Easter morning with Yates was full of sunrise songs, bright flowers, voices raised, and hearts cracked open by joy. It was a celebration worthy of the season, and that didn’t happen by accident. So many of you gave your time, talent, and spirit to help bring it to life. It takes musicians, tech team volunteers, greeters, flower arrangers, donut bearers, and liturgical readers. Thank you. Truly. Christ is risen, and you made it show. As I said Easter morning, resurrection is not a victory lap. It’s not just a feeling we chase or a doctrine we admire. Resurrection is something you live.
The Long “Hallelujah!”
That’s why the season after Easter has a name: “Eastertide.” It lasts for 50 days. That’s longer than Lent! The Church in its wisdom has long known we might need more than a day to take in what resurrection really means. Eastertide is not a cooldown period. It’s a continuation, a season to keep leaning into the new life God has made possible. The tomb is still empty. The Spirit is still moving. Jesus is still calling us by name! (John 20:16)
So, during this season, we’re walking through a new sermon and worship series called “Because He Lives.” Each week focuses on a different first-person resurrection identity—not just ideas to admire, but truths to practice with your body, your habits, your voice, and your heart. These slow, resurrection-shaped habits are the practices that help us walk that new life out loud, just as Paul teaches in Romans 6:4, “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
Because He Lives
We launched the series on Easter Sunday with “I Believe”—in the garden where Jesus called Mary by name and everything changed. The following week, we joined Thomas in the upper room to consider what resurrection courage really looks like. Spoiler: it’s not bravado—it’s showing up, questions and all, to receive Jesus’ gift of the Spirit’s peace.
- On May 4, we turn to the theme “I Am Forgiven,” as we witness the grace that reshaped Peter and Paul—a grace that not only lets go of the past but calls us forward.
- May 11 is Mother’s Day, a layered and meaningful day in any congregation. We’ll hold space for its complexity while turning to Jesus’ words: “I know my sheep and my sheep know me. I call them by name” (John 10:27). Our theme, “I Am Known,” invites us into a love that sees and holds us.
- On May 18, our Sonshine Community leads worship with the theme “I Am Being Made New.” Their joyful and Spirit-filled leadership will help us celebrate the promise of Revelation 21:5: “Behold, I am making all things new”—not just someday, but now.
- Then on June 1, we bless our graduates and mark Ascension Sunday with “I Am Sent.” Jesus didn’t ascend to retire—he ascended to release us into the world with purpose and promise: “You will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Sent Around the Corner and Around the World
Resurrection shapes our hearts and habits, and it also shows up in the partnerships we maintain. On Sunday, May 4, we welcome back Dr. Biju Chacko, former Yates member and Executive Director of the India Vision Initiative (IVI). IVI is doing vital work with Baptist leaders across South Asia—equipping churches, training leaders, and serving communities in Jesus’ name. Their ministry is resurrection-shaped: courageous, hopeful, and grounded in love. As Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21). Thanks to your generosity through our mission budget, prayers, and hands-on support, Yates is part of this story. Come to worship and hear from our old friend about how God is at work and how we’re walking alongside.
Blood Drive, Holy Tuesday Edition
On Tuesday, May 27 (yes, a Tuesday!), we’ll host a Red Cross Blood Drive here at Yates. Our previous high-water mark is 22 donations in a day. This month, let’s aim for 25. That’s 25 acts of mercy—25 opportunities to show up for a neighbor on their hardest day.
Giving blood is a tangible act of resurrection hope that is self-giving, life-saving, and surprisingly simple. It’s also a fitting way to mark Memorial Day by donating to honor lives laid down in love by following Jesus’ example—“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). It takes about an hour. It could save a life. And yes, there will be snacks.
Biju’s mission report and the Blood Drive form holy bookends to the month of May. One reminds us that resurrection is global and incarnational. The other shows us that resurrection can look like a donor chair and a juice box. Both are invitations to be the church in real time.
Through it all, the refrain still echoes: Because he lives, we live differently. Not perfectly. Not always easily. But with courage, truth, grace, and (hopefully) a little humor along the way. So let’s live this resurrection-shaped life together in May—in worship, in witness, and in community.
Grace & Peace,