A Message from the Pastor

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, [and] that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” – 1 Corinthians 15:4-5

In Dr. Paul Maier’s mystery novel, “A Skeleton in God’s Closet” an archeologist supposedly discovers the skeletal remains of Jesus Christ. Soon the entire Christian faith is in upheaval since the very foundation of our faith is predicated upon Jesus rising from the dead.

As the novel progresses, millions abandon the faith of their youth, while the buildings where the faithful for centuries had gathered for worship, grew silent. In this novel, the people came to the realization, that without the resurrection, there was no reason to either worship nor believe in Christ and the forgiveness of sins. Christianity was now no different than any other religion whose founders still inhabited their graves. You see, without the resurrection, Jesus’ teachings would carry no more weight than those of Confucius, Buddha or countless other sages or philosophers.

However, just as the skeleton in the novel was eventually proven to be a fake, so too in time was the claim from the authorities that Jesus body hadn’t risen but had rather been stolen. I mean, where does one hide a corpse? Furthermore, their insistence that the disciples carried out this brazen act while the soldiers slept is laughable. Try giving testimony in court about something happening while you were asleep!

No, Jesus’ resurrection has been proven to be a factual account from history. In fact, we’re told that it was witnessed eventually by over 500 people. Furthermore, what transpired on that first Easter was so profound that it motivated highly religious people to switch their day of worship from Saturday to Sunday and it led those who saw it to choose death rather than to deny what they’d seen!

Let the record show that history confirms that a certain Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead three days after being crucified by the Romans at the urging of the Jewish religious authorities. Men who were fearful of losing their station or status as a governing body over the people. Let the testimony of the saints and the evidence show that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead 2,000 years ago was no hoax and that his tomb is still empty.

At the end of this month, we celebrate the linchpin moment of our faith and our hopes. Christ’s resurrection from the dead. This celebration is of supreme importance because while we will be remembering our Lord’s return from the grave, we will in essence be remembering and celebrating our own as well. Something that will occur on the Last Day. For indeed, St. Paul liked to refer to Jesus as the “firstborn” from the dead…meaning he is the first…but that there will be a second, a third, fourth and so on.

I look forward to worshipping with all of you this month as we draw closer to our Easter services on the 31st. Don’t forget our continuing mid-week Lenten services as well as our Maundy Thursday and Good Friday worship on the 28th and 29th respectively.

Until next month….

Pastor Roloff