Local pastors reflect on the meaning of resurrection
Pastor Bill Nash
Glad Tidings Pentecostal Church of Mangham
Three hard-pressing days had passed since Jesus Christ had been crucified and buried. The news filled the streets of Jerusalem! It seemed as if everyone should accept the news. However, things would soon change.
Matthew Chapter 28, verse 6, declared what the Roman Government had feared, “He is not here!”
What could have happened to this Man from Nazareth?
The fact is, something did happen! Jesus had been resurrected to life again!
The angel answered the two women very plainly: “He is not here, He is risen!”
Yes, Jesus was no longer in a borrowed tomb, His spot not filled by another.
The beauty of it lies in the secure secret that Jesus understood in His 12th year.
On the morning of His resurrection, the women met the angel, which announced, “He is not here.... come see the place where the Lord lay.” Jesus was no longer in the tomb!
The angel even stated, “I know that ye seek Jesus.” As a Pastor today, I also declare, I know who you are looking for, and it’s Jesus Christ!
He is the Risen Savior, full of love, life, and hope for all. Drugs and wild living can’t satisfy, but the Spirit of Christ in us is our personal hope of Glory!
I have stood at various gravesites of famous and notable individuals, standing near the graves of Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Elvis Presley, and several others...but the King of Kings’ grave is empty. He is risen to life eternal and full of Holy Ghost power to set all men free.
I know what you need to make life full and free! You need Jesus in your soul to fill the longing!
You cannot find it in drugs, violent living...but only in the Power of the Holy Ghost!
Take a survey, digging through all the books, and your discovery is the same. His name is Jesus!
He owns the entire world. He is smart enough to allow mankind the evidence of the full scale, but yes, it’s Jesus you need.
I will preach on Him this next week. I will declare it from the housetop, Jesus is alive.
Happy Easter and walk in Jesus!
Bishop Jimmy Pelley
Lead Pastor of Rayville Church of God
I guess if I had to pick a favorite Easter scripture, it would probably be this from 1 Peter 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Throughout the scriptures, we see and read of the mercy of an almighty God who, as a father, loved us enough to want us, His creation, to live with him forever.
We read and know how Jesus was there in the beginning and how everything was made by him and through him (Col. 1:15-17). That he was the firstborn in the image of God. One place in the gospel of John, he said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” So, as we see him and learn of him, we realize we have the image of God upon us through our relationship with him. I like what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4. He tells us we have this glory in jars of clay (earthen vessels) that the power we experience because of the resurrection belongs to God and not to us. Jars of clay are subject to brokenness; this risen Savior is a specialist at fixing our brokenness.
His birth:
In Galatians, we see and learn that in the fullness of time God sent him to the earth to be born as a man, to be born of a virgin with the mission of redemption and reconciliation. For this period of time, he is likened to us as flesh. So, we learn in Hebrews 2:9-17 that for a season of time he was made lower than the angels so he could taste death for everyone, that he might destroy him who had the power of death, who is the devil. Through this, the devil can no longer hold us in bondage to the fear of death.
Our birth
We are born again to a living hope. Yes, Jesus told a Pharisee named Nicodemus in John 3, “You must be born again.” Unless a man be born of the water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I have said unto you, ye must be born again.
Have you ever been born again? Born of his spirit and washed in his blood. This grace creates and maintains a new life within us. With the promise of the Father, the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are sealed unto redemption. He is our teacher, our comforter, our access to Jesus, who is our high priest in Heaven. We are born again to a living hope. This hope is not, in this case, referring to something that is just wished for. It is the assurance of things that we by faith have believed in and by the presence of the Holy Spirit and the written word of God are assured of.
Our faith
Our faith is in a risen Savior. The grave couldn’t hold him. The same power that brought Jesus from the grave will one day bring us out of our grave if we believe. He died for us so that we can live for him. There are plenty of other scriptures that back up the life of Jesus, his power over the grave, his preeminence in the universe and his love for each one of us as God’s creation. There are so many aspects of Easter I could never write enough about it all. I will just conclude this writing with this: When John was exiled on the Isle of Patmos, he saw Jesus and wrote these words as Jesus spoke to him. Rev. 1:17-18: “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead and he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth and was dead; and behold I am alive forevermore, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and death.”
He is alive forevermore. He has completed his work (finished at the cross) and proven it at the empty tomb. Because he lives, I face this life with a living hope. God bless and Happy Easter.
Pastor Gage Conleay
The Table Church
Easter is more than a holiday. It is the single moment in history that changed everything for humanity.
The message of Easter is not simply that Jesus died on a cross. Many people died on crosses during the Roman era. What makes Jesus different is that on the third day, the tomb was empty.
The Gospel of Matthew records the angel saying these powerful words: “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:6).
Those few words carry the weight of our entire hope.
