April 10, 2026, 3:00 PM
Greetings in Christ!
I pray that all is well and you're having a great week!
How did your Easter go? I pray it was a wonderful time for you and your family.
We had a fantastic Easter weekend here at First Christian Church!
Here's a recap:
Friday, April 3rd: We had an excellent "Good Friday" Service @ Pine Meadows Post Acute (nursing home) @ 10:30 am.
Saturday, April 4th: Three people - Jackie Stewart, Keith Sayre, and Kary Wylie - were baptized into Christ that morning. In the afternoon, we had a Children’s Egg Hunt at the church with just over 400 eggs for 13 children! There were also just over 20 adults in attendance!
Sunday, April 5th: The Christian Ladies Fellowship (CLF) of FCC sponsored a breakfast @ 9:30 am before our morning worship service. We say "THANKS" again to the ladies of CLF! It was awesome! For our morning worship, we celebrated Jesus' resurrection with 144 people in attendance! This was the largest worship service attendance at FCC in several years!
We humbly give God the glory and THANKS for a great weekend!
One of the things we tried to stress to the children before our egg hunt last Saturday was this: the REAL reason we celebrate Easter is not the arrival of spring or collecting Easter Eggs!
No, the reason we celebrate is that Jesus rose from the grave and conquered death!
There is no longer any need to fear death. If you have given your life to Jesus, the grave is not the end of your story!
People fear many different things. I believe that our technological advancements have also multiplied the spreading of our fears at an alarming rate!
The Bible has a lot to say on the subject of fear. There is a healthy AND an unhealthy fear.
What is Healthy Fear? Fear, in the good sense, is having a healthy respect (fear) of God and authority.
An unhealthy fear is being frightened of anyone or anything else other than God or proper authority.
We see many people today living without a fear of God but having their lives full of the wrong kinds of fear.
One time, the disciples were with Jesus in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, and a rough storm came up. The disciples were focused on the storm and not Jesus. Luke 8:24-25 (NIV) says: The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we’re going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 'Where is your faith?" He asked his disciples. In fear and amazement, they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
In contrast, when we have our fears in the proper place, we receive great blessings.
Listen to what Deuteronomy 5:29 (NIV) says: "Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!"
My prayer today is this: "Lord, help us to love You and focus on You and not to be frightened of anyone or anything else."
I hope and pray we'll see you this coming Sunday (April 10th) at FCC. I'll be starting a new sermon series about the transforming power of God's Word -- the Bible!
Until then...May God Bless You!
In Him,
Greg Herriford
