So today was finally the day we have been leading up to since Ash Wednesday, more than 40 days ago, Easter Sunday. This is the great day on the Christian calendar where we celebrate Christ as the risen savior and Lord over all creation. It was an exhausting day, but a wonderful day filled full of Christ’s redeeming work. It is always a fantastic site to see so many people gathering together that perhaps normally wouldn’t even know each other except for the common bond of Jesus.
Easter Sunday is always an extremely busy day of course and today was no exception. But because Easter is one of those days on the calendar where many people come to church, perhaps out of a mental obligation to the date on the calendar (or any number of other reasons), it’s also a day where staff and volunteers in the church are on their game. Not out of sense of trying to paint a pretty picture of life, but out of an attempt to fulfill the great commission and point people towards the cross and away from themselves. I only wish many of them could have also shared in the days leading up to Easter as well since it is all part of the story of God’s work.
Our sunrise service for the first time in several years was almost completely covered by clouds, but it wasn’t freezing outside, which was nice. There was some sun as you can see from the shots below, but it didn’t really matter, the important part was the celebration. I hope this season of lent has been meaningful to you and your family. Below are some of the photos from this morning, you can see the full gallery of the whole weekend on the Holy Week 2011 gallery.
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This Friday for Friday Feet the plan was to focus on the day at hand, Good Friday. We had a nice relaxing day at home on Friday in preparation for the Good Friday service and it ended up being one of the more memorable services that either Deborah or I have been to in years. Just about half way into the service the tornado sirens started sounded. The service was interrupted for about 30 minutes while we all hunkered down to one side of the worship area.
What made the service so memorable was how unscripted the whole evening was. As we came back together and stared to focus on what makes this day special, the hail, thunder, and lightning started to come down in full force. This was not a “traditional” service but the way it came together was so special. I am thrilled to be a part of a church that is willing to interpret worship in many different ways.
On the way home it became apparent that the storm system that went through the area had made its way out to our property. Tree after tree had been uprooted, snapped in half, and literally thrown all over the place. The photo below at night was what we found as we drove in from the service. A cedar tree topped and covering the road. Once morning arrived we found about a 75 foot pine tree that was just blown over, making my Friday Feet image.
After surveying the damage out this way we found out that there were one and possibly two tornadoes that came through the property. They were small, but had two visual sightings and see to skip around the houses for the most part.
Happy Easter to everyone.
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This is my post for Creative Chaos // 14 (see also guidelines) over at Ragamuffin Soul for this week. This is from a past Easter service when I was visiting a small church in Alabama.
Christ Became Sin For Us
When you walked into the sanctuary there was a huge cross with a bunch of small holes in it, front and center, larger than life. As the service and message went on we realized it was going to be part of the service itself. As the ushers walked through they gave everyone a piece of paper, a pencil, and a large nail. As the sermon went on we listened to the normal Easter scriptures and the message of how Jesus was crucified. Then the pastor asked everyone to write down their sins on the paper provided, fold it up, and then walk up to the cross one at a time and nail the paper with our sins to the cross.
I was leery at first but went along like most everyone else. One at a time, each person came up to the cross (which was very large, far taller than any of us) and took a hammer and hit the nail into the cross with the piece of paper crushed in between the nail and the cross. One at a time the cross started filling up with nails and paper. Once every one was done and we all sat back down it was an incredible site. The pastor then said, “this is what Christ did for us, he became sin”. It was a powerful site, one I won’t forget. Never before had I seen an image like this of what Christ did for us.
He didn’t just die for my sins and no one else’s, he died for all our sins, and became sin. This was only a small church, I can’t image the weight of humanities sin that was placed on Christ at the time of his crucification, incredible. One of the more memorable Easter services I have been to over the past 10-20 years, and today, it is my Creative Chaos.
