Announcements
SYMPATHY: to the family and friends of Ron Baker who passed away on Wednesday, April 16. Arrangements are pending.
SYMPATHY: to Sherry Mauler at the passing of her husband, Ed Mauler, on Monday, April 14. Visitation will be held on Monday, April 21, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at Pritts Funeral Home in Westminster. A funeral service will be held here at the church on Tuesday, April 22, at 11 a.m.
THANK YOU: to Shirley Campbell, Kevin Hoffman, and Maryann Burleson - for their help during my recuperation from surgery. Elaine Carabell
SOUL-WINNER’S CLUB TRAINING: The next 12-week training sessions for Spring/Summer (2025) begin on May 7, downstairs in the Music Room at 7:00 p.m. Please sign up online through the Church website or at the Welcome Desk.
From My Heart
Happy Resurrection Sunday! We celebrate the resurrection of our Savior from the grave every Sunday of the year, but we set aside one Sunday a year to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, called Easter Sunday! The date for celebrating Easter changes each year and is determined by the first Sunday after the full moon that comes on or after the vernal equinox (March 21st).
One of my favorite verses in the Scriptures is Romans 4:25, “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” When Paul says that Christ was “delivered for our offenses,” he is making a reference to the Cross of Calvary, where He died to pay our sin debt! The Lord Jesus was delivered by the Jews over to the Romans to be crucified. He was beaten, scourged, whipped, and mocked all through the night and into the next morning after His arrest.
And then He was nailed to the Cross to suffer and shed His precious Blood to pay the redemptive price for our sins. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). From 9:00 in the morning until noon, Jesus hung between Heaven and earth, where again, He was mocked and cursed at by the angry mob. But the Bible tells us that from noon until 3:00, there was darkness that fell upon the earth! It was during those last three hours, in the darkness, when the Savior of the world was attacked by everything Hell could hurl upon Him. And when the price of sin was fully paid, Jesus cried, “It is finished!” And said, “Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.” And there, He died!
But Paul says, “He was raised again for our justification.” The word “justification,” is a legal word that means “It is the act whereby God declares a believing sinner to be righteous.” How does God do this? Well, because Jesus resurrected from the dead and was victorious over sin and death, when we believe in Him as our Savior, God “declares” us justified, or declares us as righteous. Justified or “just as if we had never sinned.”
Imagine a man on trial and all the evidence proves he is guilty…but the judge says, “I declare you innocent.” Even though the man is guilty, he did the crime, if the judge declares him innocent, he is innocent. And that is what the resurrection of Jesus Christ did for us. We are guilty, but by believing in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, God declares us righteous!
Paul said in I Corinthians 15:17, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain (empty); ye are yet in your sins.” In v. 20, he says, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept (who have died).” Then, verse 22 says, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Without Christ’s resurrection, all of us would have no hope! If Jesus died and did not resurrect, then His body is still buried somewhere over in Jerusalem. But thank God He did resurrect, just as He said He would!
Pastor Norris
Hospitalizations
Norris Belcher, Sr. - Columbus, OH
Charles Bugglen - Bayview 477
Gil Connolly - CHC 513
Jed Skidmore - Hershey 3215
Melvin Sprinkle - CHC 220
Sylvia Thomas - Union Mem. 518