“HE IS RISEN!”

Scott Powell, senior fellow at Discover Institute in Seattle, wrote these precious words on March 30, 2018: “Easter is the commemoration of the single event that transformed the world forever—the resurrection of Jesus after his death on the cross. That God would send his Son to die as a sacrifice for the sin of all who would believe in Him is an unbelievable gift—beyond most people’s comprehension. That a resurrection and a joyous eternal life await believers is beyond anything anyone could imagine. That is the promise and essence of Easter.”

The most important NEWS in everybody’s lifetime came over 2000 years ago. This was the NEWS that unfolded from an empty tomb just as the Jerusalem sun was coming up on the First Easter Morning.

"Withdraw from Christendom the Bible, the Church with its sacraments and ministry, and Christian morality and hopes, and aspirations for time and eternity; repeal all the laws that are founded in the Christian Scriptures; remove the Christian humanities in the form of hospitals and asylums, and reformatories and institutions of mercy utterly unknown to unchristian countries; destroy the literature, the culture, the institutions of learning, the art, the refinement, the place of woman in her home and in society, which owe their origin and power to Christianity; blot out all faith in Divine Providence, love, and righteousness; turn back every believer in Christ to his former state; remove all thought or hope of the forgiveness of sins by a just but gracious God; erase the name of Christ from every register it sanctifies—in a word annihilate all the legitimate and logical effects of Christianity in Christendom—just accomplish in fact what multitudes of gifted and learned minds are wishing and trying to accomplish by their science, philosophy, and criticism, and what multitudes of the common people desire and seek, and not only would all progress toward and unto perfection cease, but not one of the shining lights of infidelity would shine much longer. Yes, the bitterest enemies of this holy and blessed religion, owe their ability to be enemies to its sacred revelations - to the inspiration and sublimity of that faith which reflects its glories on their hostile natures. They live in the strength of that which they would destroy. They are raised to their seats of opportunity and power by the grace of Him they would crucify afresh; and is it to be thought that they are stronger than that which gives them strength? Can it be supposed that a religion which civilizes and subdues, and elevates and blesses will succumb to the enmities it may arouse and quicken in its onward march? Are we to tremble for the ark of God when God is its upholder, and protector, and preserver?” - Dr. Benjaming W. Arnett, St. Paul A.M.E. Church, Urbana, Ohio, Centennial Thanksgiving Sermon, November 1876

Dr. Arnett, an A.M.E. Minister and Ohio State Legislator, was invited to publish his remarkable sermon commemorating the Centennial of the Declaration of Independence--an Address which contained this powerful statement. The address can be read online at the Library of Congress, African-American Section.

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