Last week found me again in Crikvenica on the coast, for our annual church spiritual renewal retreat. I helped lead worship and also helped lead the teen discussion group. We talked about the topics the teens wanted to discuss, along the line of what keeps people from believing in Jesus. We also took them one evening to a Christian teen event in the nearby city of Rijeka. As guests, we also had a group of 30 college students who are studying in Vienna this semester. They are from Lipscomb University, Oklahoma Christian University, and Rochester College. I was responsible for coordinating the logistics for them.
Coming off the retreat, we celebrated Easter Sunday (Uskrs in Croatian) at our church. Our tradition is to “bloom the cross,” turning an instrument of death into a beautiful symbol of new life. I preached on the end of the book or Mark. I talked about how Jesus came to give us Life, and the Cross is incomplete without the Resurrection. Slava Bogu! Isus je uskrsnuo! (Praise to God! Jesus is risen!)
