Eltham Park Baptist Church

Dear Friends,

Spring is well and truly upon us - temperatures are rising, the grass is growing again and colour is returning to the world of Eltham. Winter jumpers are being relegated to the wardrobe in favour of summer t-shirts. Shorts have even been seen on a Sunday morning! Memories of Easter are fading fast.

But should they be allowed to? Should we be content to allow the joy of that first Easter morning to slip through our fingers onto the pages of history once again? Should we not fight to keep hold of the wonder of Jesus’ resurrection; the joy of the empty tomb dispelling the hopelessness of the cross? Sadly, it’s all too easy to allow the stresses and strains, busyness and boredom of everyday life to overshadow the life-changing events of Easter.

But we must not let this happen! Everything changed on Easter Sunday! Death was defeated on the cross and the empty tomb brought life and hope to all who believe in Jesus. Easter proves that Jesus’ offer of forgiveness for the past, help in the present and hope for the future is available to all who believe that he rose from the dead.

This summer promises to be a great one for Eltham Park, with proposals for cafechurch in Costa, a community Fun Day with free BBQ, God’s Galaxy outing and lots more. We have so much to look forward to, so much that should bring us joy. Better weather is indeed a good excuse to celebrate, but the resurrection of Jesus is a better reason! God loves us and God forgives us and God is with us always! Let all of God’s people in Eltham Park draw closer to Him, allow his Spirit within us to challenge and change us, before we fling wide the doors of the church and shout out loud the most amazing and most important news of all time – Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Halleluiah!

Rev. Paul, May 2010