British Easter Conference
by Meryl Langley

The 14th British Easter Conference took place at Hothorpe Hall in Leicestershire from 24 April to 28 April 2000. The significance of Easter was highlighted by a choral performance of J. Steiner’s Crucifixion, which we attended–the choir included two of our members. It was particularly meaningful because the seriousness of our sin was the reason Jesus had to die on the cross. Poignant and probing were the words: "From the throne of his cross the king of grief cries out to a world of unbelief."

We were powerfully reminded of the price He paid for the persistent refusal to choose out of unbelief, both before we accepted Christ and since then. We became acutely aware of the painful cost and draining consequences of sin on those who Christ holds dear and with whom we fellowship.

As glorious as the cross was, it was not God’s last word. Following the crucifixion came the triumph of Christ’s resurrection, conquering Satan and sin. We saw the evidence of the power of His resurrection in one of our number, who on confession and repentance of sin, was set free from Satan’s bondage. This manifested itself in the transformation of his whole demeanour. Tension left his face and his conversation-previously garbled and confusing–became lucid, logical and comprehensible. Hallelujah!

As the Spirit continued to work throughout the week, sin blocks of pride, superiority, irresponsibility and sloth were addressed. Sin would no longer be tolerated or allowed to continue in our midst. All had areas in which to believe the truth about themselves; Jesus Christ living His life through us in daily situations, such as managing budgets and time.

Another area dealt with during the week was an irrational feeling of fear (phobia). From time to time all of us experience intense feelings and the key to dealing with them is knowing that we are not our feelings (they come from our soul). The truth is that we are joined to Jesus Christ in our spirits (1 Cor 6:17) and He can now live out His free life through us, irrespective of how we feel.

Meanwhile, the youth theme for the week was also faith. They did a series of activities to experience what it is like to put their trust in another person, such as being blind-folded and led around the grounds. They looked at the faith demonstrated by some of the heroes of faith in the Bible, such as Noah, Abraham and Moses. Also included in their full week were watching The Prince of Egypt, a trip to Farmworld, various games, and going to see The Tigger Movie.

All in all, it was an extremely profitable week with God accomplishing His work in and through us all.