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easter
We had a wonderful time celebrating our Risen Savior with everyone today! We wanted to shared the special video we played during our Easter service today featuring many members of Redemption Church sharing why THEY have chosen to worship Jesus! We are excited for all the things God continues to do in our hearts as we pursue and proclaim Him together.
Easter is an extremely popular holiday around the world—I recently read an article from CNN called “Easter By The Numbers” which talked about how Easter has become such a big deal specifically in the United States. In 2015, Americans planned to purchase 180 million eggs for dying and decorating and planned to spend approximately $16.4 billion dollars on the holiday. The same article stated that 50.8% of Americans planned to attend an Easter Service over the holiday weekend that same year. It is easy to see that Easter is a big deal not only in our country, but all around the word—and I want to remind you that this a good thing!
Some people criticize this national holiday and say it is too commercialized and has become a tradition without substance and meaning. The idea that people relate Easter to the Easter bunny instead of Jesus causes some to write it off completely as a pagan holiday. And while I agree it has become a secular tradition for many, I still consider Easter to be a wonderful and important holiday because the message of JESUS has the power to save!
The tradition of remembering and proclaiming the death and burial of the resurrection of Jesus is a good thing for our nation whether they want to accept it or not. And the gospel of Jesus is not only good for those who have never heard this wonderful message, but for those who have already believed and are following Jesus. The Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:12 “Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.” We should be remembering and proclaiming the gospel in our churches all year long, but God has also granted to us a national holiday to celebrate Jesus being alive!
If we have a chance to remember and proclaim the gospel of Jesus to people who may attend our churches because it is Easter, this is good news! This holiday gives us an opportunity where more people are open and interested in attending a church service where the focus is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus! What a wonderful opportunity to share how Jesus gives hope, life and joy to everyone who believes and follows Him. This gospel message has the power to save everyone who calls upon Jesus as Savior and Lord, including those who may not understand the full significance of the Easter Holiday! And we have the opportunity to tell them!
Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Because Jesus is alive, we can trust His word. For He proclaimed many times that He would die and rise again (Mark 8:31; 9:30-32; 10:33-34) proving to us that what He says is truthful and all His promises are for sure. Because Jesus is alive, we know that our sins are truly forgiven by the work on the cross, that the Holy Spirit dwells with us and that God has the power to raise us up as well. (Romans 8:11; 1 Cor 15:49)
I like what theologian Leon Morris said about the resurrection of Jesus, “The cross is the victory, the resurrection is the triumph…The resurrection is the public display of the victory, the triumph of the crucified one.” The resurrection was to be the sign that demonstrated Jesus as the one whom He claimed to be and proves to us that He conquered sin and death (Matt 12:39-40; 1 Cor 15:55-56). So because Jesus is alive now we can know that He is God, we can have life in Him and know that He worthy of our praise!
We don’t need a national holiday to remember that Jesus rose again, but what a wonderful opportunity to celebrate! Remember, that many people around us still have never heard the Gospel preached, so let’s take every opportunity we can to be inviting people to our Easter services and proclaim this wonderful news to everyone we know. Let’s not miss out on the wonderful holiday that we get to remember and profess that Jesus is alive. And because Jesus is alive, He is able to saves us from our sin and makes us spiritually alive! Praise God! We can all find hope, satisfaction and joy as we worship Jesus as our God. This national holiday is an important one to celebrate. So let’s enjoy Easter and remember and proclaim that Jesus is alive!
Every week between now and Easter Sunday, we are focusing on a specific way we can be involved what God wants to do in people's lives this Easter! This week our focus is SERVING! As Easter Sunday approaches, we want to encourage you to sign up as a volunteer for our Easter service. We are praying that God will bring many new people who need to hear the good news of Jesus, and we are asking you to join us in serving in some capacity that day. We will need extra greeters and Redemption Kids helpers on Easter Sunday and so there will be more volunteers needed to make that happen! We would love to have you be a part of serving those who join us on Easter Sunday, and you can e-mail us at info@redemptiondb now to let us know you will be available to serve that day. This will help us schedule ahead of time and know how many volunteers we will have. Thank you! Keep praying and inviting!
