Risner shares message of redemption at Easter service
Praise and worship team members from around the area came together to help celebrate Easter through music and word during the community celebration on Good Friday.
If there is power in numbers, then there was a power overload at the recent praise and worship service that took place in Berlin in preparation of celebrating Easter Sunday.
During the Good Friday community Easter service that took place at the Perry Reese Jr. Community Center at Hiland High School on Friday, March 29, the message of the evening was a simple one: All believers serve the same God, and the night was about putting aside all of the minor differences in church beliefs to worship as one.
“We are here to worship one God, one redeemer, and we do so together as one,” said Larry Kaufman, pastor at Grace Church, addressing close to 1,200 people who came to the event to worship.
Mennonite Christian Assembly Pastor John Risner served as the keynote speaker, and he used the wrongful conviction of Marvin Haynes as a comparison of receiving life anew.
At just 16 years of age, Haynes, a Minnesota native, was wrongfully convicted of a murder in 2004 and given a term of life in prison, his conviction based on one sole witness’ incorrect identification.
In December of last year, Haynes was fully pardoned, having served nearly two decades behind bars having never committed the crime.
“Marvin’s sentence was overturned, and he was set free,” Risner said. “He is now celebrating a new life, a newfound freedom. Can you imagine that? After all that time, 19 years of life, you would be freed.
“That is the freedom we declare in the blood of Jesus Christ. His blood and sacrifice mean we have been set free. Here’s the thing: Unlike Marvin we’re guilty of sin, but we are set free to walk in loving communion with our creator. We are free to proclaim that good news to the ends of the Earth.”
Risner encouraged those in attendance by noting he didn’t believe it was by coincidence each person in the Reese Center was there.
Risner said while this good news of redemption is always readily available for people to share, and it is easy to share it on special days like Good Friday and Easter, people don’t always take opportunities to do so throughout the year.
He said in Acts 1:8, Jesus talked about receiving power to proclaim God’s word through the power of the Holy Spirit.
He then talked about the excitement and joy he and his son experienced when they went to a recent visit to the doctor and the doctor’s first words were “I’ve got great news.”
Risner said hearing those words was invigorating.
“I was struck by his eagerness and gladness to share that good news with us,” Risner said. “He had good news, and so do we. Jesus is risen. He is alive and lives forever more.”
He said nothing should prevent us from sharing that good news with everyone because nothing compares to the elation that accompanies the act of bringing good news to others.
He said when people share that hope, they open up their hearts to live righteously, noting those who live in righteousness are pleasing to God and receive human approval, meaning it leads people to live lives worthy of both God’s grace and serving others.
“That love means we stand up for those who are being mistreated. We help the one who is hurting. We give aid to the one in need,” Risner said. “But we don’t do it for the accolades; we proclaim this good news to the poor and oppressed through our words and our deeds.”
Prior to and following Risner’s message, the evening was filled with praise and worship music from a variety of area church music leaders who drew each heart together to focus on Christ’s sacrifice and gift on the cross.
“That very singular act of Jesus dying on the cross and rising again gave us redemption, and he is still redeeming us today into new life. If you’re alive and breathing, God has a plan for you,” Risner said.
With more than 20 area churches represented throughout the community, the evening served as a celebration and focused on area pastors. Every pastor and his wife were invited to come to the stage in the closing moments to receive a prayer of confirmation and a blessing of hope.
“Thank you for caring about all of us,” Kaufman said. “Know that we are standing together in solidarity that we are one church and not a spirit of competition. We are together for the Kingdom of God and for the Gospel. Let’s keep rallying together and not let the enemy divide us. We are stronger together.”
The final prayer request was God would continue his move of unity that is spreading throughout the area, one that has united pastors and congregations to focus on the meaning of this Good Friday worship service.