01 Apr Easter Wrap-Up and Things to Come

I don’t know about you, but I’m still somewhat on a spiritual high after last weekend at Mosaic, where we celebrated the Resurrection of our Risen King, Jesus. Our goal was to honor Him and exalt His Name, and I think that we did that.

I want to say a big “thank you” to all our staff, volunteers and to you, for making it what it was—a real celebration. Thanks for inviting people, for reaching out, for believing for a great moment together, and for coming to give your all for Jesus.

I think I’m still seeing that amazing sign flash on in my sleep (if you were there, you know what I’m talking about!)

There are many ways to approach an Easter Sunday, but we feel like celebration is also one of them—we see God appoint festivals for His people in the Old Testament, at various times and for various purposes, but one of those purposes is celebration—of Him, of His provision for His people, and the fact that they are a delivered people called by His name—and the same is even more true of us today. So again, thank you.

Coming up this weekend, we have a special guest with us, Dr. Stephen Mansfield. Stephen is a New York Times Bestselling author, speaker, writer and thinker, and he has written numerous books on politics, faith, history and a variety of Christian topics. He is all over the news, and if you watch any form of cable news, you have likely seen him on one channel or another. He counts both Barack Obama and George W. Bush as friends, and while he certainly has his own political convictions, he is one of the few public figures I hear from or read who is able to graciously, and with integrity, articulate both sides of an issue—without vilifying or demonizing one side or another.

He will be preaching about how to have courage and hope, no matter the times, and I’m sure he will sprinkle in his analysis of what he sees God is doing in our country right now. He is actually a former pastor and has a keen interest in Arab people groups and Muslim-Christian relations, having led a church with a significant Kurdish population.

For those of you intrigued by his political work, we will be offering a special Q and A with him after second service in the Family Room. It’s too late to register for this (if you did, your seat and lunch are reserved), but you can still come in and hang around on the sides or the back!

We’ll also have some books of his available for purchase, including his new one, “Ask The Question”, which talks about how a candidate’s faith inevitably shapes their political views.

All in all, it should be a great weekend, something really unique, and a great opportunity to invite someone. We desire to be a church where thinkers and those called to be on the front lines of culture are welcomed and stewarded well, and we feel that having in Dr. Mansfield helps us do that just a little bit better.

If you were a first-time guest on Easter and are just receiving this email, well, we’d love to have you back!

Morgan