At Easter, Mideast church leaders affirm Christian presence

Rector of St. George Parish Church, Reverend John Rogers, reminded his congregation as he delivered yesterday's special Easter Sunday message that at some point in their lives they will encounter empty tombs and will always face the temptation of finding an alternative to get around it. I love remembering all the times we did that as a family and seeing the younger generation discover the satisfaction in making an egg the "perfect" color with the "perfect" design and learning how to dye an egg with three colors all looking ideal.

In the message entitled: "A Second Chance", the Senator said: "The death of Jesus to pay a debt he did not owe, for the salvation of you and I who would never have been able to pay, is the ultimate story of a second chance at redemption".

"I come because the spirit of God moves me to come to honor Him and give thanks", she said.

"If Jesus is alive, it means that everything he said he was to do for you, he did them all", the clergyman noted.

It is not His birth nor His death - although significant - that makes Jesus Christ unique.

"I come every week, but Easter is special because of the resurrection", he said. We renewed two pledges made when we were baptized: to believe in, and therefore, to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul; and to reject Satan and sinfulness. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ-whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. As Christians all over the world recognize, believe and celebrate that He in fact did rise from the dead, we are all faced with a question that must be answered - did He in fact rise from the dead? But it is more than a doctrine-it is wonderful good news, news that should fill us with joy, hope, confidence, excitement and celebration! Their answer was that people had varied opinions of who he was.

"We also a big group from the Auckland Baptist tramping club who all came down".

"Jesus waits for you and me, embracing us in our moments of greatest need and desire", Cardinal DiNardo said.

The assertion that our entire faith rests on Easter is not original with me.

Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River has called on Christians and all Nigerians to use this year's Easter celebration to reflect on its significance in the life of the nation.