We have just celebrated Palm Sunday. It is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, and the Kingship of Christ before he was crucified. Easter Sunday is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The wonder of the resurrection may increase your curiosity or doubt about life and death. Neither of which can be fully explained or understood.

Christians know from the gospel that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day following his crucifixion. St. Paul said to the Corinthians, Resurrection was like a seed you sow, it never comes up until it first dies.

This may be interpreted as man has to undergo a change. We must pull off mortality and put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:20 says: But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Some may interpret this as meaning that he is an example of what the resurrection is like.

1 John 3:2 says: Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Evidence at the grave proves that Christ did rise. Pilates seal was broken, the stone was rolled away, and the grave was found empty.

The resurrection of Christ marks the triumph of good over evil, sin and death. The wonder of the resurrection is that it proves that those who trust in God and accept Christ will be raised from the dead, that religion and worship will not be in vain.

According to St. Paul:

Acts 17:24: The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.

Acts 17:25: And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.

Acts 17:26: From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

Acts 17:27: God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

Acts 17:28: For in him we live and move and have our being.

Acts 17:29: Therefore since we are Gods offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-an image made by mans design and skill.

Easter Sunday is the greatest of all days for it gives the world the gospel message of good news. It establishes the kingdom of heaven on earth and paves the way for the great commission set forth as follows:

Matthew 28:19-20: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Rev. Clarence Thrower is pastor to the Forsyth Parish United Methodist Church and serves three congregations: Kynette UMC, 266 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Forsyth; Hopewell UMC, 483 Hopewell Road, Forsyth; Rocky Mount UMC, 1387 Highway 41 South, Barnesville.The Pastors Corner is sponsored by the Monroe County Ministerial Association, which meets on the second Thursday of each month at 8:30 a.m. at Christ United Methodist Church, 417 N. Frontage Road, Forsyth.

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PASTOR'S CORNER: Celebrate the Wonder of The Resurrection on Easter - Monroe County Reporter