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Monday, April 6, 2026 Ours The Cross, The Grave, The Skies! |
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Scripture: Romans 8:14-17 (NRSVUE) – “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if in fact we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” Message: One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Romans 8, and my favorite Easter hymn is “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”1 written by Charles Wesley. The fourth stanza has always stayed with me:
Soar
we now where Christ has led, Alleluia! These words remind us that because of what Jesus has done for us, through the Cross, the Grave, and the Resurrection, we too are invited into new life. Paul says it plainly in Romans 8: “if in fact we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” Following Jesus doesn’t give us a free pass to avoid hard things. Discipleship is about taking up our cross daily, serving God sacrificially, and trusting that even in death, God is still at work. But it is also about the resurrection life we are given now, a life shaped by hope, freedom, and the assurance that we belong to God as beloved children. We cannot skip the cross, the grave, or the skies. Yet in Christ, all three are ours. The cross no longer defines us by shame, the grave no longer has the final word, and the skies remind us of the glory that is still to come. Prayer: Almighty God, during this season of Lent, help us to slow down and remember that there is no resurrection without the Cross and the Grave. Help us also to remember that because of Christ, we are invited to live the resurrection life even now. Amen. Pastor John Shughart 1. “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” by Charles Wesley. 1739. Public Domain. UM Hymnal 302.
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