The Power To Change Your Life (Part 1)

by Richard

The following 3 blogs comprise the sermon on Easter Sunday. Enjoy!

Have you ever decided something on the toss of a coin? You have 2 good job offers. Heads, I’ll take this job! Tails, I’ll take that job! Or you are thinking of getting married. Heads I’ll marry this bloke! Tails I’ll marry that bloke! Along comes Easter, with this incredible story about Jesus dying on a cross and rising from the dead, and so you throw your coin. Heads I’ll eat my chocolate Easter eggs! Tails I’ll visit Mountainview and look into the story! That night you see the BBC website has an article about National Geographic, who are releasing a 2-hour programme on the long-lost “Gospel of Judas”, casting doubts on the Easter story - so you throw the coin once more. Heads I’ll buy some more Easter eggs! Tails I’ll go play darts in the local pub and get some exercise! If we are honest about our lives they are probably overloaded with choices, and confusion!

Easter is like a two sided coin. The good news is that we don’t have to choose! Both sides of the coin have the power to change our lives. And God wants us to experience both sides of Easter. On one side we have the death of Christ. On the other side we have the resurrection of Christ. They go together, side by side! You can’t have one without the other!

These 2 sides of Easter are found in many Christian symbols. A few years ago Riekje, my wife, was baptised by immersion on Easter Sunday. As she went down under the water it reminded her of Christ’s death. As she rose from water it reminded her of Christ’s resurrection. Communion, when we eat some bread and drink some wine remind us of Christ’s death and his blood shed on the cross. But, the bread and wine are also physical food and alcoholic drink and they remind us of the life and joy that Christ gives to us. The cross! Yes, I know in Spain many crosses still have Christ hanging there, but the earliest crosses, found in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, were plain crosses, reminding us of Christ’s death, and empty, reminding us of Christ’s resurrection.

Easter is a two sided coin. Both sides have the power to change our lives. Remember we don’t have to choose. God wants us to experience both sides of Easter.

Unfortunately we don’t have time to develop detailed arguments for the historical accuracy of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Sceptics throughout history, who set out to disprove the death and resurrection of Jesus have found themselves brought to their knees by the facts. A couple of years ago I produced a small booklet, giving a brief overview of some of the key evidence for the death and resurrection. Ask me for a copy and look into the evidence. You’ll be amazed.