To help us really understand Easter, we need to read the entire chapter 15 from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians and his powerful words, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins! But Christ has indeed been raised!"

            If his words are false, then close your Bible, put away your Sunday best, forget about church and start looking for hope somewhere else.

            Think about it! There would be no New Testament, no congregation, choir, Handel's Messiah, great cathedrals, Christmas, and the list goes on. Christianity would not exist.

            But Christianity does exist and we have 2,000 years of historical proof and we can't wait for Easter Sunday to wear our very best, sit with our wonderful friends in a packed church, listen to words of our pastor and sing together what is considered the best Easter hymn, "Christ the Lord is Risen Today, Alleluia!"

            And how could I forget rushing to our cars after worship to get to the restaurant before the crowd to enjoy a wonderful lunch with our church friends?

            Allow me to share my personal Easter thoughts with you. Matthew 16:21 tells us that Jesus began to explain why He had to go to Jerusalem and why He would suffer and die. This can't be right! His disciples believed He was the Messiah to come and fulfill their hopes and dreams. He would defeat the Roman rule, sit on the throne as a king, make the perfect sacrifices as the Temple Chief Priest, restore the power of Judaism and bring everlasting peace. He sure wasn't going to be arrested and put to death. As Simon Peter said to Him, "This shall never happen to You!"

            Jesus knew why He was born and why He was to give His life for us. I also believe He treasured and recited one particular Psalm every day. That Psalm is one we all know and have used many, many, times in our lives. That is the 23rd Psalm. It is written in praise of God by a man who knew God cares for him. The writer asks for nothing. He is simply stating his faith. "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." The Bible speaks of sheep as affectionate, unaggressive, defenseless and in constant need of care and support. As a pastor who handled lots of weddings, I thought this easily described the groom. I digress.

            The Lord is my shepherd. Moses was a shepherd, David a shepherd and the kings of Israel were expected to be shepherds who would care for their people. Most importantly, the Messiah was expected to be the greatest shepherd of them all. I spoke of Handel's Messiah and he used the words of Isaiah, "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arms. He will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those who are with young."

            Most importantly, the shepherd was a protector. The "Valley of the shadow of death" might be best translated as "The valley of deep gloom, deep darkness or even valley of fear.

            This is very important. The Old Testament is very clear about this fact: The sheep may die, but not the shepherd. There is no precedent in the entire Old Testament that could conceive of the shepherd dying for his sheep! That was about to change. In our New Testament, John 10, we read, "I am the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep!" That is a miracle, a remarkable miracle! That is Easter!

            Easter celebrates Jesus Christ, who brings us through the valley and into the house of the Lord forever ... truly, forever.

            Thanks, God!