Dear Easter Friends,

Alleluia! Christ is risen. 

Happy Mother’s Day! It can be hard to find common ground sometimes, but there is one thing we should agree on – we all have mothers. I recognize we don’t all have the same “mother experience”; however, we still thank God for our mothers – the ones who bore us, the ones who cared for us, the ones who love us. Our lives come from God, through them, to us. May God bless and keep you all.

One of the things I learned from my mom is something I’ll never forget. She’s the one who modeled Christ for me by teaching me to pray. Following her teacher, she taught me the Lord’s Prayer. 

Of course, my mom had a great role model to follow – Jesus! As you read the four gospels, they record Jesus praying at least 38 times. And we can be pretty sure that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of His unrecorded prayer life! John 17, as His “last supper” with His disciples comes to an end, records one of His most powerful prayers – in my opinion that is – as He prays for Himself (John 17:1-5) … His closest disciples (John 17:6-19) … and, finally, us. Can you imagine that … Jesus actually prays for us! Jesus prays, “I do not ask for these only (the 12 He prays for in v6-19), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” (John 17:20-21) 

Jesus prays for us! He prays that we will come to believe in Him by the words of His Apostles. Then He prays that we will allow ourselves to be used to help others also come to believe in Him. Think about that! God Himself. Praying for us! That others also come to faith because of us. Amen!

He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

                                                                                                In the Risen Christ’s Love,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim