"Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him..." (Luke 24:31)

The Lord is present with every person, urging and pressing him to receive Him....
[A] person receives Him...when he acknowledges Him as his God, the Creator,
Redeemer and Savior. (True Christian Religion 766)

After the Lord’s crucifixion, His followers were grief-stricken and terrified, thinking that the Lord had left them forever. They were so convinced He was gone, that they did not at first recognize Him when He appeared to them after His resurrection. But as He spoke with them, let them touch Him, and shared food with them, the disciples saw that Jesus, whom they had followed for three years, really had risen from the dead. And, because of His resurrection, they finally understood that He is the Lord and God of heaven and earth.

The appearances of the Lord after His resurrection give the same message to us as well. For although we do not necessarily notice or feel His presence, the Lord is always with us, urging us to turn to Him and receive the joy and peace of spiritual life from His hands. If we turn toward His goodness and truth and follow His teachings, the Lord will open our spiritual eyes and we will perceive Him. At times, it may seem otherwise, but the Lord is always with us, through the power and glory of His Divine Human. It is His will that we open our hearts to receive Him.

May your Easter season be filled with a sense of the Lord’s eternal presence with you!

Highlights for this month include:

 The Lord Appears to His Disciples (for ages 8-12) (PDF)

Coloring Picture: Breakfast with the Risen Lord by Marguerite L. Acton (PDF)

For Reflection: Doubting Thomas (for teens and adults) (PDF)

 Easter Prayers for Children, Teens, and Adults (PDF)

 Miracles of Easter Window Wheel (for ages 6-12) (PDF)
A fun way to review the Easter story.

Bake Bread in Preparation for Easter (PDF)
This bread marks the Lord’s progression through Bethphage (“the house of figs”), through Bethany (“the house of dates”) and then up to the Mount of Olives. Fill one ring of bread with figs, put date filling in the other ring, then place a tall container of olives in the center.

 Easter Egg Hunt (for all ages) (PDF)
Use quotes from the Word and wrapped candies for a different kind of Easter "egg" hunt.

 "It will be said in that day" (for teens and up) (PDF)
Explore connections between parts of the book of Isaiah and the Easter story.