But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” – Mark 16:4-7

Friends, I pray this message finds each of you well.

I feel like this Lenten season came and went so quickly. As I type this, Easter Sunday was just over a week ago and – full confession – I am not sure I have fully recovered from another Easter weekend at The Woodlands Methodist Church that I will never forget.

We had close to 13,000 people attend one of our many Easter Sunday services either on our main TWMC campus or at our other campus locations in Woodforest or Montgomery.

What a joy to have been given the blessing of sharing with so many in our community that there is still good news to be found in this world.

So often we open the paper or turn on the morning news and good news is not what makes the headlines. Yet, Easter is a reminder for all of us that in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, three things followed Him out of that empty tomb on that first Easter morning:

1. Forgiveness for our past
2. Victory to be found in our today
3. Hope for our tomorrow

To know that “Christ is risen” is an important reminder. But that truth demands a response, so we respond with “He is risen, indeed!”

On Easter Sunday, we come and see the empty tomb, but here is my conviction today: We mustn’t leave the Easter story at the tomb. Just as the angels and Jesus urged Mary and the disciples to go and tell others what they had witnessed, so we are called to do the same.

So today, let’s rejoice over another amazing Easter weekend spent at TWMC, but let’s not wait to experience the joy of Resurrection Sunday and this good news until next year. Friends, let’s live as Resurrection people sharing the Good News of Jesus and the cross to all we encounter.

That is news worth sharing!