Easter at Tammany Oaks.  What an amazing day, what an amazing time of joy and remembrance and celebration of the most Holy Day and event in all of Christendom and in all of human history – The Resurrection of Jesus!  What a special time of community around The Table!  What a beautiful glimpse into the heart of Jesus!  I am so thankful that we are blessed by the presence of David Gilbert, who uses his gifts and his love for this Faith Family to prepare moments of worship and praise each Easter and Christmas that open our eyes to the marvelous truth of Immanuel – “God With Us”.   I am so thankful and grateful for the presence of Becky Gilbert who lovingly prepared the Bread of The Table, and who lovingly prepared The Tables themselves where we could serve one another and rejoice together as we remembered the gift of The Empty Tomb.  I am grateful for each of you who took the “40 Days-40 Items” Lent Challenge and brought your donations to the church.  These items will be gratefully accepted by The Samaritan Center, and will be used to help people in need.  I am so thankful and grateful for the presence of each one here Sunday – we were all blessed to be with each other and in the presence of The Spirit. 

This past weekend, I saw on TV a few minutes of several great “Bible History” movies: “The 10 Commandments”, “Ben-Hur”, “Barabbas”, “King of Kings”; and then, on Easter night, I watched all of the incredible live production of “Jesus Christ, Superstar”.  You can argue that there are mistakes in each of these productions, and perhaps even major doctrinal issues in them.  And, I do not recommend them as primary sources for learning about God.  That being said, I am amazed at how the writers of such productions almost always manage to bring out details in their story-telling that add depth and nuance and texture to the picture in my mind of The Plan of God.  For example, I noticed for the first time this weekend that the young lady who loved Judah Ben-Hur was named “Esther”, which I and all of my Wednesday night class know was NOT originally a Jewish name.  I was tempted to say, “Aha!  A mistake!”  But, “Esther” BECAME a Jewish name after the events recorded in the Book of Esther in honor of the hero of that story.     

The Plan of God is a grand Story.  It is a Story that did not end with Easter.  God’s Story is continuing to unfold even now.  Each of us, as His Children, have a role to play.  Maybe one of us is going to be a hero like Esther!  I am thankful and grateful to be a part of God’s Story with each of you here at Tammany Oaks.  Let’s help each other find our parts, and help each other live out our roles.  God’s Story needs all of us to be complete!      

Ambrose Ramsey | Pastor and Shepherd | Throwback to April 2018