El Dorado Park Community Church

Eternal God and Everlasting Father, who called time into existence when you said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years.” It is already the beginning of the fourth week since we celebrated and commemorated the resurrection of your Son our Savior from death and the grave. This fact alone reminds us how quickly the words, ‘He is not here, he is risen” and the words of Matthew: “So they went out quickly with fear and great joy” fade from our memories. And yet this was the event that was for the earliest of believers, the immediate assurance that the rabbi of Galilee was the promised Messiah. It was this event that dried their tears, strengthened their knees and sent them on a pilgrimage that has changed the world. They had a risen, ever living Lord. In time all of his disciples would sing, “We serve a risen Savior, He is in the world today. I know that he is living whatever men man say: I see His had of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer and just the time I need him He is always near. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today.”

Matthew testifies that Christ, in his last words to his disciples said, “Go into all the world and I am with you always even to the end of the age”. Paul went to prison for preaching that Christ was alive. Oh, to be sure in a few short weeks the resurrected one would ascend to your right hand, but the marvel was that He would also remain with us on earth. As are forefathers wrote: “In his human nature Christ is not now on earth, but in his divinity, majesty, grace and Spirit he is not absent from us for a moment.’ And again we have been taught that in the Holy Supper of our Lord, Christ’s presence is in and around every little piece of bread and every swallow from the cup.

Father God, we plead with you, give us to rejoice even though four weeks have past since we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord. He is alive! He is with us here in this house of worship. He is with us in our work place; He is with us on the freeway. He is with us when we stand at the open grave. He is with us in the operating room. He is with us in the long night hours. Men have testified of Christ’s presence with them in their prison cell. Missionaries have told of Christ being with them in the darkest jungles.

Father, may the assurance of the women at the tomb and the disciples on the shores of the Sea of Galilee be our experience. May the song in our hearts be: “Because He lives I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone; because I know He holds the future and life is worth the living just because He lives.” This is our prayer in this fourth post resurrection week. Amen and Amen.