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There can be no Resurrection Day without Good Friday, no resurrection for Jesus without his death. While is this a point about how services should be run, it is a more important point for encouraging the hurting. Jesus knows your pain. Jesus suffered. Jesus died. Jesus cares. But Jesus also triumphs and invites you into the triumph — through faith.

Many faith teachers, precisely because they seem to live in triumph all the time, may not get the message over to some. One teacher, rather new on the scene said “I’ve been healed of 4 incurable things and there are a few other things I am working on.” Bravo! That is exactly right. We have victory in some areas and we walk toward victory in other areas. I hope we find others who are strong to walk with. Each has a strength and each a weakness and when we walk together, each can be held up by others when necessary.

Today I speak right at the bullseye of this ministry, to moms of hurting children. I tell you about some victory I received. I tell you about the Christian story, the Easter story. It is a story about suffering, death and resurrection and newness of life. It is more than a good myth to live by; it is the TRUTH of all the ages, the outbursting of the life of creation in a fallen world, and our great end.

I hope you go to Good Friday services. I hope in that you see not an incomprehensible pageant, but a holy God reaching out to you and to us in this broken world. Then I hope you find hope, faith, strength and victory in the Resurrection that we will celebrate Sunday.

God bless you and yours.