Well, here's an update on Easter.First, Good Friday was an amazing and powerful service. We had a good amount of people there, maybe about 80% capacity. The youth did the explanations and setups for the prayer stations and did a great job. For music, we tried a semi-acoustic approach with guitar, piano, drums, and violin. I think the three songs (Beautiful Scandalous Night, In Christ Alone, and At The Cross), really helped add to the mood. Finally, we put long curtains over the windows. (Did I mention we have new windows in our auditorium? More on that here.) It's still pretty bright at 6:30pm so we needed to do something to create an more reflective atmosphere.
Easter was a wonderful contrast to Good Friday. Both services were packed (about 90%-95%), but no overflow was needed (we only had 3 seats left in one service). Taking the reflective mood of meditation on Christ's passion, Easter took the next step of celebrating the resurrection. The message of the service was right on cue (you know I mean all the messages, not just the sermon).
The visual background depicted a seedling growing out of the ground to signify the new life Jesus brings. Through the service, the seeding would grow into a viable plant. There was a video clip called "Erase" that depicts the sin we may carry (neglect, pride, lust, adultery, hypocrisy), shows it erased, and then shows it replaced by Jesus' love and righteousness. Pastor Crosby spoke on how the resurrection is a fact and can be proved. The point of the service, however, was that God is in the process making us into the people He created us to be. We are being remade. We, too, are being resurrected; not to death into the old life, but into an entirely new life in Christ. We encourage you to "Experience the Resurrection" in your life.One last note...I drew heavily on concepts from Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis. Some deep stuff, even seemingly controversial, in the book. I highly recommend it.
