Easter, Baptisms, & Commitment Sunday

Easter, Baptisms, & Commitment Sunday
by
April 23, 2025

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter. Woodmont was certainly busy, vibrant, and full of life. You have probably seen that Pope Francis passed away after giving his final Easter address. He leaves a legacy of advocating for mercy and compassion. Prayers for the Roman Catholic Church at this time and all who mourn.

This Sunday, we will celebrate the baptisms of our Disciples Class at both 9:30 and 11:00 services. We are very proud of these young people who have worked hard, learned about the Christian faith, spent time with their mentors, made their confession of faith, and are being baptized into the church. Also, this Sunday will be the final week of our GENEROUS HEARTS stewardship campaign. We are asking for everybody to submit their commitment by Sunday so that we can begin to set our budget for ongoing mission and ministry. Thank you once again for your generosity and support! It makes a big difference. If you haven’t already, you can click here to make your pledge online.

We are now being called to continue to live in the spirit of the resurrection. Easter is not just a day but a season. Christianity simply would not have survived this long if the Easter message were false. But why is it life-changing? Easter proves that Jesus was who he said he was because without the resurrection, Jesus would have gone down in history as a great teacher, a great healer, a great moral leader, but not as God’s Son. Easter reassures us that there is life after death. There is an alternative reality that awaits us after physical death that still remains a mystery. There have been many accounts published of “near-death experiences,” those on the operating table who leave their body for a short while and begin this incredible transition into a different realm. Perhaps just as importantly, Easter proves that there is also life before death, no matter what we may endure. Nothing that this world can keep us down forever – divorce, depression, mental illness, betrayal, addiction, unemployment, cancer, financial hardships, war, fear, worry, disappointment, infertility, the death of a child, suicide – none of these things have the final say.

Easter reminds us that hope remains and despite the many small deaths that we die in this world, we can go on living and find joy again. We have to believe that with all of our heart. We also have to make a conscious choice to press on. God gives us the strength to persevere and make it through the worst of situations. But perhaps most importantly, Easter reminds us to not live our lives in fear. Fear takes the joy out of life. Fear is a powerful force that easily overwhelms us. I closed the Easter message with the words Fred Craddock once preached, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to live and love and laugh. Don’t be afraid to give and serve and care. Don’t be afraid to speak and do. That’s the message of Easter. Don’t be afraid.”

If we take nothing else from the Easter message, may we understand that living in a constant state of fear is not God’s desire for our lives. Not now. Not ever. Christ has risen! New beginnings abound!

share

Recommended Posts