In youth ministry, we sometimes had a theme night called "Christmas in July" where we would pretend it was cold, we sang Christmas songs, and exchanged gifts. Well, this Sunday is Easter in October! Not that you need to schedule an egg hunt, but we will be singing the songs of Christ's resurrection and studying Matthew's account of the women, guards and angel surrounding Jesus' victory over the grave. While Luke and John detail many more events following the resurrection, Matthew's account is precise, and challenges believer and unbeliever alike. I'm looking forward to working through chapter 28 over the next two weeks!

In his book The Reason for God, Tim Keller says, "Each year at Easter I get to preach on the Resurrection. In my sermon I always say to my skeptical, secular friends that, even if they can't believe in the resurrection, they should want it to be true. Most of them care deeply about justice for the poor, alleviating hunger and disease, and caring for the environment. Yet many of them believe that the material world was caused by accident and that the world and everything in it will eventually simply burn up. They find it discouraging that so few people care about justice without realizing that their own worldview undermines any motivation to make the world a better place. Why sacrifice for the needs of others if in the end nothing we do will make any difference? However, if the resurrection of Jesus happened, that means there's infinite hope and reason to pour ourselves out for the needs of the world."

Amen, let's celebrate that "infinite hope" together Sunday! - Rev. Dorst