Brothers and sisters,
Happy Monday to all! As we sang in worship yesterday, we turned our minds to see and praise our great God and to thank Him for Jesus, our Rock and our Redeemer. From Mark 16, we looked at one of the earliest accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. We serve the One who conquered death and rose physically, bodily, and literally from the grave never to die again. We learned that the women who first went to the tomb were unsure about how they would move the heavy stone that sealed the tomb. When they got there, their problem was solved because the stone had been rolled away. These women who witnessed the crucifixion, observed the burial, prepared and bought spices to anoint the body of Jesus, were the first witnesses of the empty tomb. They heard the angel’s testimony that the Crucified One was now the Risen One, and these women were the first to be given a commission to go and tell. They had come to the tomb with a problem, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” They were filled with care and anxiety over that problem. But God Himself had already solved that problem by moving the stone out of the way. The stone was rolled back not to let Jesus out but to enable all to see the grave was empty and Jesus had conquered death. There is an old spiritual that says:
Got any rivers you think are uncrossable,
God any mountains you can’t tunnel through,
God specializes in things called impossible,
And He can do what no other God can do.
What uncrossable rivers are in your life today? What are the mountains through which you cannot tunnel? Even in the river of death, Jesus has shown that He has already crossed that river and those who trust in Him will cross that river to heavenly life and be with Jesus forever. On that first Easter morning, these women discovered something all of us need to discover: The resurrection of Jesus makes all our worries and anxieties unnecessary!
On March 12 at 7:00 PM, the Emmaus Bible College choir will be at the East Madison building to share a concert with us. We will be providing a meal for this choir at 5:30 PM before the concert. Invite some friends to join you at this concert!
Remember to keep praying continually for each other. None of us know fully the burdens our brothers and sisters in Christ might be carrying.
Love being your pastor!
Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church