Dear Friends,
What’s next?
That is what the disciples were left asking themselves after that first Easter morning and it is what we are still asking some 2,000 years later. We have just finished our journey through Lent and onto Easter. 40 days of looking inward, discovering the unique ways God had crafted and called us. We collected over 200 pillows, pillowcases, and blankets for our friends at Common Ground. The journey culminated in Holy Week where we worshiped together 11 different times and gathered over 1,500 people to hear the stories of Jesus’ last days, his death, and resurrection. And so, here we are asking ourselves, “What’s next?”
Over the next several weeks, we will seek to answer that question and look at what the resurrected Jesus did in the days after that first Easter. In looking at these stories we are hoping to discover what it means to live that “resurrected life,” what it means to be “Easter People.” In doing this, I think we will discover that Jesus wanted to show us that Easter was not just a day. No, Easter is way of living, a way of being in the world.
One of things we believe here at Royal Oak First is that Jesus was not some anomaly, an exception, a once in history moment. Instead we have experienced Jesus has the model for what humanity can and should be like when it begins to live in faith, hope and love. Jesus didn’t want us to stand in awe of him. Jesus wanted us to emulate him. He wanted to live the resurrected life.
So, that’s what’s next? Learning to live more like Jesus lived, so the movement he began some 2,000 years ago can continue to heal and transform our world.
Looking forward to taking this next leg of the journey with you.
Grace and Peace,
