A Great Easter

Sunday morning I awoke at 3:00 a.m. with my mind twirling. I would be celebrating the resurrected Christ with hundreds of others in a few hours. I went over the scriptures I would preach from and organized my thoughts. Somewhere between four and five in the morning, I went back to sleep.

When I awoke the second time it was time to shower, shave, and get dressed for my first Easter in Seminole. I really did not know what to expect. The previous week we handed out hundreds and hundreds of door hangers inviting people to come to our Easter services. Due to crowding issues on many normal Sundays we decided to offer two services. The first Sunday began at 8:30 a.m. and the second one started at 10:45 a.m.

Pulling into the church parking lot I really did not know what to expect. I did not know if we would have a few dozen people present or less in that early service. We had baptisms scheduled for both services and several had mentioned they wanted to see that. I walked away from my truck toward the sanctuary viewing the gorgeous sunrise. The church was dark on the inside, eerily silent, and still when I walked inside.

Before long the ushers showed up getting everything ready. Then the worshippers came. At first just a few but as the 8:30 a.m. start time neared the pews began to fill cramming the bottom level. Energy and excitement filled the air even though it was early in the morning. When the first notes were played the crowd came to life with singing and celebration. When our worship minister broke out into two southern gospel hymns I thought I had been transported into a Pentecostal church. People clapped, some came very near to dancing in the choir, and others shouted at various times. We celebrated with exuberance and joy saturated the hearts and faces of God’s people.

Preaching is always a passion of mine but with the atmosphere that morning I preached myself into a sweat. My undershirt was nearly soaking wet and this was only the first service! We continued the celebration with baptisms. There were five in the first service and five in the second service. What a delight.

When the service ended people were excited but we were only half way through the morning. Some chose to stay for the second service. In the second service the bottom level was filled as well as the choir. It was another great service. God honored us with His presence and true celebration for the resurrection.

When I walked out of church Easter early afternoon I knew I had given God my best in preaching and singing. It was a special day. The crowd was well over five hundred combined in both services. The music was glorious. The baptisms were cause for rejoicing. It was a great Easter day followed by a great lunch with friends.

The hope of the living Christ is not just good for Easter but is also good for every day of the year. What a great day. The resurrected Christ still wants me to celebrate Him this day as well.