Riverpoint Congregational Church

" Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" I Cor 15:54-57

Dear Folks:

The story of the empty tomb is, in effect, not a story but rather a hope based on faith as compared to a wish based on dreaming. The Christian perspective of the empty tomb transcends normal human thinking and sees God in action, not a hoax or conspiracy theory which seems to be popular now.

The resurrection is the final example in a long list of examples of the supremacy and truthfulness of God found in the Bible. No proof is needed; no claims need to be made and no evidence is required. Simply look around you. A dead body receives new life. A corpse breathes and talks and moves. Rather than being the product of a Hollywood thriller, the resurrection is the result of unconditional love.

God's victory is assured which means we too can be victorious n something as simple and mundane as resisting temptation or something as threatening as death. Our victory in Christ is real, permanent and abiding. That is the message of the empty tomb.

Look inside. All that was left behind was the symbols of death, the grave cloths. They no longer have any meaning because they are useless. The obstacle of the stone was moved out of the way to make the way clear. Nothing could stop Christ's victory, neither the plans of man nor the instruments of death. God was headed on a course that could not be shaken.

The result? Lives were changed. Hope was restored. Joy was manifest. Courage was rewarded. And those are our responses too. The ester lilies, the spring colors, the Easter songs, all pay tribute to the victory we have in Christ Jesus. No longer does death or any other obstacle stand in our way. We can be whoever God wants us to be. We are free from the stranglehold of death which translates into true and lasting freedom in respect to all of our living as well as our dying. There is nothing to hold us back; no fear too strong; no lack so evident; no limitation so deep that we cannot be the joyful people of God He has intended for us to be.

May your Easter celebration be one filled with the knowledge of the victory that has been won for us by Christ.

See you in church.

Larry Bernier