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Al You have answered well.  That is what I believe as well....After all it is scripture!

Hi all.  I love the hymns that are posted up.  Many of these hymns are never used in churches in the U.K. now.  People tend to sing choruses that never seem to have as a deep a meaning somehow.

It was nice to stay in bed a little longer this morning.  I am looking forward to this morning's service.  Unfortunately we only have one service on Sunday, so will be on my own for the rest of the day.  It's nice that I can pop onto C.P. and spend some time there.

Have a blessed Easter day everyone.  If Christ had not risen we would be as all men most miserable.

Anthony.

It is still dark and early.  I woke up 20 minutes before the alarm was to ring so just got up and stayed up. 

Sunrise service and then breakfast made by the elders.  Then home to change clothes and get Ivalou and back to church.  Today is resurrection day.  A happy day for mankind because their sins are already paid for by the blood of Christ.   Without Christ, our Lord and Savior, we would be miserable as Anthony just said.

HYMN HISTORY:

Rev. Alfred Ackey (1887-1960) was preaching during an evangelistic crusade. After the service he was trying to persuade a young man to give his heart to Christ, when the man said, "Why should I worship a dead Jew?" Ackey stated, "HE LIVES! I tell you, He is not dead, but lives here and now! Jesus Christ is more alive today than ever before. I can prove it by my own experience, as well as the testimony of countless thousands." Later that evening the young man gave his heart to Christ. It was during this experience that Ackey wrote not only the words but also the tune for our hymn, "He Lives."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today;
I know that He is living, whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He's always near.

In all the world round me I see His loving care, And tho my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that He is leading thru all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing will come at last.

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He is risen indeed!!  Hallelujah!!

The tomb is empty, and Jesus is alive!!

THE EMPTY EGG

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12 he was
still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller,
often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool, and
make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if
a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain.
Most of the time,however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher.

One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation.
As the Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy
really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger
children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five year gap
between his age and that of the other students."

Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. "Miss
Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a
terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know
he really likes it here." Doris sat for a long time after they had left,
staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her
soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only
child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class.
She had 18 other youngsters to teach,and Jeremy was a distraction.
Furthermore, he would never learn to read and
write. Why waste any more time trying?

As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Here I am complaining
when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family, she thought.
Lord, please help me to be more patient with Jeremy. From that day on, she
tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day, he
limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him.

"I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to
hear. The other students snickered, and Doris' face turned red. She
stammered, "Wh-why that's very nice, Jeremy. N-now please take your seat."

Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter.
Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new
life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg.
"Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back
tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Miller," the children responded enthusiastically-all except for
Jeremy. He listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even
make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus'
death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should
call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and
waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had
to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the
next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents.

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they
placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After
they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first
egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new
life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring
is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arm. "That's my egg, Miss
Miller," she called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which
looked very real. Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes
and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that's new life, too." Little
Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine." Next, Doris
found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life.
Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom,
"My daddy helped me," he beamed.

Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty. Surely it
must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her
instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because
she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached
for another. Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to
talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is
empty." He looked into her eyes and said softly,
"Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too."

Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why
the tomb was empty?" "Oh, yes," Jeremy said, "Jesus was killed and put in
there. Then His Father raised Him up."

The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the school
yard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the
mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket,
all of them empty.

If this blesses you, pass it on.

Happy Easter!

-- Author Unknown

Janet, that is truly a beautiful story!  Thanks!

I have to tell y'all - I experinced what I consider to be a miracle last night.  I've been getting up 2, 3, or more times at night for the last couple of years.  Last night it was just ONE time!  Thank You, Lord!

He is risen



He is risen indeed!

Many times life presents us with challenges that cause us to almost give up.  These challenges can be family related, health, financial, or social.  At times like this we need to remember Easter and the resurrection.  Because He Lives, we can all face tomorrow.  When we give ourselves over to the cross and wait on Him we will find peace and answers.  Nothing may change around us...but our heart will change.  In the long run a heart change is what is needed when the pressure is on.

Beautiful thought, Judy.  

Lovely thoughts and hymns from everybody.  Al, thanks for sharing your miracle with us.  God is good.  JudyB wonderful thought.

We had a blessed morning at church this morning.  The visiting preacher seemed to really hit home with this message.  It was lovely to see so many visitors this morning from all over the country.

God bless all.

Anthony.

Praise God Al.  God is good.......All the time!

Hi Everyone!

Pat and Paul are here today.  We had a lovely Easter dinner together and now Pat is showing me some things with regard to the computer.

Hope you've all had a great Easter Sunday.

Judy!!!  How great to see you here!  I hope you'll be around more often now.   

Time to lock the doors on this topic and open our new one for the coming week.  It's a very special week as it's our 7th Anniversary!

So, please join us HERE