Every year, Easter arrives with the same announcement: He is risen. And every year, I find myself wondering if we truly let that news stay with us.

The resurrection isn’t just the happy ending to a difficult week. It is a radical declaration that death, in all of its forms, does not get the final word. Not the death of our bodies. Not the death of our hope. Not the death of our relationships, communities, dreams, or anything that seems too fragile.

The women who came to the tomb that first Easter morning came expecting death. They came expecting to deal with the loss of their beloved Jesus. They brought spices and were prepared for burial. What they found instead reoriented everything.

That’s still the invitation.

We have constant offers to tend to what is dead and gone: to manage grief, protect ourselves from disappointment, and keep our expectations low. Easter asks something harder of us: to be people of the resurrection. To believe, stubbornly and practically, that renewal is possible in every corner of our lives.

As we gather this Easter, I hope we’ll receive the empty tomb not just as ancient news, but as living hope. The stone is rolled away. There is room to breathe and dream again.

Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.

Grace & Hope,
Pastor Derek

We hope you’ll join us this Sunday!

7:00am at Moebius Nature Center
9:00am & 10:30am at the church