Let us REJOICE ...for today is the day that the Lord has made! Let us REJOICE and be glad in it! Allelulia!

The reason we worship each week, the primary purpose for attending church and praising God our Creator, is to continue in celebrating Easter, and in rejoicing in that victory and triumph ... that is ours, through Jesus Christ. The Easter message is a constant reminder of the hope and victory that lives on with us each day, and each minute. A message of love and acceptance, of sacrifice and forgiveness. A message that reveals to us that, no matter what, we are never alone, and we are never forgotten. Even amidst all of the chaos and struggles that we face every day, we know that we have a Friend who walks with us, who leads us, and who carries us when we are tired and broken. Such is the love and drama of God...a reminder of the Hope that we have been given ...an Eternal Gift that will never be taken away.

For many of us, probably most of us, our daily lives, our experiences at home, school and work, are not unlike the experiences of the men and women who arrived early one Sunday morning (2000 years ago) to find the open tomb of Jesus. We carry many of the same fears and anxieties, disappointments and sorrows. And we ask many of the same questions: "What has happened? Why has this happened? What is happening with me? Where am I going? And why am I here?

We know too well what it is like to be discouraged and depressed, to feel lost and forgotten, abandoned and alone. Our fears (often) can overwhelm us and leave us searching for answers, for hope, that we seem to have lost. And just like the early "tomb arrivers", we too can feel worn out with sorrow and with fear. But the Easter message only begins with the open tomb. On the road to Emmaus, a special stranger appears to a couple of distressed disciples; He shows concern for their weariness and disappointment. He knows where they have been and can see how they are suffering. He can feel the heaviness of their hearts. Then, out of love, out of compassion, He shares with them a message of joy and celebration - for the hope that they once feared was lost and destroyed is in fact reborn and renewed. The stranger is Jesus. And the disciples are transformed.

The same hope and healing that transformed the defeated and weary disciples is given to each of us, given unconditionally, by a loving Father who bought and paid for our salvation - a gift of forgiveness and reconciliation, through His only Son, Jesus. And this is the Good News for the world. A Story in which we can all REJOICE and give thanks. A Message that we can share with one another….as we reach outwards to embrace our brothers and sisters, neighbours and strangers, with comfort, hope and healing.

Come and celebrate with us at Christ Risen! Come and feel, and experience, God's Love. Come and witness, every Sunday, every week, that Easter Victory that lives on forever!!!