I hope this finds you and your church body having celebrated a wonderful Easter Sunday! I\u2019ve been encouraged by the reports I\u2019ve heard from countless pastors across North America who experienced amazing Easter Sundays. People were baptized. Many folks returned to church for the first time since Covid-19 shutdowns in March 2019.<\/p>\n
Obviously, for us as followers of Christ, the resurrection is the single most important event in the history of the world. Jesus Christ emerged from the tomb, putting to death once for all the power of sin and death. He secured the hope of eternal life with Him in a place free from all sin, sickness, sadness and strife. This is the message of the gospel that we proclaim week in and week out.<\/p>\n
The resurrection, however, also points us to hope for dying and declining churches as well. The New Testament declares clearly that Jesus Christ Himself is the head of the church. The same Savior who stepped out of the tomb on Resurrection Sunday morning is the same Savior who leads and guides His church.<\/p>\n
Hope in the midst of hopelessness<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve heard it said that the most meaningless statistic in all of sports is the halftime score. I can think of several instances where this has been proven correct \u2014 just ask the Atlanta Falcons! In a similar way, it would have been a mistake to judge Jesus\u2019 life and ministry based on Holy Saturday. It looked like all hope was lost. I imagine the disciples were wondering what on earth they were supposed to do now. Perhaps they spent the day in a mix of mourning and peeking out the windows to make sure the authorities weren\u2019t coming for them next. But the story wasn\u2019t over \u2014 far from it!<\/p>\n I\u2019ve seen many churches who think all hope is lost for them. The attendance is too low. The bills are too high. The facilities are too rundown. The community is too lost. But the hope of the gospel reminds us that God loves to bring dead and dying things back to life! The resurrection story shows us that, even when all hope seems lost, that often is not the case at all.<\/p>\n The resurrected Lord reigns over His church. If we will repent and follow His plans, He can bless our churches in many ways. He could very well be at work right now to breathe new life into your church, in countless ways you don\u2019t even see right now.<\/p>\n