Dear First
Methodist Family,
Throughout the centuries the cross has stood at the center of the Christian faith. Why? Because it reveals to us the great love God has for God’s people.
As the cross is central in our main sanctuary, the cross still stands at the center of our faith today, revealing anew the saving grace of God. The power of the cross has not diminished through the ages. The cross is the eternal symbol of God’s love. The cross reveals to us our brokenness and God’s forgiveness: our need and God’s grace. The cross gives us the assurance of God’s forgiving love as we seek to do God’s will as the people of God. |
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We see pain and suffering, anguish and sorrow in the world. We realize the magnitude of the problems and we recognize our inability to solve them. We wonder what God is doing in the midst of the world’s pain and we ask ourselves why God doesn’t do something. And the answer is: God has done something.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who
believes in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“He who did not withhold His own Son, but gave Him up for all of us, will
He not with Him also give us everything else?” (Romans 8:32)
“But God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners, Christ died
for us.” (Romans 5:8)
But the story is not finished with the birth of Christ and the cross – the final victory belongs to God. The resurrection is part of “The Story of Jesus.” The Incarnation, the Cross, and the Resurrection must be brought together until we see them as one divine act of God. The story of Christ is the story of God intervening in history for the salvation of the world. For the Christian this means that for every Good Friday there is an Easter morning; for every crucifixion there is a resurrection. There can be triumph over every tragedy life brings to us, and where God is, the forces of evil will never have the final word.
This is Easter weekend. There will be five opportunities for an Easter celebration, 5:30 pm on Saturday, Sunrise at the MCC amphitheater at 6:45 am and our normal three worship opportunities in our main sanctuary. Bring a flower for the cross on Sunday morning, as we transform our “old rugged cross” into a cross covered with flowers in a symbol of resurrection. Go to our website at for a complete schedule of our Easter week events. There are many special opportunities to celebrate the victory of life over death, and life over darkness.
