle, some of the towns from Belgium devised a system of communication by flashing lights from one church tower to another across the country until it was to go across the English Channel. When the battle was over, England had indeed proved victorious, and the joyous message was sent: “Wellington defeated Napoleon.” But as the message was received and sent by each church until it was to go across the channel to Great Britain, the fog began to rise. By the time the message was to go to Britain, the fog blocked the final part of the message so that it only read “Wellington defeated,” leaving people with the erroneous belief that England was doomed. For hours, the nation feared the battle was lost and any hope for the future was gone — until the fog lifted and they had the complete message: “Wellington Defeated Napoleon.” On Good Friday, the early Christians were like those in England believing an erroneous message: “Jesus Defeated.” But when the fog lifted on Sunday morning they saw the complete message: “Jesus Defeated Death.”
I believe in the resurrection!
In 1887, twenty-two years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, his coffin was dug up and opened because there were persistent rumors that he was not in his grave after all. Fourteen years later, his withered body was again exhumed because rumors persisted that he was not there. But each time there were witnesses of the gruesome ceremony who attested to the fact that Lincoln was indeed still in his grave. Three days after the death of Christ, rumors of the same nature began to spread throughout the land of Israel. Only this time, there were no witnesses who could say they had seen his body. To the contrary, many witnesses claimed to have seen him out of his grave, and talked with him after his resurrection. the resurrection of Jesus Christ is: It is the distinguishing mark of Christianity. It is said that Auguste Comte, the French philosopher, once decided to start a brand new religion to improve on Christianity and ultimately replace it. He began to develop its philosophy, moral tenets, ideals, and beliefs, but he was having trouble gaining support for his project. He shared his intention to start a new religion, and his problems with the project with Thomas Carlyle. He asked what advise Carlyle could give to help him in his enterprise. Carlyle replied that he did not know if such an undertaking would be possible, but after a moment he said, “There is one thing you might try. I suggest that you be crucified, rise from the dead on the third day, and get the world to believe that you are still alive.” Obviously Mr. Comte never followed through with the suggestion. He realized its impossibility. But the Christian faith is built on the fact that Jesus Christ did rise from the dead, and that he is still alive changing people’s lives today.
On June 18, 1815 British General Arthur Wellington faced Napoleon in the decisive battle of Waterloo which would determine the future of England. To communicate the outcome of the battle, some of the towns from Belgium devised a system of communication by flashing lights from one church tower to another across the country until it was to go across the English Channel. When the battle was over, England had indeed proved victorious, and the joyous message was sent: “Wellington defeated Napoleon.” But as the message was received and sent by each church until it was to go across the channel to Great Britain, the fog began to rise. By the time the message was to go to Britain, the fog blocked the final part of the message so that it only read “Wellington defeated,” leaving people with the erroneous belief that England was doomed. For hours, the nation feared the battle was lost and any hope for the future was gone — until the fog lifted and they had the complete message: “Wellington Defeated Napoleon.” On Good Friday, the early Christians were like those in England believing an erroneous message: “Jesus Defeated.” But when the fog lifted on Sunday morning they saw the complete message: “Jesus Defeated Death.”
I believe in the resurrection!
Brown
