I love Easter. It puts the price my Savior paid for my salvation “front and center” and reminds me of His victory over sin and death. For years I have talked about doing something special to honor this great day. I’ve thought about how much time and preparations are put into celebrating Christmas, and yet in my own life, somehow Easter often goes by with little more than a few special songs sung at church. Maybe it’s because Easter falls at a busy time of year–I don’t know, but I decided that this year would be different.
So, right after Christmas, I began to think about what to do that would really make Easter special. At first I thought about doing something with the kids of our church, but right when I was thinking about these things, I had two or three adults approach me about the idea of doing something for everyone. So, I decided to give it a try, and I am so glad that I did!
We decided to do Russell Mauldin’s Easter musical, “It is Finished.” This collection of songs with narrations is pretty simple to put together, and I thought it would be a good place to start. The songs are great, and the story ties everything together well.
We started rehearsals early in the year, and people have been very faithful to come to practice. The thing that has made this a very special experience is that the members of the group truly love the Lord, and there have been many special moments of worship as we have worked our way through this program. I think the most precious thing is to see the children sing from their hearts–sometimes even with tears–as they sing praise to our Lord. It has been amazing.
So, since this weekend is Palm Sunday, this will be our last week of rehearsal before our performance on Easter Sunday,March 27, during our regular worship service at 10:45. I can’t wait–this special Resurrection Day will be one to always remember!
This cantata has been and extra, special time for me. I love all the songs, even the HIGH notes, (hope I’ll be able to hit them!) We’ve had so much fun learning the songs!