Sunday Worship Service - Online 19 April 2020 - Deacon Crimson

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE 19 April, 2020

Dear Brethren,

Mathew 28: 1 - 20

Greetings to you in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Today is Easter , again celebrated in the Eastern Europe and some parts of North Africa where the Orthodox believers live. We wish our Egyptian members a very Happy Easter Greetings. Let’s analyze some of the important things connected to Easter.

Who has believed for sure that Jesus would rise from the dead? In fact, more than the disciples or his followers the enemies strongly believed that He would rise from the dead on the third day. They knew very well that Jesus had raised people from the dead and remembered the words of Jesus that He would be back to life on the third day as He told earlier. That was the main reason they asked Pilate to make a strong security for the tomb. In fact Pilate did not believe and so he told them to manage the security by their own temple guards. They calculated that sealing of the tomb could seal and “Author of Life”( Acts 3:14. ) inside the grave but all their schemes came to an end when the angel of the Lord rolled away the tomb and Jesus came outside. And this is the core of the gospel message. I Corinthians 15: 3 – 8.

Here, we should really appreciate the faithful ladies who followed Jesus. As per the custom the ladies went to the tomb with the spices. Even today people go to the tomb of their dear ones on the third day to keep some candles, garlands or flowers. No one would expect the dear ones to come back to life. Exactly this is what they did but for their surprise they met the angel who said, Mathew 28:6 “ He is not here; he has risen. Come and see the place where he lay.” What a wonderful surprise. They were so afraid but believed and on the way to see the disciples they saw Jesus and worshipped him. Yes, they saw the risen Saviour and became the first witnesses.

But on the other side the false witnesses (those guards) trying to spread the falsehood. Their message was baseless. How would it be possible for them to see when they were sleeping that the disciples came there? They were local guards and so their head escaped. If they were appointed by the Pilate they very word “SLEEPING “ would take off their heads.

As Christians, remember that the unbelievers will see us with a difference and they also know that we worship the Almighty God . What about our own faith? Do we believe in the power of resurrection? May such power of the Lord enable us to be the strong witnesses of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer: Loving Lord heavenly Father, we thank you for the raising our Lord from the dead so that we all can have the eternal life. Help us to cling firm in faith so that we can move mountains and see your glory in our lives in front of many others. Let this Easter season be the blessed on for all of us . In Jesus’s Name we pray. Amen.