April 17, 2025

Dear Central Church, 

“I have seen the Lord.” - Mary Magdalene, John 20:18 

The first witness to the resurrection of Jesus is Mary Magdalene. We don’t know a lot about her, but the Bible is careful to point out her courage in reporting to others what she had experienced. While the other disciples hide in fear, Mary not only stays with Jesus at the cross but is bold in declaring his resurrection. 

This weekend, we’ll gather and make an audacious claim to the world: Jesus is alive. Not only do we affirm that the resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact, but we choose to order our lives by one we believe is alive and presently at work in the world. 

As we prepare for Easter Sunday, I invite you to think about how you have “seen the Lord” at work in your life. My prayer is that our gathering would be more than an annual rehearsal of our creed, but a living testimony of those who have had an encounter with the risen Jesus. I hope our Easter celebration is filled with the praise of those Jesus has brought from “darkness and into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) May we worship with such joy and gratitude that when people ask us why we’re so excited, our simple answer will be, “I have seen the Lord!” 

There is still time to invite a friend! Our Easter services will be at 9 and 10:30am (just like normal), and we’re also celebrating baptisms. It’s going to be a great day to proclaim, “He is risen…He is risen, indeed!”

See you Sunday!

Until He’s Finished,
Pastor Mark

PS. I want to thank everyone that helped or participated in last week’s “Bunny Hop” event. We had more than 500 people on our campus! Praise the Lord!