Easter at HPUMC Shares Message of Hope

When Jesus resurrected, so did hope. Across HPUMC’s Holy Week and Easter Sunday worship services, more than 17,000 people gathered in person and online to honor the miracle and hope of the empty tomb together. But the very first people to honor that empty tomb were the first people who saw it—the two Marys in the biblical story.

In Arden Forest, Rev. Matt Tuggle, Executive Minister to Contemporary Worship & Program Ministry, told this story at the Easter Sunday Sunrise Service and 9:30 am Cornerstone Outdoors service—the story of how God turned the women’s initial fear into joy. Rev. Tuggle invited congregants to find applications for the story in their own lives.

“If you have any anxiety in your life—if you’re worried about something, if there’s something that keeps you up at night—you can connect with this story,” Rev. Tuggle said. “These women had anxiety. They didn’t know what was going to happen.”

After the angel told them that Christ had risen, the Marys were still afraid, but also joyful. After following the angel’s instruction and encountering Jesus, their joy was increased. It all happened ”one step at a time,” Rev. Tuggle explained. He said this is a process he has also seen with congregants who have experienced tragedy.

“Person after person I have seen take one faithful step at a time, and that even in the valley of the shadow of death, I have seen God be faithful to them, and lower the fear, and in time, increase the joy,” Rev. Tuggle said.

He then asked those watching, believing or wanting to believe that the resurrection is true, to take their next faithful step accordingly—whether that means making it to church on Sundays, having a conversation you’re scared to have, or building up your prayer life.

Kids and adults alike were also invited to take a piece of clay, provided in Arden Forest, and mold it into something that would inspire them to be transformed. Rev. Matt Tuggle suggested making it into something representing fear, then changing that into something representing joy, believing that God—our potter—can similarly transform our fear into joy.

In the Sanctuary, Rev. Paul Rasmussen, Senior Minister, spoke about how hope is the most powerful word in our vocabulary—“a little word with extraordinary power.” And this power especially applies to followers of Jesus.

“For people that follow Christ, hope is not merely psychological,” Rev. Rasmussen said. “For those who follow Christ, it becomes spiritual—hope becomes holy. And Easter is the nerve center of hope—the resurrection of Jesus is where hope is made real.”

Rev. Rasmussen explained that, because of the resurrection, the disciples were “converted from cowardice to courage” even under persecution. They were strengthened in spirit despite their circumstances.

“The power of the Christ spirit involving itself in the human condition—that is the resurrection,” Rev. Rasmussen said. “And Jesus tells us it’s with us not just now, but until the end of the world. It wasn’t just for the disciples.”

Easter at HPUMC 2024 was a beautiful celebration of the hope God has given us through the empty tomb. HPUMC’s ministers encouraged congregants that thanks to the resurrection, our hardships will not be permanent, and while enduring them, we can hold on to hope.

“Jesus’ death was not the end. It was rather the hinge on which the door of God’s grace and strength swings,” Rev. Paul Rasmussen said. “Easter is a hope that God will not stop until everything in the world is set right.”