We arrive, through the narrow gate of Holy Week, at the day and

the season we celebrate with surprise and joy the resurrection of

Jesus, the Christ, our Lord and Saviour.  This is the highest holy day

of our Christian year without which there would be no other celebrations

and no hope.  The resurrection is given not only its own feast day but

a fifty day season, the longest in the calendar (and each Sunday throughout

the year is considered a mini celebration of Jesus' resurrection, which is why

the Sundays in Lent are not included in the forty day fast). 

Clearly the resurrection is the crux of our life of faith.  Getting clearer about

what Christian belief is regarding the resurrection is an important task for us

as it directly impacts how we live and the nurture of our children.  To this

end we recommend the following resources:

• Evil and the Justice of God  by N.T. Wright (IVP Books, 2006)

• Surprised by HOPE: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the
  

          Mission of the Church  by N.T. Wright (HarperOne, 2008)

• Rev. Dr. Edwin Searcy's Easter Vigil sermon which can be found at