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April 5, 2026
EASTER IS HOPE
MACK WILBERG
Conductor

ANDREW UNSWORTH AND RICHARD ELLIOTT
Organists

DERRICK PORTER
The Spoken Word

THAT EASTER DAY WITH JOY WAS BRIGHT
Music: German hymn tune
Text: from a Latin hymn; transl. John Mason Neale
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

COME, ALL PEOPLE, LOOK AND WONDER
Music: Henry Smart
Text: Thomas Kelly
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

I STAND ALL AMAZED (ORGAN SOLO)
Music: Charles Hutchinson Gabriel
Arrangement: Andrew Unsworth

JESUS HAS RISEN
Music and Text: Thelma Johnson Ryser
Arrangement: Ryan Murphy

I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES
Music: Lewis D. Edwards
Text: Samuel Murray
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

THE SPOKEN WORD
“Easter Is Hope”

BECAUSE OF HIM
Music: American folk hymn
Text: David Warner
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

HAIL THE DAY THAT SEES HIM RISE
Music: Robert Williams
Text: Charles Wesley
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg



EASTER IS HOPE
The Spoken Word, April 5, 2026
By: Derrick Porter


A CHILD ASKS, “What is Easter?” His mother pauses—searching for the right words—and responds, “Easter is the season of hope.” With deep conviction she continues, “We hope in Jesus Christ. Because of Him, we have hope.”1

Easter’s sermon is one of hope—and one of newness. Hope in the Savior leads to “new dawns, new chapters, and new chances.”2 Hope in the Savior ensures that each of us can experience new beginnings.

Pastor-poet John Keble wrote:

New mercies, each returning day,
New perils past, new sins forgiven,
Hover around us while we pray;
New thoughts of God, new hopes of Heaven.3

Easter reminds us of Jesus’s complete victory over sin and death and all that His Atonement enables us to do. Because of His mercy, we have hope in the future—we can begin anew. Because of His grace, we can accomplish things we could never do on our own. Because of His Resurrection, death will not prevail—we will live again. Because of Him, even seemingly tragic endings still offer new beginnings.

A woman I’ve long looked up to lost two children and her husband to unexpected deaths in only three years. She told me, “I am not angry. I am not mad at God.” She continued, “Shortly after my children’s deaths, I knelt in prayer begging for peace. I knew I could not fix this. Then, in my mind, I heard the words, ‘I’ve already fixed it for you—2,000 years ago.’ The feeling that enveloped me changed everything. Today I stand as a witness that because of Him, our Easter Sunday will come.”4

Because of Him, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: … we glory in
tribulations … knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope.”5

Because of Him, “all that is unfair in life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”6 Because of Him, we can discover new beginnings and find joy in life’s journey—even amid distress, pain, and sorrow.

Because of Him, our Easter Sunday will come. Easter is hope. Easter is Jesus Christ.


  1. See Moroni 7:41.
  2. Patrick Kearon, “Jesus Christ and Your New Beginning,” Liahona, Nov. 2025, 55.
  3. John Keble, “Morning,” in The Christian Year (1827), gutenberg.org.
  4. Personal correspondence with KayeLynn Bastian, Mar. 14, 2026.
  5. See Romans 5:1–5.
  6. Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ (2023), 48.