Today we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ by worshiping together as one church family in a service that culminated with a stirring chorus proclaiming, “He’s alive forever, amen!” For me, this Easter service was a lot of fun, almost like a worship party more than a service. I think sometimes it’s okay to get a little excited when we think of our Lord and what He has done for us.

I received many compliments on the service, but I must let you know the credit needs passed on. I’d like to thank Leigh Steiner, the worship area coordinator, and Phil Maxwell, the choir director, for their help in planning and brainstorming the service. It certainly wouldn’t have been a success without their input. I also want to give credit to the choir and the worship band. What an excellent job! Selden proved his flexibility by joining the band and they rocked! The choir and band both gave of their time for extra rehearsals. We had special guest artists joining us for the Easter celebration. Katie Walsh graced us with a beautiful violin accompaniment to the choir’s “Pieta.” My brother, Jonathan Fuqua, came all the way from Quincy, IL to fill in on drums. And of course, Wade, Mary Ellen, and Reg brought wonderful messages of the resurrection as historical fact, present reality, and future hope. It’s hard to believe they could be so poignant in only eight minutes each!

Our Easter service would’ve been less celebratory if we had not grieved with the followers of Jesus on Good Friday. If you weren’t able to make it to the Good Friday event, you missed out! In the intimate setting in which the drama was played, we felt drawn into the scene. We were all there, hiding after our Lord’s death, and putting the pieces together as each character shared their experiences of that day. For those of you who were able to be there, you may be interested to know the actors had no script! Now we can really appreciate the quality of their presentation - knowing it came straight from their hearts as they literally became the characters. I’ve listed the actors with corresponding characters below.

1. Matt Allen - John
2. Larry Smith - Peter
3. McKenna Blair - Mary Magdalene
4. George Tankersley - the Roman Centurion
5. Bob Mitchell - Simon of Cyrene

Of course, ultimately all credit must be given to God. His was the inspiration that guided our thoughts in planning. It was His life, death, and resurrection that has precipitated our entire faith and especially the Holy Week worship experiences. God is the giver of gifts and talents; He is the One who brought together the choir and the band, breathed the resurrection messages into the minds of our teaching pastors, and it was His Spirit present in the service (not our music) that roused and stirred us to worship. God is truly worthy to be praised! He’s alive forever, amen!