Site
Contents
 |
General Information about the Area Office
North Indiana Conference Office
South Indiana Conference Office
Prayer Guides
(Courtesy of the NIC Prayer Team)
Area United Methodist
Foundation
For resources to assist your congregation in welcoming guests,
click here
Seashore District Volunteer Center VIM project -- Completed
Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
March 2005 |
Welcome:
Easter speaks of Resurrection and Hope
The Passion of The Christ, Mel Gibson's 2004 blockbuster film, returned to theaters across America this month as Easter approaches. Whether or not thousands again will flock to the theaters remains to be seen. However, the telling of Christ's passion story does not lend itself to hope or to the future. Passion bravely speaks of death, sacrifice and atonement.
|
Look for the hope given to us in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and give God praise. |
Christ died for our sins, but that becomes only the beginning of His story. Without Christ's resurrection, the passion would have been lost to history as one of the millions of crucifixions undertaken by a cruel empire that ruled with death and intimidation to keep order and power. Unfortunately, Gibson's passion only gives a cameo glimpse of Resurrection. The Gospels make it center stage - the reason for the Good News. Why?
Resurrection speaks to the HOPE of Christianity, that even in death we can hope for new life. Just as Christ died for our sins, He was raised from the dead.
For the Apostle Paul, the operative word surrounding resurrection remains "hope." He uses "hope" over and over again from his teachings to the church at Rome, to his personal letters to Timothy.
Paul writes, "For in this hope, we were saved" (Romans 8:24). He calls resurrection hope, just as he calls Jesus Christ our hope and speaks about the hope of eternal life.
"Hope" had stature for the Apostle Peter, too. In his first letter, he writes, "By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3.
Nothing attacks the human spirit like despair. Despair can become fatal. The disciples of Christ despaired. They were discouraged that first holy week and had no hope. Their rabbi was about to teach them a lesson they would never forget. Death need not be the end, but only the beginning. In his life, death and resurrection, Jesus taught us about hope.
As you read through this issue of Together, look for the hope given to us in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and give God praise.
United Methodists have given more than $15 million toward tsunami relief, offering hope to the people of South Asia who could have been swallowed by deep despair.
Hoosiers have given more than 11,500 hand-made health kits for tsunami survivors, giving them hope with something as essential as a toothbrush. Many of these packets were assembled by children wanting to give hope to others.
Israelis and Palestinians are again on the road to peace, pushing back the despair of past years looking to the hope of peace with justice.
Sudanese church leaders have not given up on their country following a 21-year civil war, but they have hope for their future. UMCOR extends that hope by providing seeds and tools - signs of hope.
Operation Classroom, our Hoosier-style mission to Liberia and Sierra Leone, gives hope as districts join in specific projects to named schools in reestablishing educational enterprises across the Atlantic Ocean.
Here at home, hope has been restored in Indiana flood victims. Hope has been restored by the state legislature NOT expanding gambling when they had an excuse to do so. Hope is written in new legislation to protect Hoosier children from abuse and neglect.
Come, read and celebrate the hope given to us in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Welcome,
Daniel R. Gangler
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008