04/09/2023
Thank you to all who participated in our Easter Sunrise Service at the Iris Theatre!
PHOTOS - TOP ROW:
Pastor John McGarvey (Welcome and Benediction)
Pastor John Authenreith (Invocation)
PHOTOS - BOTTOM ROW:
Jason Papinchak and Randy Staudt (Worship in Song)
Red eggs given to everyone in attendance (see message below)
Pastor Karen Fabian (Easter message)
THE EASTER MESSAGE:
You have all received a red Easter egg and might be wondering why. While eggs have been a symbol of new life and rebirth for centuries, thus an apt symbol of the new life offered to us through Christ, who died to pay the price for our sins and rose again to defeat death and open the gates of heaven for us, as well as our spiritual rebirth when we put our faith in him, you might wonder why I gave you all a red egg instead of the many different colors traditionally found in Easter baskets.
An early Christian egg story circulated about Mary Magdalene, one of my personal favorite persons in the Bible. In John’s gospel, Mary is the first witness of Jesus’ resurrection, and according to tradition she spent the rest of her life proclaiming the good news of Christ. As the story goes, Mary Magdalene even addressed the Roman Emperor Tiberias. Holding an egg in her hand she declared, “Christ is risen!” The emperor laughed, remarking that Christ had as much chance of rising from the dead as that egg had of turning red. Immediately, the egg in Mary’s hand turned bright red.
In a tradition that originated in Greece, red Easter eggs are traditionally dyed red on Holy Thursday, but they can be done on any day leading up to Easter Sunday. The red color symbolizes the blood and sacrifice of Christ on the cross and the egg symbolizes rebirth. They are the first food eaten after the strict fasting of Lent in some families, while others enjoy them after dinner when everyone is gathered around the table to play a game which tests the eggs' strength—and perhaps the players' strategy. It is called tsougrisma (pronounced TSOO-grees-mah), which means "clinking together" or "clashing." The cracking tradition symbolizes Christ's resurrection from the dead and birth into eternal life. Each player holds a red egg, and one taps the end of her or his egg lightly against the end of the other player's egg. When one egg's end is cracked, the person with the unbroken egg uses the same end of the egg to try to crack the other end of the opponent's egg. While cracking the eggs, one person says, "Christos Anesti" (Christ has risen!), while the other person says, "Alithos Anesti" (Indeed he has risen!), symbolizing Christs' emergence from the tomb.
While different countries have different traditions and ways of celebrating, one thing is certain. Christ’s resurrection is indeed a cause for celebration! In the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul spoke to believers in Corinth who were divided over misunderstandings about the bodily resurrection of Jesus and the future resurrection of his followers. Let me share a portion of that chapter with you:
“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Yes, if it were not for Christ’s resurrection on that first Easter morning, none of us could look forward to living for all eternity in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who gives us victory over death and fills us with hope and with joy – a hope and a joy that unbelievers cannot even begin to comprehend, but which is up to us to share with them. So as you celebrate Easter today, think about those whose only hope on Easter is the coming of Spring and only joy is chocolate eggs and bunnies. And share the good news of the Gospel with them - because it truly is sweet to trust in Jesus, much sweeter than all the Easter candy in the whole world. Amen.
