The Holy Week Marathon

Sunday begins the "Holy Week Marathon" for the church, Preachers, and ministers. Palm Sunday seems so calm compared to the rest of the week. If you haven't got the week planned out now, you are in deep trouble. For some churches there is something happening every day this next week. For the choirs it is the last minute rehearsals to finalize whatever special music is to be done. The church is to be spotless for the guests who come on Easter or for the other activities. I don't know what you have planned, I have Palm Sunday to preach on. Yep, we do Palm Sunday, not Passion Sunday. Then we do a Passover meal on Thursday, and a Good Friday service on Friday. Saturday is the Easter Egg Hunt with a picnic. Sunday is Easter Sunrise service at a place called Bald Rock, a beautiful setting, only we have had rain for the last couple of years. You can't get out there in the rain, it becomes too slick. Then I have two worship services to preach at. I thought I would be fearful of preaching on Easter Sunday, its so powerful of a Sunday, and yet I have grown to love it. I thought I would run out of things to say, but the Holy Spirit keeps showing me pieces of the scripture I missed or did not understand. This Easter I am preaching from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians 15:1-11. I can't wait. The girls have their Easter dresses already. They are asking about hunting Easter eggs. Our son, Zach, doesn't know anything about all this, but he will, oh he will one day. There have been a many of Easter that I have come to; tired, stressed, depressed, sad, lonely, or some kind of heaviness on my heart and soul. And often I found myself lifted once again by the power of the resurrection, God at work in the whole drama of the women coming first to find Jesus, and then they being the first evangelists. Perhaps they laid the groundwork in my heart to come follow Jesus, and to go and tell others.....