Michael Boggs, More Like A Lion - The Overflow DevoSample

Rise

A few years ago, a church I regularly lead at was planning a special Easter service and we needed a song that could help us see what Jesus endured for us. We needed mental pictures of the savior with a cross on His back and nails in His hands. That’s how the song “Rise” was born.

The plan for that night was a little different from the normal services we do at Kairos. This night started out with a mock funeral for Jesus. We wanted Kairos attendees to feel as if they were witness at Jesus Christ’s funeral.

It started out with a casket entering in through the back doors of the church. It was preceded by our pastor and six pall-bearers. Our pastor then addressed the congregation and welcomed everyone to the celebration of life for Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He went on to say that He was the son of Joseph and Mary and He was the brother of James and so on, just like a normal funeral.

Everyone at Kairos was completely caught off guard, which is exactly what we wanted. Whenever you attend someone’s funeral, you begin to appreciate their life more. We knew in order to appreciate the beauty of the resurrection, we had to first deal with the death of Jesus. Focusing on His death helps us celebrate the resurrection more passionately and with a clearer understanding of what He went through to save us.

We went through a few other stations that night and then we worshipped. I’m not really sure how long we sang that night, but the room was filled with the presence of Jesus. It was beautiful.

The truth we wanted to convey to Kairos that night was simple: Jesus rose from the dead and if we believe and trust in Christ, we will be raised to life with Him. What a stunning truth to celebrate everyday!

It’s true we were dead in our sins. But my friends, in Christ we rise!