Last Sunday evening, my message was "Five ways to get to know Jesus Better" and I told you I would blog the five points. I have misplaced my notes, but Marsha took notes on a kleenex, so at least I don't have to wait to find my notes. Paul talks about his desire to know Christ in Philippians 3:7-10. You can get to know Jesus:

1. By reading what the Scripture says about Him. When you read what He said (written in Red), try meditating on it for a few days.
2. Through your own experiences with Him. We should keep a record of what He does in us and for us each day, for our own reference and for posterity.
3. Through the experience of others with Him.
   
4. Through what the Holy Spirit reveals to you about Him. Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would help us remember what Jesus said.
5. Through books and articles people you will never meet have written about Him. Some lived hundreds of years ago, some never spoke the language you speak, but their experience with Jesus is a matter of history because they took the time to write it down.
   

Growing in your knowledge of Jesus is essential for you to have a growing faith. Of course, we could wait till we get to heaven to know Him more, but He would like for us to know Him now for our sake and for the sake of those with which we can share Him.

Thanks to everyone who made Easter weekend fantastic. Thousands of people enjoyed being a part of our Easter Egg Hunt at Wantland Stadium. Hundreds of hours of volunteerism made it an experience far more than hunting eggs, but in fact an opportunity for our church to connect with our community and share our love, and more importantly, Christ's love for them. Sunday was a grand celebration of the Position of Authority and Power and Glory in which Jesus Christ has been placed eternally. I want everyone who experiences who we are and what we do at COTH to know who Jesus is and to feel compelled to honor and trust Him. He is the 'difference maker' for each of us as we experience His power and His will in our lives.
This Sunday, Chad, our youth pastor, is our Sunday morning speaker. Let's keep the excitement of Easter alive and come expecting God to speak to us and to lead us to a deeper understanding of His will and purpose for us.

Easter is like Christmas except rather than celebrating Jesus' coming as a baby, we are celebrating that He conquered death and resurrected after being in the tomb three days. Both were extraordinary miracles. When you talk about Jesus, you will always find yourself talking about miracles. When you welcome Him into your life, you will find yourself experiencing miracles. I would encourage you to believe in Jesus and trust Him with everything in your life, and don't be surprised when you see that where Jesus is, nothing is impossible.
Hope to see you Sunday for a Grand Celebration of Jesus' Victory over our sin and the grave.