watershed: a community church

This Sunday we're gathering to celebrate Easter, and we'll break away from our usual schedule. We'll begin with the 2nd annual Easter egg hunt at 9:00am, followed by brunch. We'll then have a family celebration with kids and adults together at 10am-ish. We'll wrap that up by 11:15.

For the brunch we need:

• egg dishes
• cut up fruit trays or salads
• rolls, coffee cake, or muffins

Please let Lori know through email (lorilovell@charter.net) or phone (205.9618) if you could help prepare any of the food items.

We look forward to celebrating with you on Sunday!

Easter is coming, and we'll gather to celebrate together. For the past several weeks we've explored how the story of God in the scriptures is one of leading people from darkness to light, from slavery to freedom. We've discovered how Jesus continues to lead each of us in the same way.

Where is Jesus leading you? What is he calling you to leave behind - and where is he taking you in it's place?

If you will be joining us for our Easter Gathering, please bring something that represents what you are leaving behind - and plan to leave it behind. We'll have a place for you to place it privately and to celebrate leaving it behind. We'll also have a time to share about what we're leaving behind, for those who would like to share their story.

If you are unable to join us for our Easter Gathering, we still want to hear from you! Would you take a moment to leave a comment below or email jeff@iamwatershed.com and tell us a little about what you'd like to leave behind? You can keep it as simple as, "I'm leaving ___ for ___." Feel free to elaborate more, if you'd like.

Either way...I pray that you will trust where Jesus is leading you, and look forward to hearing your stories.

Last week we saw how Jesus is the new Moses ...he came to lead us out of the land of slavery and into a new kingdom where we are free to join God in his work in the world.

I believe that God is still leading people from the Egypt of sin and into a new life in his Kingdom. Christ calls us to follow him as he leads us out. Where is he leading you? What is he asking you to leave behind so that he can take you to freedom? Is it anger, control, debt, a bad habit, selfishness?

On Easter Sunday I invite you to bring something that represents where Christ is leading you from. We'll come together and celebrate the message of Easter - that the power of the resurrection breaks the bonds of sin and death and brings life. As you leave our gathering that day, you'll symbollically leave behind that place, and move out in new freedom.

The Bible tells us the story of God...a god who wants to be with people and invites them to join in his work. As followers of Christ, we are seeking to understand this story and find our place in it.

While the Old Testament (OT) of the Bible often gets a bad rap, I'm convinced that the God of the OT is the same God we can know today, and that the people we read about in the OT face the same kinds of struggles and joys that we face today. The story of God and people in the OT has much to teach us about the way we live with God today.

Throughout the OT, and even in much of the New Testament, the story of the Exodus is the central story that provides meaning and identity for God's people. While they were slaves in Egypt, God heard the cry of his people and sent Moses to lead the people to freedom (Exodus 3:7-10). God restores their identity as his chosen nation (Exodus 19:3-6) and gives them a kingdom through which they are to maintain justice and righteousness (1 Kings 10:9). However, the people turn their hearts to other gods, and are exiled to a foreign land.

From this backdrop, Jesus enters the scene. God has heard the cry of his exiled people once again and has sent a new Moses...the ultimate deliverer. He has come to lead us to a new kingdom and to find our identity and mission in him. In Christ, we are lead out from the slavery of sin (and loneliness, perfection, control, greed, anger)...and into the freedom of forgiveness and eternal life.

This is the message of Easter. In the resurrection Christ breaks the bonds of sin and death to lead us out to freedom.

As we journey toward our Easter celebration this year, I invite you to consider where Christ is leading you out from, and where he is leading you toward. We'll spend time during each of our gatherings between now and Easter reflecting on how Christ saves us by leading us out...