Every week between now and Easter Sunday, we are focusing on a specific way we can be involved what God wants to do in people's lives this Easter! This week, our focus is INVITING! Steve challenged us on Sunday morning to invite 2 people per week leading up to Easter to join us for our Easter service next month. Be praying about who the Lord might want you to invite this week! Most people who are Christians now first came to a church service because someone personally invited them, so be encouraged that God will use your willingness to step out in this way. And keep praying for the people on your prayer card from last week! If you missed it, you can download a prayer card HERE.
Every week between now and Easter Sunday, we are focusing on a specific way we can be involved what God wants to do in people's lives this Easter! This week, our focus is PRAYER. Pastor Daniel shared on Sunday morning how vital it is that we all be praying for those we know who do not know Jesus! You can download a prayer card HERE where you can write down the names of a family member, friend, co-worker, neighbors and others who need Jesus. Print out this card and keep it with you or in your Bible to help remind you to be praying that they will come to our Easter service if they live nearby or that God will work in their lives wherever they live so that they will come to Jesus! We would love to have you send us their names by e-mailing info@redemptiondb.com and we will add their names to our prayer list. We know that God hears our prayers and we are excited to see how He will work as we pray for people by name!
Easter. Time for hiding candy eggs in the yard for the kids. A special reason to dress up and attend church. Dinner with the extended family.
Though over half of adults consider Easter a religious holiday, a recent poll showed that relatively few of them think of it as the most important one. That’s surprising because Easter celebrates the one thing that separates Christianity from all other religions—the fact that Jesus Christ, who died on a cross, physically came back to life within three days!
Jesus claimed that he was the Son of God who had come to earth for the purpose of substituting himself for sinners in order to take the punishment for their sins. He even fulfilled his promise to physically rise from the grave (recorded in the Bible, John 2:19-22), proving that he was God’s Son.
Since Jesus willingly died for you, wouldn’t you like to know how you can benefit by this ultimate sacrifice?
The reason for Easter: Our separation from God
God did not create us like robots that automatically love and mechanically obey him. The first man and woman chose to disobey God and go their own willful way, causing a spiritual separation from him. Not only have we inherited their bent to sin, we have added our personal disobedience which all results in our own spiritual separation from God.
The Bible says…
“Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.” Isaiah 59:2
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Proverbs 14:12
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….the wages of sin is death.” Romans 3:23, 6:23
People have tried many ways to bridge this gap between themselves and God. But no bridge reaches God…except one.
The good news of Easter: God has provided a bridge
Jesus Christ died a cruel death on a cross and rose from the grave. Though he is God’s sinless Son, he became a human, took our place, and paid the penalty for our sin, bridging the otherwise uncrossable separation between God and us.
The Bible says…
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us….the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 5:8, 6:23
“Christ…suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” 1 Peter 3:18
“Christ died for our sins…he was buried…he was raised on the third day.”
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Through Christ, God has provided the only way to be forgiven for our sins and receive the gift of eternal life. But each person must make a choice.
Your choice: Accept or reject the truth about Jesus
To be forgiven by God and to receive his gift of eternal life we must agree that every other way is a dead-end, and trust in Jesus Christ alone as our Savior.
Jesus says…
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
The Bible says…
“To all who did receive [Jesus], who believed in his name, He gave the right to become children of God….for God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 1:12,3:16
What is your decision?
Will you receive Jesus Christ right now and trust in him alone for your salvation? The Bible says that’s the only way to find peace with God!
* Admit your need—that you are a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness.
* Be willing to turn from trusting in anything else for eternal life and trust only in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
* Believe that Jesus died for you on the cross, came back to life from the grave, and is your only way to heaven. Accept Jesus’ offer to forgive your sins and come into your life as your Savior.
The decision must be made in your heart, and if you’ve made that decision you may want to tell him in a prayer like this:
“Dear Jesus, thank you for dying and rising again so that I can find peace with God! I do believe that when you died, You were paying the penalty for my sins. I now receive You as my Savior, so I can have forgiveness and the ability to please you. Thank you for the gift of eternal life!”
(An Easter adaptation of the effective gospel presentation from the popular tract Steps to Peace with God by Billy Graham.)
