Monday…
Today is Easter Monday. Which means tomorrow is Tuesday…and in case you stop reading this at this point, make sure you know, there is NO TUESDAY NOON PRAYER THIS WEEK but Bible Study is back on Wednesday.
But again…today is Monday.
Some of us woke up with chocolate bunnies and Peeps still flowing through our bloodstream…others woke up somewhere between inspiration and a full emotional-and-sugar hangover.
And maybe a few of us woke up wondering:
Okay…Easter was amazing…Now what?
You have to imagine the first followers of Jesus waking up the morning after that first Resurrection Sunday asking the same question. The tomb was empty. Jesus was alive. Everything had changed.
But Monday still came.
And today is Monday.
My hope is that today feels a little like New Year’s Day, a quiet new beginning.
When the Hebrew people experienced the Exodus, the deliverance from slavery and death following the Passover, it was the beginning of a new season. They started recognizing it as a new beginning.
When Jesus delivered us from being slaves to sin and death, it is a new beginning as well.
I remember the morning after I got married.
And the morning after our first child was born.
Nothing looked dramatically different…and yet everything was different.
I could have lived like nothing had changed.
Or I could live like everything had changed.
One path leans into the new life.
The other slowly forgets it ever happened.
Easter is the announcement that everything has changed. New life is here.
The early church became known as people of the resurrection. They gathered weekly, celebrated on Sundays, shared meals, told stories of Jesus, prayed together, and lived with a stubborn hope that death did not get the final word.
And it changed them.
It changed their communities.
It changed the world.
So let me ask you:
Was yesterday just another day? Is today just another Monday?
I hope not.
If you were with us, Easter was incredible.
At sunrise on the beach, we gathered with thousands of our closest friends…and yes, dolphins made a guest appearance again. We started in darkness and fog, and as the sun rose it pierced straight through the clouds, a reminder that darkness never has the final word.
Back at The Chapel, thousands more gathered for worship (sadly, no dolphins…we’ll look into that for next year). Storms threatened all morning, yet the rain held off. It felt like a gentle reminder: we don’t have to live afraid of what might come; we get to be fully present to what God is doing right now.
We don’t have final numbers yet, but thousands upon thousands celebrated the resurrection with us. It was awesome.
And today?
Today we go back to work.
Back to school.
Back to normal rhythms.
But I pray something in us is different.
Because resurrection means:
- death doesn’t win
- hope can rise from rubble
- impossible, laughable things are exactly in God’s wheelhouse.
So ask yourself:
What wall needs to come down?
What hope needs to rise again?
What ridiculously preposterous miracle are you still praying for?
The Church exists because the impossible became possible.
If you followed the Lent Guide and are wondering what next, we’ve created an After Encounter Reading Plan to keep walking in the resurrection story.
This Week’s Readings
- Monday — Acts 1:1–11
- Tuesday — Acts 2:1–13
- Wednesday — Acts 2:14–21
- Thursday — Psalm 139:1–12
- Friday — John 14:15–23
- Saturday — Psalm 16
Click here for access the full plan.
A Few Quick Chapel Notes
NO TUESDAY NOON PRAYER THIS WEEK
There will be NO Tuesday Noon Prayer tomorrow due to a few scheduling complications. I know many of you plan your week around it, so thank you for your flexibility.
Noon Prayer returns Tuesday, April 14th.
Bible Study Returns — Wednesday, April 8th.
- Men — 8:00 a.m. at The Chapel.
- Women — 9:30 a.m. at The Chapel.
Seaside roads are closed this week, so getting in should be fine, but getting out may be limited. I believe the road closures start at 10 a.m. If you can walk or bike, this is your week to do that.
Use the parking passes linked. They allow you to park free in paid spaces on Wednesdays and Sundays until noon. Just print and place them on your dash.
Worship This Sunday — April 12th
8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m.
We’re continuing exploring what happens after encountering Jesus. If you haven’t been in a while, or ever, this is a great Sunday to come back and see what resurrection life looks like in ordinary weeks.
Coming Up at The Chapel
- Night of Worship & Potluck — April 26 | 5–7:30 p.m.
- National Day of Prayer — May 7 | 9 a.m.–2 p.m.
- Beach Baptisms & Bonfire — May 17 | 5–7:30 p.m. To get registered, click here.
Easter isn’t just a day we celebrate.
It’s a life we step into.
So today, live like resurrection is real.
Because it is.
I hope to see you at Bible Study this week, Worship on Sunday, or Prayer next Tuesday.
Let me know if you need anything in this journey of life and faith following after our resurrected King.
Blessings,
Andrew