With every reading, during the Easter Vigil, the sanctuary starts to get lighter and lighter until the Gospel reading when the Lord’s Table candles are lit and the over head house lights come on! The previously lone and empty floral shelf is fully seen and abloom with a large arrangement of spring flowers.

"This is the day the Lord has made – a day far different from those made when the world was first created and which are measured by the passage of time. This is the beginning of a new creation. On this day, as the prophet says, God makes a new heaven and a new earth."

O Death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory? Christ is risen, and thou art cast down. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns.

I'm excited to engage in this year's Easter festivities . There is so much to look forward to, I'm having to remind myself to slow down.

Don’t let your Easter joy wane! Don’t let your “Alleluias!” diminish! Enter into Sunday worship with awe and expectation.

How do we live the resurrection life today? Trust, surrender and discipline. We must trust in God’s loving providence as he works in our daily life circumstances to mortify the habits of the flesh and vivify us to new life.

The Easter feast is an opportunity to live like the future that we hope for in Christ is already here. Like children playing at adult activities, we are invited to practice living in ways that anticipate the life of joy and freedom that we trust Christ will soon make complete in us.

In this message Bishop Jones explores why congregations, in living out the Resurrection, should become aware of ways to support those with mental health challenges.

During the Easter season, as we focus on living the resurrection, we rejoice that because Jesus conquered death, once and for all, we can come before God, known as sons and daughters. “Approved” by Bryan+ Patrick captures the joy of being accepted in the sight of the Lord because of Christ’s love, demonstrated through his blood.

Easter celebration is not like a bottle rocket that shoots with a squirt and fizzles fast. Instead, Easter is a cosmic eruption that blasts through death and into eternity.