Although the day dawned with a damp cloudy breeze the fellowship at Hillside was warm and joyful Sunday. We began the day with a sunrise service and breakfast. A great crowd came out to celebrate Jesus' resurrection in a quiet service then share in the meal together. Our cooks did a superb job with the food and the Lord provided the perfect reason to be out early on Sunday. After Bible School we joined in worshipping and praising God for raising Jesus from the dead. We studied from Luke's account of the resurrection morning and identified some of the traits we all share when it comes to beholding the empty tomb of Christ. Often in His ministry Jesus foretold of His death and coming to life on the third day. His followers were still perplexed and fearful when it really happened. They forgot what Jesus had told them. They wouldn't believe the account of the women who went there first. Thankfully they had the courage to go see for themselves.

Our most basic faith hinges on the reality of Jesus' resurrection. We can believe that He will lead us into eternal life with Him largely because He has already passed from death to life himself. If any part of this basic tenet of faith is missing in our personal beliefs then what real hope do we have? We owe it to the Lord and our faith to re-visit the resurrection regularly and "see for ourselves" if we have grasped the reality of what God did through Christ. It is the core of all that is Christian.

We are excited about the future at our church. This Sunday we will begin having an early service at 8:00 am. This service will be very similar to our service at 10:30 and have the same worship. We believe that this addition will allow us to reach more people for the Lord and provide another opportunity for some to get connected to Christ. Our Bible School hours will remain unchanged as will the later worship service.

We will begin expanding our parking area in the very near future west of the current parking lot. Initially the new area will be gravel with paving to come later. In addition, the beginning work on our education wing will start soon. This new floor space will allow our youth group to continue to grow and give more room to the Bible School students who need the space now.

It is a joy to be able to "make room for more". We seek God's wisdom and guidance as we try to bring more people to know the love He has for them.