He is Risen! “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'” (Luke 24) Thursday, First Week of Easter God our Father, creator of all, this week we celebrate with Easter joy. On Sunday morning our Lord Jesus appeared to men who had begun to lose hope and opened their eyes to what the scriptures foretold that first he must die, and then he would rise and ascend into your glorious presence. May our risen Lord breathe on us and open our eyes that we may know him and follow him in his risen life through Christ our Lord. Amen Dear friends, Hope is not lost! Jesus is risen! Can we make the connection between our Sunday celebration and our normal everyday lives Monday through Saturday? Can we understand the link between the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday with the pandemic that is still going strong, though there are signs of its weakening? I remember saying a prayer when I was a little child, you might have prayed this too: Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take. This prayer gave me great comfort as a child. I was surprised when I became an adult, and I heard that some people were horrified with this prayer. “How grim, how gruesome to have a child think about death before they go to sleep!” Some even tried to change the words of this prayer so that it wasn’t so “psychologically harmful” for a little kid. Thinking back on my life, I am sure that I was not harmed by the praying of this prayer. This prayer took my fear away. Every night it gave me peace. I fell asleep right away. It was a prayer of simple trust in Jesus, that my life was in his hands, that he would keep my soul, and that no matter what scary thing might possibly happen, I would be forever with Him. Today we are going through a COVID-19 crisis. The fear of death is very real. Have we truly made the connection between Easter and the corona virus? It can harm us none! We are in the hands of Jesus! We can rest in peace each night knowing that our soul was bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus. He is keeping our souls. He is no longer mingling among the dead. He is not there! He is risen! He is alive forever and ever! And so are we in Him. Remember what he told you! And live fearlessly! In the Joy of Jesus,
Pastor Langdon Reinke P.S. Hope you and your family are healthy and safe. We are in this together. We have help available if there are needs. Please let me know. | 
