From the Pastor – April

One of my favorite memories of Easter as a child was an Easter Sunrise service that was held at the Tigard Drive-In Movie Theater (next town over from Sherwood, OR). Several Lutheran congregations went together to rent the theater and bring in a flatbed truck trailer for a stage; a chicken-wire skirt was wrapped around the front and two sides of the trailer. The pastors’ children and other volunteers spent “Sad Saturday” stuffing ferns, moss, and daffodils around this flatbed trailer to make a temporary outdoor chancel area. Early on Easter morning people drove their cars into the theater, adjusted the speaker to fit on their partially rolled down window, and tuned into the unique Easter proclamation from the back of festively decorated truck trailer. The bright yellow skirt around the flatbed trailer pronounced the victory over sin, death, and the devil that Jesus gave to all the world when He rose from the grave that first Easter.

Blooming flowers, especially the early daffodils in the Puyallup Valley, are a reminder of the new life and new hope we have with the coming of the Spring Season. But the resurrection of Jesus is more powerful and enduring than the life of a daffodil. Because He lives, we too can live forever with Him.

God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to be present in our lives as a child in the manger and as a sacrifice on the Cross. He gave us pardon from our sins and now, because of Easter, He is lives and reigns over all creation. Gloria and Bill Gaither’s refrain to their song “Because He Lives” reminds us of the true hope we have in the resurrection:

“ 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 living just because He lives.”

We celebrate with joy and hope the resurrection of our LORD! To quote another powerful hymn: “I know that my Redeemer lives, what comfort this sweet sentence gives!”

Pastor Schuldheisz