On a late summer afternoon about a year ago, a group of twelve people gathered on a back porch to start dreaming about organizing an Easter night of worship for the people of South Central Kentucky. With grand visions of orchestral/choral arrangements, spoken word, physical art pieces, dance, and the voices of all generations – from children to the oldest among us – this team began the early conversations for creating a night of worship that would honor God in the Easter season. While discussions of art and beauty and worship floated into the summer afternoon sky, perhaps the most beautiful detail was that this team of people was comprised of many different Christian denominations and backgrounds. The diversity of thought and life experience flowed freely, with a singular unifying truth: that Easter matters more than anything else in the Christian faith and that Jesus Christ is Lord.
According to the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, if there is no resurrection, there’s no reason for faith in Jesus. In Romans 8, Paul also declares, “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” There is resurrection power pulsing in the veins of those who follow Jesus Christ! There is hope in resurrection because we are restored, redeemed, and made new in Christ.
Easter, according to modern American culture, fits into a neat seasonal box: pastel decorations, plastic eggs, and candy line grocery store shelves shortly after Valentine’s Day. A few weeks later those same decorations are replaced by hot dog buns, grills, red/white/blue decorations, and fireworks. Easter in the consumer world is gone as quickly as it arrives. However, as Christians, every Sunday is a declaration of that glorious resurrection. Every Sunday is an Easter celebration, reminding our hearts and minds that Jesus Christ conquered the grave for our salvation.
With the confidence and hope of the resurrection of Christ, this group of people sat around a table on a hot June evening with the goal of declaring that Jesus is King. Easter is the fuel that inspires our worship – every day – and it is not reserved merely for spring. Easter is also for everyone, regardless of what poor decisions you’ve made, what doubts or unbelief you hold in your heart, how you were raised, what you’ve accomplished, what you’ve failed to accomplish, and the list goes on… You are enough, simply because Jesus Christ is enough.
As Paul writes in Ephesians 4, he urges Christians to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” The team at Relay Worship seeks to live and worship and instruct in that spirit of unity – regardless of the denominational lines that seek to split and divide – there is one truth that binds us all together: Jesus Christ is our resurrected King.
-submitted by Relay Worship Leadership Team
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