To all members and friends of Ebenezer Wesleyan Methodist Church in Brooklyn, New York, let me send out Easter Greetings to you. Let me hope that your are holding on to the word of God which reminds us that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
This is the central theme of the most important teaching of the Christian faith. We commemorated Palm Sunday when Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. That act contributed significantly to Jesus becoming more of a marked man whose life was targeted by the powers to be taken from him. He knew exactly what he was doing, he knew that from now on he would be hated, despised, treated wrongfully, including undergoing and enduring an illegal trial based on trumped-up charges. However he knew there was no turning back. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, had his Last Supper with his disciples on the same night he was betrayed by one of his own, sentenced to death by crucifixion, ordered to carry his own cross, beaten severely beyond recognition. Yet he went all the way to the hill where he would speak seven last words from the cross; seven words of love and compassion.All that he did or said was in line with the scriptures. It was always his chief desire to fulfill the Word and to be obedient to the Father. Through it all, he courageously gave up his life as a ransom for all humanity. He knew that if this temple (his body) was destroyed it would be raised up three days down the road. So he bore the pain, endured the persecution because the Resurrection was about to take place and salvation would soon be available to all. He died for you and for me.
That wasn’t the end of the story though: He arose triumphantly from the dead. Now because of this, when we die we who believe will rise from the dead also. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Christ the Lord is risen, never to die anymore. He will return soon as King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
In the midst of what you are going through you can still have hope that because of the Resurrection, better days are ahead. A blessed Easter to you all.
—Rev Edward L Jenkins Sr—