From Bishop Julian Dobbs

The Resurrection of Our Lord | March 2013    Christ is Risen Indeed! After the long darkness of Lent, the brief exaltation of Palm Sunday, and the sorrow of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, Easter morning dawns. Lilies, trumpets, spring clothes, ancient cantatas, the 'Hallelujah Chorus', the first light, fire, water, oil, bread, wine and... an empty tomb. Jesus is alive today! The Christian community gathers around a set of symbols that indicate the season has changed, that New Life has come.    Christians gather together this Resurrection Sunday morning because of the unshakeable conviction of Jesus' early followers that something unprecedented and amazing had occurred very early in the morning on the Third Day.    The real issue of Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The New Testament speaks of the resurrection as a matter of first importance. (1 Corinthians 15:3) It is a key issue.  What we believe about Christ and His resurrection impacts everything else we believe as Christians.  If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the Christian faith is a foolish fantasy. The Apostle Paul's logic is blunt and direct: "If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty...and we are found false witnesses of God."  1 Corinthians 15:14. It is as simple as that! Thanks be to Almighty God that there is an empty tomb in Jerusalem today; that Jesus Christ is risen from the grave! Kiri Te Kanawa: "I know that my Redeemer liveth" (Messiah) by Handel I know that my redeemer lives, and in the end he will stand  upon the earth. And after my skin has  been destroyed yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him. How my heart yearns within me.   [Job 19]    Brenda and I pray that this Easter Season the light of Christ and His glorious victory will shine through all of our lives, that many people will turn to the Lord through the testimony of our lives, and that Almighty God will be glorified as people put their trust in the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus Christ,  let the light of your resurrection shine through our lives today,  that we may be faithful witnesses to the hope and truth of the Gospel.  Christ is Risen...He is Risen Indeed! +Julian