The resurrection of Jesus proves that sin does not get the final word. Failure does not get the final word. Death itself does not get the final word. Because Jesus rose from the grave, there is hope for every person who feels lost, broken or far from God.
The cross shows us the depth of God’s love. Jesus willingly took our sin, our shame and our punishment upon Himself. But the resurrection shows us the power of God. It declares that what looked like defeat on Friday became victory on Sunday.
Easter reminds us that God specializes in turning what seems hopeless into something full of life.
Many people carry burdens— regret from the past, fear about the future, or questions about whether God could truly forgive them. The resurrection answers those questions with a resounding yes. Because Jesus lives, forgiveness is real. Because Jesus lives, new life is possible.
The empty tomb is not just a historical event; it is a personal invitation.
It invites us to step out of the darkness of sin and into the light of grace. It invites us to leave behind the grave clothes of our old life and walk in the new life that Christ offers. As Scripture says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
This Easter, my prayer for our community is that we would not only celebrate the resurrection, but personally experience its power.
Because the tomb is empty, hope is alive.
And that hope is available to anyone who will come to Jesus.
Even yet, while we were still sinners, not realizing how much we desperately needed Him and how much we desperately need Him today, Christ died for you and me.
I love you, Jesus loves you, and my hope is that Easter 2026 is one you will never forget. I pray it’s life-changing. Happy Easter from all of us within the body of Christ at The Table.
Clay Russell, Pastor
Thrive Church
The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the gospel. All Christians believe in these events: Jesus died on a cross in a graphic and public way, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Jesus’ dead body was taken and prepared in accordance with Jewish burial customs and placed in a tomb in the garden.
On the third day, the stone that covered the tomb’s entrance was rolled away, Jesus was resurrected, and he appeared to over 500 people over the next 40 days.
Those are the facts about the resurrection. Here are three reasons that this is extremely life-changing: 1. Because Jesus has risen, your failures are not final.
Guilt is a big issue, but the Bible says that Jesus shed his blood for the forgiveness of sins. The wages of sin is death, and death had to be paid, but Jesus Christ came to this earth, lived the perfect life, went to the cross and paid the penalty for your sins and for mine so that we would be forgiven. Therefore, through faith in Christ, our guilt is removed and our shame is covered. We are freed from guilt and shame.
2. Because Jesus has risen, my life is not futile or pointless.
The Bible says the same power that raised Jesus from the grave is available to each believer. If you let the Holy Spirit guide your life, he will provide meaning and purpose, not because you are good, but because He is good.
3. Because Jesus has risen, my death is not final.
I did a study on death in North Louisiana, and one out of every one people dies. But as a Christian, your death is not final. The Bible says that Jesus Christ overcame death, and there’s coming a day where He is going to come back. There will be a shout and a trumpet, and the dead in Christ shall rise.
I am so glad that Jesus paid it all so I can walk in confidence of His finished work. That’s a battle I don’t have to fight. Jesus, we thank you for the cross, but we also thank you for the resurrection. I pray that everyone who hears God’s Word through this message will let the power of the resurrection change them today.
Caleb Cunningham, Pastor
Cedar Baptist Church
Everything in Christianity stands or falls on one question: Did Jesus Christ really rise from the dead?
If the answer is no, Easter is nothing more than a tradition. But if the answer is yes, then it changes everything, for every person who has ever lived.
Nearly two thousand years ago, a group of grieving women walked toward a tomb just outside Jerusalem. Their teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, had been crucified and buried. They expected silence, stone and death.
Instead, they heard the words that changed the world: “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said” (Matthew 28:6).
That empty tomb is the foundation of the Christian faith.
The resurrection proves that Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be, the Son of God and the promised Savior. Throughout His ministry, Jesus spoke about His coming death and resurrection. When the tomb was found empty, it confirmed that His words were true and His mission was accomplished.
But Easter is not only about what happened long ago, it speaks directly to us today.
The Bible tells us that every one of us has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. We have lived for ourselves instead of for the God who made us. The consequence of sin is death and judgment. If the story had ended with Jesus in the grave, we would still be without hope.
But the story did not end there.
Jesus died in the place of sinners, bearing the punishment we deserved. And three days later He rose from the dead, conquering sin, death and the grave. The resurrection is God’s declaration that Christ’s sacrifice was accepted and that forgiveness is now offered to all who will come to Him.
Because Jesus lives, forgiveness is real.
Because Jesus lives, death does not have the final word.
Because Jesus lives, there is hope that reaches beyond the grave.
But Easter is not merely something to admire, it is something to answer.
The risen Christ calls every person everywhere to repent and believe the gospel. That means turning from sin and trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
One day every person will stand before the risen Lord. The question is not whether Christ lives, the empty tomb has already answered that. The question is whether we will bow to Him now while mercy is still offered.
The good news of Easter is that the Savior who died and rose again still receives sinners today.
Turn to Him. Trust Him. And live.
