I was in Richland this Easter weekend and so I went to my current church there, Richland Assembly of God (quite a bit different than my current church in Pullman: St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center!).  There was a cool short skit showing the Resurrection and Jesus' rather charismatic apostles.  The message was very good (Pastor Micah is an awesome preacher as anyone who attends the church can testify to!), so I decided to put the notes here to replace some of the more antiqueted pages whive have been lingering on my site long enough (think the one about evolution).

Jesus Came To Give You A Fresh Start

If we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrifical death of His Son, now just think how our lives will expand and deepen by means of His resurrection life!    Romans 5:10 (The Message)

Jesus said, "I'm here inviting outsiders, not insiders--an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out."    Luke 5:32 (The Message)



I. Open your mind to God's power

    Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.    Romans 12:2 (NLT)

    Many are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds against Him, so they can't understand His ways.    Ephesians 4:18 (LB)

    I pray that you'll begin to understand incredibly great His power is to help those who believe Him.  It's the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead.    Ephesians 1:19-20 (LB)


II. Open your heart to God's grace

    God has showered upon us the richness of His grace, for He understands us and knows what is best for us at all times.    Ephesians 1:8 (LB)

    God says He will accept and acquit us--declare us "not guilty"--if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins.  And we all can be saved in the same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like.    Romans 3:22 (LB)

    Saving is all His idea, and all His work.  All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it.  It's God's gift from start to finish!    Ephesians 2:8 (The Message)

    God gives grace to the humble...So let God work His will in you.  Say a quiet yes to God and He'll be there in no time.    James 4:6-8 (The Message)


III. Open your life to God's love

    I pray that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite Him in...and that you will be able to feel and understand, how long, wide, deep, and high His love really is, and to experience this love for yourselves.    Ephesians 3:16-19 (The Message/LB)

    We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that He has already thrown open His door to us!    Romans 5:1-2 (The Message)

    Jesus has His arms wide open for you.    I Corinthians 16:23 (The Message)




A fresh start prayer:

    Dear God, I'd like a fresh start on life.  I don't want to stay the same.  There are things in my life that need changing.  So, as much as I know how, I want to open up my mind to Your power and my heart to your grace.  Thank You for loving me and forgiving me.  Thank You for sending your Son, Jesus, to die for my sins.  Help me to understand that more.  Jesus Christ, I want to open up my life to You and to get to know You.  I invite You to be the manager of my life from this day forward.  I want to learn to trust you.  Thank You.  Amen.

Quotes About Easter

Forgiving the unforgivable is hard. So was the cross: hard words, hard wood, hard nails.
William S. Stoddard, quoted in Wisdom from a Pastor's Heart, edited by Douglas Connelly

Whoever heard of a suffering God? The idea is plain daft. God is up in heaven, and there he will stay. But wouldn't it be wonderful if it were true? If God came to visit us, like a great king visiting his subjects? Or, even better, if he came among us as one of us, sharing our way of life, with all its tragedy, sorrows and grief?
Alister E. McGrath, What Was God Doing on the Cross?

The crucified is God's chosen: it is with the victim, the condemned, that God identifies, and it is in the company of the victim, so to speak, that God is to be found, and nowhere else….Jesus is judge because he is victim; and that very fact means that he is a judge who will not condemn.
Rowan Williams, Resurrection

Even from the cross, when our Lord in his agony found perfection of his saintly humanity—even then he did not own himself a victim of injustice: They know not what they do.
Georges Bernanos, The Diary of a Country Priest

Copyright © 2002 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christianity Today magazine.
March 11, 2002, Vol. 46, No. 3, Page 69