Richard's Reflections (May 2025)

As I write this, we are still very much in the Easter Season. We have just remembered Jesus’ death on Good Friday, and then his resurrection on Easter Sunday. And I would like to take up that theme of resurrection for this piece.

As we said last time, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ means so much to us. We remember that as he died, Jesus took upon himself all of the wrong things we have done, we can now know forgiveness of sins and a right relationship with God

But, as we also pointed out last time, Jesus’ death is not the end of the story. He was raised to life once again. And that is equally important for us. In fact, Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

1 Corinthians 15 v 3 – 4

Of first importance here are the death AND resurrection of Jesus. But why is his resurrection so important?

Firstly, because it confirms what Jesus has done on the cross in his death. If he had not been raised from the dead, then we would have no forgiveness of sins. Later in that chapter Paul writes:

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins

1 Corinthians 15 v 1

Secondly, because it guarantees us life for evermore. As Jesus has been raised from the dead, we can know life, yes in all its fulness here on earth, but we know that one day we will be raised with him too. In another letter Paul writes these words:

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3 v 4

Now all of this is not just to fill our heads with facts. Because Jesus has been raised from the dead, we are to live our lives as his followers in the light of that. We can show other people by our words and actions that we are living the life of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. And what that looks like, we need to work out. We can do that together as a church, which is what our upcoming Vision Day is about.

We could put it like this:

How can we, as Llanwenarth Baptist Church, together show others that Jesus is alive?

We do that in the way that we carry out the activities of the church. And we can do that as we think of new ways that we may serve the Lord here in Govilon.

Please be thinking and praying for the Vision Day, which to remind you is Saturday 10th May from 10.30 am. Please come ready to give your input on that day. If you are not able to be there, then please let me or one of the deacons know any suggestions that you have. And ask God that any thoughts and ideas that you have may show that we are living the life of the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

As we sang on Easter Sunday:

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Robert Lowry

Love in Jesus, Richard