The Beacon
Blue Mound UMC April 2025
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. John 3: 16-17
He Is Risen!
Matthew 28 And Luke 24 – He is not here… The women saw him laid in the tomb: he was dead, but is now alive; he was laid in the grave, but God would not leave him there, nor suffer him to see corruption.
For He is risen! Not stolen away, as the chief priests hired the soldiers to say he was; nor removed to another place, as Mary Magdalene first thought, when she found him gone; but he was risen from the dead, by the power of his Father, as Jesus had said before.
Jesus had often predicted that he would rise, but the disciples did not understand it, and consequently did not expect it. Matthew 16 & 20.
On Sunday April 20 we celebrate Easter.
Easter is the day when God raised Jesus after he had been dead three days.
But how do we get three days?
If Jesus died on Friday and was resurrected on Sunday, then how is that three days?
In that culture, as throughout the Bible, the day begins with sunset, not sunrise and not midnight. Sabbath ended at sundown on Saturday. Just after sundown, Sunday began.
Three days is not necessarily 72 hours. “Hours” as we think of them were not a unit of measure then. It means three distinct days as delineated by sundowns and sunsets.
The vast majority of the world’s Christians have used the following means to arrive at the timing of our celebrations during Holy Week.
Thursday evening: Last Supper and Great Commandment. After sundown marks the beginning of the first day (Eve of Friday). Jesus is arrested and tried.
Friday morning: First day continues, and Jesus is executed, removed from the cross and buried.
Friday sundown: Second day begins. (Eve of Sabbath/Saturday).
Saturday (sunrise to sunset): Jesus lies in the tomb.
Saturday sundown: Third day begins. (Eve of Sunday).
Sunday morning: Third day continues and Jesus is raised from the dead.
This way of reckoning the time of Holy Week has been consistent in Christian practice, East and West, from at least the third century A.D.
Pastor’s Corner Easter Page 2 of 2
So, that’s how we get three days. But what’s the significance of Jesus being dead for three days? Why not two days? Or even one day? Why three?
There are several reasons. First, resurrection after three days of death proved to Jesus’ opponents that he truly rose from the dead. Why? According to Jewish tradition, a person’s soul/spirit remained with his/her dead body for three days. After three days, the soul/spirit departed. If Jesus’ resurrection had occurred on the same day or even the next day, it would be easier for his enemies to argue he had never truly died. Significantly, Jesus waited several days after Lazarus had died before he came to resurrect Lazarus so that no one could deny the miracle (John 11:38-44).
A second reason it was important for Jesus to be dead for three days was to fulfill biblical prophecy. Jesus personally claimed he would be dead three days (Matthew 12:40; 16:21; 27:63; John 2:19). Also, some point to Hosea 6:1-3 as a prophecy of the Messiah’s resurrection after three days. “Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up; that we may live before him. Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.” This may also be the passage Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 15:4 that Jesus “was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.”
The three days were significant in other ways as well. Jesus died on a Friday, the day when the Passover lamb was sacrificed. His death represents the death of a perfect, unblemished sacrifice on our behalf. His resurrection on the third day took place on the first day of the week, illustrating a new beginning and new life to all who trust in him.
I hope you’re having a meaningful Lent as we look forward to the great celebration of Easter!
Peace be with you, Buster
NEWS On New Conference
The new name for the United Methodist Texas Conference is Horizon Texas Conference. September 28, 2024, the Horizon Texas Conference was formed to combine the North, Central and Northwest Texas Conferences into one Unifying Conference.
Our Mission
The mission of the people, churches and support organizations of the Horizon Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church is to Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World. This mission is our grace-filled response to the reign of God in the world, which is fully embodied in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and experienced today in the ongoing creation of a new people by the Holy Spirit.
Strategic Priorities for The Conference
Champion Children and Youth
Maximize Care and Healing
Multiply Followers of Jesus
Pursue and Embrace Diversity
Tell Our Story
This Information taken from Horizon Texas Conference Website:
Check It Out by Visiting: https://www.htcumc.org
Blue Mound UMC News:
Blue Mound formed a team working on Champion Children and Youth. This resulted in separating youth and nursery age children into two groups. Hiring a nursery worker. More to Come!
Next Step > Outreach Team
We are starting an Outreach Team. This team will organize the ideas and actions towards the Maximize Care and Healing portion of Conference Strategies.
If you feel called to this kind of service: Please contact: Pastor Buster or Karan.
April Celebrations
Birthday
05 Todd Smith
09 Jeremy Kraft
11 Caden Elijah Penrod
Jim Levelle
13 Melvin Haisler
21 Patti Temple
27 Ricky Schertz
D’Lynn Ewing
29 Kelsey Digby
Anniversary
19 Robert and Dorothy Franklin
30 Charlie & Gayla Ziegel
♥ Some of our newer members are not on the Newsletter Birthday and Anniversary List. Please let me know if you want to be included. Thanks Linda
Children Pray>> Dear God,
Thank you for the baby brother but what I asked for was a puppy. – Joyce
I read the bible. What does “beget” mean? Nobody will tell me – Alison
My Grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go? -Dennis
In bible times, did they really talk that fancy? – Jennifer
Is Reverend Coe a friend of yours, or do you just know him through the business? – Donny
Maybe Cain and Abel wouldn’t kill each other if they each had their own rooms. That works with me and my brother. – Larry
Is it true my father won’t get in Heaven if he uses his golf words in the house? – Anita
April Showers = May Flowers
06 Holy Communion
13 Palm Sunday
Second Sunday Lunch, Noon
18 Good Friday Service 6:00 p.m.
20 Easter Sunday
22 Earth Day
26 Family Fellowship Night, 6:00 pm Fun, Games, and Food.
On Taxes Jesus Said:
“Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.”
Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22: 19-21
What Does This Mean to Us Today? Answer: The Same!
BLUE MOUND UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
8421 N. Interstate 35, Denton, TX 76207-1537 (940) 382-0825
Midway between Denton and Sanger at Exit 473
Sunday School: 9:30 am, Sunday Worship: 10:45 am
Website: www.bluemoundumc.org
Linda Boyer, Newsletter Editor
Need to contact Pastor Buster Noah?
Email: pastor@bluemoundumc.org
