Easter is one of my favorite holidays. It’s a unique chance to spend a week thinking about the death and resurrection of Jesus and all that it means. Just like any other holiday, it’s easy for the meaning and wonder of Easter to be lost. I don’t think we mean to forget the impact and depth of what Easter means; it just happens. I think it partially happens because Easter is about resurrection. And it is easy to think of resurrection as something that only happened to Jesus, or to think of resurrection only as something that changes our life at the very end of it. I think we treat Easter as a memorial service for the past deeds of Jesus, rather than a celebration service of the ongoing work of Jesus in our lives! There is a saying out there that you may have heard, “live with the end in mind.” And the idea is that if you do that you will seize the day, live better, be kinder and all of that. And usually that saying means to live each day as though life has a final ending. But what if it doesn’t? Does that change how we live today? In order to live with the end in mind, we need to make sure we know the right ending! The Bible says that the ending is not finality but resurrection. And if that is true, then how do we live with resurrection in mind not just this week but all year round?

Christians call Easter Sunday “Resurrection Sunday” and celebrate Easter as the day when the resurrection of Jesus took place, after He lay three days in the tomb. Christians are the only people in the world who visit the grave of the founder of their faith, knowing full well that He isn’t there. On Easter Sunday, even amid the chaos and uncertainty in the world, Christians come to church and say to one another, “He is risen!” And others respond, “He is risen indeed!” What a strange thing to say. It’s a safe hope to hope for the coming of spring every year. We expect springtime to come every year just after Easter. But to hope for resurrection is a little more risky. We don’t expect resurrection to follow death. So this morning, let’s take a look at that first Easter account and what it means for the human condition. Because the one word you will hear a lot around Easter is “hope.” Today we celebrate the day that everything we thought we knew changed. And Christians don’t just say “He is risen!” on Easter hoping that if they say it enough it will come true; the Bible claims that this really happened. In fact, all but one of the original followers of Jesus were killed for telling others about what they saw that first Easter and for sticking to their story, claiming that death doesn’t have to be the end. And they beg us to listen to what they saw.

It is great to gather on this Resurrection Sunday! On Easter, and every other day of the year, we must confront the fact that Scripture records that a man actually rose from the dead. And that He didn’t just crawl and kick His way out of of a botched funeral attempt, but arose out of the tomb claiming to have triumphed over death itself. And He offers that same triumph to anyone who would ask Him for it by faith as well. And not only that but the Christian faith stakes the entirety of its truthfulness on this one belief. So Easter Sunday is a day that we should either feel a great sense of pity for the poor souls that believe this man rose from the dead. Or it should be the most exciting day of the year where we celebrate exceedingly that because of Jesus we might finally be able to truly live.

Join us for our Easter message about a hope that goes beyond simply life re-emerging after COVID, but a hope that comes from a resurrection that affects our deepest hopes and longings for new life.

Welcome to our Easter Worship Service at Elevate Hope Centennial! Do you ever wonder what awaits after death? Americans spend billions of dollars each year trying to stay young and avoid death. But what would it mean for the human condition of death was not the end? No matter if you are a believer or a skeptic, the possibility of resurrection changes everything. Discover what the Bible has to say about “The Life You’ve Always Wanted In The Time You Have Left” (Part 2). Even life after death.