By Pierce Drake, Pastor of Students

Easter is here!
The cross and grave now remain empty!
It is finished!
J E S U S I S A L I V E !

We are Easter people, we are Easter Students. We are sons and daughters of a Risen King. That is the truth that we hold onto, claim, believe, and anchor our life upon. There is no longer a question of who Jesus is…he is who he said he was. Jesus is the one and only Son of God, sent to offer salvation and redemption for his children and all creation. It is offered to each one of us.

This is a time for rejoicing, singing songs of praise, giving thanks, remembering God’s faithfulness, testifying to who God is above all things. His love has overflowed into our lives time and time again.

In the midst of this celebration we still find ourselves where the disciples were ine the moments and days after seeing the resurrected Jesus. They were wondering what’s the plan now? As students in middle and high school we are asking that question now as well. What’s next for this pandemic?

What the disciples learned in those moments was not what was coming next. They learned what they would carry into what’s next. That’s where we come into the story today.

We carry the truth, love, and power of Easter with us into this pandemic. Sure, we’ve been doing this already, but we step into now with new power and truth of the gospel as we walk out of Easter and into this season.

Most of the people in the town of Jerusalem two thousand years ago went back to their normal rhythm of life after Easter morning . . . but not the disciples. They were sent out with the truth of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let us as middle and high school students go out now, not knowing the details of what’s next but fully knowing what we carry. We are carrying the truth of the gospel of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the overwhelming love of The Father. We carry hope. We carry faith.

As we continue to socially distance because of love for each other, may we carry each one of those things into each one of our texts with friends, Zoom calls for school, FaceTime with family, and even as a reminder to ourselves.

Grace has rewritten our stories, and it's time to share our story with all those around us!

He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed.