April 16, 2017 Easter– Resurrection

Easter Sunday

Share: Share your Highs & Lows of the day.

Read: Read the following daily readings focusing on

Sunday: Empty Tomb (Easter), Luke 24:1-12

Monday: Jesus Appears to His Disciples, Luke 24:36-53

Tuesday: Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas, Acts 1:12-26

Wednesday: The Holy Spirit, Acts 2:1-13

Thursday: Early Christians, Acts 2:14-47

Friday: Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar, Acts 3:1-10

Saturday: Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico, Acts 3:11-26

Talk: Study the reading and consider the background.

The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but

the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the

dead? He is not here, but has risen. Luke 24:5

It’s been a grueling week for the followers of Jesus, but still they

faithfully carry out the rituals due to the dead.

How could these grieving women have known that their anointing

oils would not be needed, for the best reason imaginable?

Easter marks the most significant event in a Christian’s life. Who

could you share this news with?

How will you honor Christ today?

Notes from Sunday’s Sermon and Worship:

Pray: Pray for your Highs & Lows, for yourself, for your family, and for the world. You can use this prayer or make your own.

Risen Lord, You have been true to your word, and you have shown

that death could not defeat life. Pour the joy of your resurrection

into our hearts, that our lips would also overflow with the joyous

news. In the name of the risen Christ, Amen.

Prayer Concerns to take home for this week:

Bless: Close your devotion with a blessing. Mark the sign of the cross on each other’s head or your own forehead and use words of blessing like:

Receive God’s blessing when you are with people and when you are

alone. Amen.

Jesus loves you and so do I. May you share your gifts God has given you. Amen.

By acting on what we learn, we are blessed to be a blessing. Consider the following activity this week. Sing your favorite Easter hymn every morning when you wake up. If you

don’t have a favorite Easter hymn, sing whatever favorite song reminds

you that Jesus is alive!

April 16th– Resurrection Day

Luke's gospel account begins the Easter story on the third day after Jesus'

death on the cross, at the location of Jesus' burial. Several women come to

the tomb to anoint Jesus' body with fragrant oils, as was the custom of the

time. Just as the story seems over and death has ended Jesus' ministry, the

women instead find no body to anoint. They encounter two angelic figures,

who remind them of what Jesus had told them: "that the Son of Man must

be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise

again." But the disciples did not believe the women's story; to them it was

an "idle tale," complete and utter nonsense.

We celebrate resurrection today, but if we really stop to think about it, it may

seem like complete and utter nonsense to us as well. How would you react if

you watched someone you love die, and suddenly three days later they were

back again?! Yet the promise of resurrection is very real for us. It may seem

an idle tale, but our lives are grounded in this promise as a mystery. The

mystery of the resurrection shows up daily, when God is revealed to bring

light and life into our darkness and death.