Mars Hill Update.

Easter is the season of HOPE. The message of Easter is that the way of being in Jesus, the way of living the new resurrected life is through participation. The original metaphors of the faith found in the New Testament and early church are old metaphors that need to be made new. The Easter Season is the time to recapture some of these old metaphors and make them new and fresh. The primary metaphor for the Easter season is the church as the resurrected people living a resurrected spirituality. Because of Easter we are in union with Christ.

Pentecost Sunday ends the extraordinary season that began on the first Sunday of Advent. In approximately six months the church has been carried through all the saving events of God - his incarnation, manifestation to the world, life, death, resurrection, and ascension as well as the coming of the Holy Spirit. All these crucial events form faith and the spiritual life.Pentecost plays a crucial role in salvation history. Pentecost results in a clearer and deeper understanding of Jesus and the Spirit continues to pour out an understanding of the faith. The coming of the Holy Spirit resulted in a new empowerment. It was here that the mission of the church given by Jesus just before his ascension began to take form. Christians have always marked Pentecost Sunday as the birthday of the church. The church is, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the continuation of the presence of Jesus in and to the world. The metaphor of "the body of Christ" that became common in the early church captures this incarnational dimension of the church. While Christ is seated at the right had of the Father, he is also completely present in a mystical way through his body, the church.

I would like to point your attention to the Mars Hill Journey blog(www.MarsHillJourney.blogspot.com). Here you will find the updates, articles, insights, book reviews and ideas that are influencing our journey together. I encourage you to take a look around and join the conversation.

Please mark your calendars for Sunday, June 1st at 5:30pm. We will be hosting and facilitating a block party for the neighborhood surrounding KAMP's. We need people to help with passing out flyers, food, inflatables, face painting, yard games, etc. If you have any ideas or areas that you would like to contribute, let us know and make plans to do so.

This Sunday, May 11th, we will be gathering together on Sunday morning at 11:00am with the newest downtown church, SKYLINE - located at 123 Robert S Kerr. Parking is available off Dean McGee between Broadway and Robinson. KidCity is available for all children up to 5th grade. Check out www.SkylineOKC.com for a map and more info.

Hope To See You Sunday At Skyline.
Ben.