Easter: Welcome Home!

Dear Crosswalkers,

Recently, a guy named Bob Goff wrote about his sailboat race from Los Angeles to Hawaii. As a young boy, Bob had a dream to sail from LA to Hawaii. As an adult, he fulfilled that dream. Bob and four of his friends entered the Transpac Race, which is a semi-annual sailboat race from Los Angeles to Hawaii. In spite of his rudimentary sailing skills, the men filled their thirty-five foot sailboat with supplies and set sail.  Bob writes:

There's a tradition in the Transpac Race no matter when you finish the race, even if it's two in the morning. When you pull into the Ala Moana Marina in Oahu, there's a guy who announces the name of the boat and every crew member who made the trip …. It's the same guy, and he's been announcing each boat's arrival at the end of every Transpac Race for decades.

Just when we came to the end of our supplies, we sailed across the finish line just off Diamond Head and into the marina. It was a few hours before dawn. It had been sixteen days since we set out from Los Angeles in our little boat knowing very little about navigation. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a booming voice over a loudspeaker announcing the name of our tiny boat …. Then he started announcing the names of our ragtag crew like he was introducing heads of state. One by one he announced all of our names with obvious pride in his voice, and it became a really emotional moment for each of us onboard.

When he came to my name, he didn't talk about how few navigation skills I had or the zigzag course I'd led us in to get there. He didn't tell everyone I didn't even know which way north was or about all my other mess-ups. Instead, he just welcomed me in from the adventure like a proud father would. When he was done, there was a pause and then in a sincere voice his last words to the entire crew were these: "Friends, it's been a long trip. Welcome home." Because of the way he said it, we all welled up and fought back tears. I wiped my eyes as I reflected in that moment about all the uncertainty that had come with the journey, all the sloppy sailing and how little I knew. But none of that mattered now because we had completed the race.

I've always thought that heaven might be kind of a similar experience …. After we each cross the finish line in our lives, I imagine it will be like floating into the Hawaiian marina when our names were announced, one by one. At the end of our lives, after our many mistakes and midcourse corrections, our loving Heavenly Father will simply say, "Friends, it's been a long trip. Welcome home."

AMEN! Easter makes possible a warm welcome into our heavenly Father's home after our convoluted journey through life. This is our faith, our hope and our joy. And it's what we want to share with others this Easter. Here again is our EASTER schedule:

THIS THURSDAY, April 5, HOLY THURSDAY COMMUNION SERVICE @ 7:00 p.m.This is the most devotional and worshipful service of the year! Please plan to join us as we celebrate our Lord's death on the cross for us. The devotional is called, "Behold the Man!"During our one hour service, child care will be provided for nursery and preschool aged kids.

April 6, GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE, 11:00 a.m. to Noon. Sunnyvale Christian School hosts this service for the students and their families, but of course everyone is welcome to attend!

April 7, COMMUNITY EASTER EGG HUNT @ Washington Park! Check in at 9:45 a.m., hunt begins at 10:15 a.m. In addition to the hunt, we will feature face painting, a raffle, a special craft where the gospel is shared, and a few carnival like games for kids. Please pray for this event and help us invite people to Easter Services!

April 8 EASTER SUNDAY! This will be a grand celebration of the Good News. The message is "What Easter Means Today." It will be a practical message that you can freely invite friends and family to attend. People are very open to visiting a church on Easter! Please invite them to Crosswalk!!

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie