“He is not here, He is risen!”

When the women who loved Jesus came to His tomb early Sunday morning to mourn, an earthquake shook the garden as an angel rolled the stone away. All the soldiers guarding the tomb fainted as dead men. The angel quickly told the women to not be afraid. Jesus wasn’t there! He is alive!!

In Matthew 28:1-10, the angel invited them to come and see, and then to go and tell the others.

This is news that had to be shared!! They ran away with fear and GREAT joy! Their Lord had conquered death!

And as they ran like they had never run before, they ran straight into the arms of Jesus.

“Good morning,” He greeted them.

I’m not sure they had the words to respond. So, instead, they clung to His feet and worshiped Him.

Today we began our celebration early for Resurrection Sunday tomorrow. How could we contain the fact that Jesus is not in the grave! He is alive, and He gives us new life!

We made Resurrection Rolls to give us a visual example of the empty tomb. The kids dipped the body of Jesus (a marshmallow) in oil (butter) and spices (cinnamon and sugar) to prepare Him for burial. Then they wrapped Him in burial cloths (a crescent roll) and placed Him in the tomb (the oven). Every few minutes as the Resurrection Rolls baked, Jackson and Lauren would run over to the oven to see if Jesus was still there, if the rolls were still puffy. (Find the recipe here.)

Finally, after they were slightly cooled, we broke open the rolls, and Jesus wasn’t there!!! He was gone!

We enjoyed eating up the rolls as we finished our 2 Weeks 2 the Cross journey. What an amazing experience we have had the last 14 days, preparing our hearts for Easter! (Read the entire series here.)

HE IS RISEN!!!